First Solar Reports EPS, Revenue Beat; Shares Halted

First Solar Inc. said it earned $164.1 million, or $1.60 a share, in the fourth quarter, compared with $193 million, or $1.90, in the year-ago period. Sales for the quarter reached $942.3 million, down from $1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2014. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the company to report earnings of 77 cents a share on sales of $929 million. The company predicted slightly lower net sales for 2016 and higher gross margins for the year, and kept shipment guidance unchanged at 2.9 gigawatts to 3 gW. Shares of First Solar were halted ahead of the quarterly results. The stock ended the regular trading session down 3.8%.