Evergreen Solar ships 31.9 MW in Q4-2009

MARLBORO, USA: Evergreen Solar Inc., a manufacturer of String Ribbon solar power products with its proprietary, low-cost silicon wafer technology, announced financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2009.

Key accomplishments during the quarter were:
* Shipped 31.9 MW from our Devens facility at an average selling price of $2.32 per watt;
* Improved product gross margins to 11.9percent from 7.1 percent for the third quarter of 2009;
* Reduced total manufacturing cost to $2.05 per watt, down 8.5 percent from $2.24 per watt for the third quarter of 2009;
* Reduced wafer manufacturing cost to approximately $0.69 per watt from $0.75 per watt in the third quarter of 2009;
* Generated $16.9 million of cash from operations, up from $11.2 million in the third quarter.

“Over two years ago, we established a cost target for our Devens facility of about two dollars per watt. We are pleased to have effectively achieved this cost target during the fourth quarter,” stated Richard M. Feldt, Chairman, CEO and President.

“Our proven track record of manufacturing excellence is even more critical as we will relentlessly pursue additional operational efficiencies, further reduce our silicon and other materials costs and make progress on our technology roadmap to further reduce our costs at Devens to about $1.50 per watt in 2011 as we transition panel assembly to China.”

“Our China expansion remains on track,” added Mr. Feldt. “We have a strong Chinese management team and we are hiring experienced engineers and other support staff needed for the initial 100 megawatt facility. Equipment has been ordered, and we should be in a good position to ship our first product by this summer.”

“Demand for our product was robust throughout the fourth quarter of 2009, a trend which has continued so far in the first quarter of 2010. While incentive program modifications in Europe have resulted in some near-term uncertainty with respect to demand and selling prices, we remain focused on what we can directly control, namely continued operational improvements at Devens and our expansion in China, where we believe we will produce wafers at about $0.30 per watt and panels for about $1.00 per watt by 2012 through our relationship with Jiawei Solar,” concluded Feldt.

Q4 2009 financial results
Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2009 were $74.5 million, compared to $77.7 million (inclusive of $2.2 million of fees from Sovello) for the third quarter of 2009.

Gross margin in the fourth quarter of 2009 was 11.9 percent, up from 9.7 percent in the third quarter of 2009. Product gross margin, which excludes fees from Sovello, was 11.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to 7.1 percent for the third quarter of 2009.

Operating loss for the fourth quarter was $21.1 million, compared to $6 million for the third quarter of 2009. The increase in operating loss was due mainly to non-cash charges of approximately $14.6 million associated with the acceleration of depreciation and other equipment write-offs relating to the planned transition of panel assembly at our Devens facility to our China facility, where we expect to recoup these charges through incremental cost savings.

Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2009 was $98.1 million compared to $82.4 million in the third quarter of 2009. Net loss includes $13.5 million of equity loss in the fourth quarter and $9.7 million in the third quarter from our share of Sovello’s losses. Net loss also includes approximately $56.1 million and $61.9 million (net of income tax benefits of $7.8 million) of impairment charges associated with our investment in Sovello for the fourth and third quarters of 2009, respectively.