First Solar Earnings Rise on Tax Benefit, Revenues Fall Short

Sequentially the company posted a revenue increase of $345 million on increased revenue recognition at the Desert Sunlight project. The company also received a one-time tax benefit of $0.26 per diluted share in the third quarter.

First Solar affirmed its full-year 2014 EPS guidance of $2.40 to $2.80. The consensus estimate is $2.61. The company also raised the lower end of its operating income estimate to $300 million; the top end is unchanged at $340 million. Gross margin is expected in a range of 18% to 19%. The estimate for operating expenses rose from a prior range of $380 to $395 million to a new range of $390 million to $400 million.

We noted in our preview today the unreliability of EPS estimates given the timing of payments to First Solar. That does not cover up its revenue miss though, and without the one-time tax benefit the company would have come up short of the consensus EPS estimate. Perhaps the company’s executives can say something on the conference call to soothe investors.

The company’s CEO said:

Following the project delays experienced in the prior quarter, our third quarter earnings have improved, and we continue to make progress towards our financial targets for the year. Our year to date book-to-bill ratio is well above our objective of a one-to-one ratio, and we are on track to meet or exceed our bookings goal for the year.

Shares traded down about 2.5%% at $54.95 after hours on Thursday in a 52-week range of $47.04 to $74.84. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analysts’ price target of around $67.00 before today’s report.

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