LDK Solar Swings to 2Q Loss as Costs Surge, Prices Fall

LDK Solar (NYSE:LDK) swung to a second-quarter loss and slipped far below estimates as it continued to face high costs and weak selling prices in a struggling solar industry.

The China-based maker of photovoltaic products for the solar power industry revealed a loss of $87.7, or 62 cents a share, compared with a year-ago profit of $45 million, or 36 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting a loss of 25 cents. The results were down sharply from a profit of $135.4 million, or 95 cents a share, from the first quarter.

Revenue for the company, which also has offices in Sunnyvale, California, was $499.4 million, down 11.6% from $565.3 million a year ago and missing the Streets view of $506.5 million. The results were down 35% from $766.3 million sequentially.

Our second quarter results reflect the challenging solar industry dynamics that resulted from recent policy revisions in Europe and consequently reduced demand for PV products, LDK Solar chief executive Xiaofeng Peng said in a statement. Lower pricing across the supply chain negatively impacted our financial results for the quarter.

The results for the three months ended June 30 were impacted by weakened selling prices, rising expenses and fierce competition. The company has said prices are now starting to stabilize.

LDK Solar said it continues to take steps to improve its cost structure, particularly manufacturing expenses. It is gaining traction and expanding its presence in key markets such as North America and China, the company said.

For the third quarter, LDK estimates revenue in the range of $630 million to $680 million, with wafer shipments between 350 megawatts and 400 megawatts. Wall Street is looking for sales of $588.6 million.

For the full-year, the company sees sales in the range of $2.5 billion to $2.7 billion, with wafer shipments between 1.8 gigawatts and 2.0 gigawatts. Analysts predict revenue of $2.54 billion.