Hanwha Q CELLS Q1 revenues down; $50 mn in capex for 2017

Hanwha Q CELLS earned net revenues were $432.0 million during the first quarter ended March 31, 2017, down 23.6 percent from $565.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2016 and down 16.1 percent from $514.9 million in the first quarter of 2016.

“Our first quarter results were modestly ahead of our plan and we are pleased to report that we have returned to a profitable quarter despite a challenging industry environment,” said Seong-woo Nam, chairman and CEO of Hanwha Q CELLS.

“We have been focusing on strengthening our sales backlog early on to increase our operational visibility in 2017 while diversifying our regional and segmental business profile to better navigate different market cycles,” Nam said.

“From our products side, we are now offering a more balanced products portfolio with an official launch of our proprietary mono-PERC module series, called Q.PEAK,” Nam remarked. “Our first launch was made in the United States, Europe, Japan and Australia with 60-cell modules reaching up to 305 Wp in the first quarter. This will be followed by the launch of 72-cell modules reaching up to 370 Wp in the second half of this year.

“Our new mono-PERC modules are already in high demand, and we are excited that our stronger product line-up will enable us to compete more effectively in the broader market segments,” Nam further said.

Jay Seo, CFO of Hanwha Q CELLS, said “We are making good progress strengthening our balance sheet by continuing to pay off certain interest-bearing instruments and we have brought down our net debt-to-equity ratio to 125 percent this quarter compared with 191 percent in the previous quarter.”

Seo continued, “We believe that we are well-positioned to navigate through different industry cycles with our strong technology, product portfolios and cost competitiveness, and we’ll prudently manage our operations to continue sustainable growth.”

Gross profit in the first quarter of 2017 was $59.8 million, compared with $39.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2016 and $109.0 million in the first quarter of 2016.

Gross margin in the first quarter of 2017 was 13.8 percent, compared with 7.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016 and 21.2 percent in the first quarter of 2016.

Income from operations in the first quarter of 2017 was $28.3 million, compared with a loss from operations of $21.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2016 and income from operations of $56.7 million in the first quarter of 2016.

Operating margin in the first quarter of 2017 was 6.6 percent, compared with -3.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016 and 11.0 percent in the first quarter of 2016.

Net income attributable to Company’s ordinary shareholders was $17.6 million in the first quarter of 2017, compared with net loss of $18.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2016 and net income of $27.5 million in the first quarter of 2016.

Earnings per fully diluted ADS on a GAAP basis were $0.21 in the first quarter of 2017, compared with loss per fully diluted ADS of $0.22 in the fourth quarter of 2016 and earnings per fully diluted ADS of $0.33 in the first quarter of 2016.

For the second quarter of 2017, the Company estimates net revenues in the range of $560 to 580 million.

For the full year 2017, the Company reiterates its previous guidance of:

  • Total module shipments in the range of 5,500 to 5,700 MW
  • Revenue-recognized module shipments in the range of 5,300 to 5,500 MW
  • Capital expenditures of approximately $50 million for manufacturing technology upgrades and certain R&D related expenditures.

[email protected]