LDK Solar reports financial results for Q4 of fiscal 2011

XINYU CITY, CHINA & SUNNYVALE, USA: LDK Solar Co. Ltd, a leading vertically integrated manufacturer of photovoltaic products, presented its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2011.

Q4 highlights
* Net sales of $420.2 million;
* Shipped 197.1 megawatts (MW) of wafers, 255.5 MW of cells and modules in the fourth quarter;
* Produced a total of approximately 2,317.8 MT of polysilicon during the fourth quarter; and
* Produced a total of approximately 149.6 MW of cells during the fourth quarter.

Net sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 were $420.2 million, compared to $471.9 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2011, and $920.9 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010.

Gross loss for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 was $275.2 million, compared to gross loss of $17 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2011, and gross profit of $251.4 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010.

Gross margin for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 was negative 65.5 percent, compared to negative 3.6 percent in the third quarter of fiscal 2011, and positive 27.3 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010.

During the preparation of its fourth quarter 2011 financial results, LDK Solar's management determined that an inventory write-down and provision for firm purchase commitment of $232.6 million was required as a result of the significant drop in market price for polysilicon, wafers and modules during the fourth quarter. As a result, gross margin and results from operations were negatively impacted in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.

Loss from operations for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 was $531.4 million, compared to loss from operations of $77.1 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2011, and income from operations of $203.8 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010. Apart from the inventory write-down and provision for firm purchase commitment, LDK Solar's management determined that a provision for doubtful receivables and prepayments of $179.2 million was required in view of deteriorating solar market which negatively affected our customers and suppliers.

Operating margin for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 was negative 126.5 percent compared to negative 16.3 percent in the third quarter of fiscal 2011, and positive 22.1 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010.

Income tax benefit for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 was $45.1 million, compared to income tax benefit of $1.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2011 and income tax expense of $40.5 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010.

Net loss attributable to LDK Solar's shareholders for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 was $588.7 million, or a loss of $4.63 per diluted ADS, compared to a net loss of $114.5 million, or a loss of $0.87 per diluted ADS for the third quarter of fiscal 2011 and net income of $145.2 million, or $1.09 per diluted ADS for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010. The number of shares for calculating diluted ADS was approximately 127.2 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.

LDK Solar ended the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 with $244.1 million in cash and cash equivalents and $565.1 million in short-term pledged bank deposits.

"The solar industry experienced a tremendous supply and demand imbalance throughout the value chain during the fourth quarter. Our results reflected the negative effects of this dislocation in the PV market," stated Xiaofeng Peng, chairman and CEO. "Weak market demand and rapidly declining average selling prices reduced our revenue and adversely impacted our margins in the quarter.

"In 2012, we expect that excess capacity and further policy uncertainties in Europe and the US will result in continued intense competition within the solar industry. As such, we remain focused on improving our cost structure by driving down production costs and closely managing our operating expenses. PV applications are increasing globally with improved affordability for solar electricity. We continue to believe that the considerable opportunities to meet global energy needs with solar power will drive long-term market growth."

For the first quarter of fiscal 2012, LDK Solar estimates its revenue to be in the range of $190 million to $230 million, wafer shipments between 140 MW and 150 MW, cells and module shipments between 170 MW and 180 MW, in-house polysilicon production between 1,800 MT and 1,900 MT and in-house cell production between 40 MW and 50 MW.

For fiscal 2012, LDK Solar estimates its revenue to be in the range of $2.0 billion to $2.7 billion, polysilicon production between 12,000 MT and 15,000 MT, of which shipments to 3rd party customers are expected to be between 6,000 MT and 8,000 MT, wafer production between 2.7 gigawatts (GW) and 3.3 GW, of which shipments to 3rd party customers are expected to be between 1.5 GW and 2.0 GW, in-house cell production between 1.2 GW and 1.6 GW, and module production between 1.2 GW and 1.6 GW, with cell and module shipments to 3rd party customers between 1.0 GW and 1.3 GW and inverter shipments between 200 MW to 250 MW.

LDK Solar expects PV system project construction to be in the range of 400 MW to 600 MW and to recognize between 270 MW and 360 MW through project sales and EPC services for 3rd party customers.