Solar Maker Suntech Threatened with Delisting

Chinese solar panel maker Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) announced this morning that it had received a notice from the NYSE that the company has failed to meet the exchange’s criteria for continued listing on the Big Board. The reason for the notice is that the company’s American Depositary Shares (ADS) have traded below $1 per ADS for a period of 30 consecutive days.

The company now has six months to regain compliance with the exchange’s minimum share price requirement, which it can do by attaining a closing price above $1 per ADS on the last trading day of any month within the six-month period and also have a 30-day average closing price above $1 per ADS in the same 30-day trading period. Suntech said it had notified the NYSE of its intention to meet the requirement.

Suntech recently replaced its CEO after the company announced that it may have been victimized by a $690 million fraud related to an investment in a company that Suntech believed would boost its sales in Europe. The bonds put up as collateral by the company may not exist, leaving Suntech exposed to loan guarantee for $690 million. It is also doubtful whether Suntech can meet a $541 million loan repayment due next year.

LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) and Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) also have been hit particularly hard by overcapacity in solar manufacturing and low prices for modules.

Suntech’s shares are trading at $0.95 this morning, down nearly 7%, in a 52-week range of $0.71 to $4.40.

Paul Ausick