Yingli Green Posts Loss, Cuts Shipment View

Tallahassee, FL 11/23/11 (StreetBeat) -- China-based Yingli Green Energy Holding Co (NYSE: YGE) posted a quarterly loss, hurt by a steep slide in solar panel prices, and cut its full-year photovoltaic module shipment outlook.

Like other solar makers, Yingli has been hit hard this year as a glut of panels has knocked prices lower, squeezing profit margins and pushing its shares down 64 percent so far since 2010. On Tuesday, Suntech Power Holdings, JA Solar and other Chinese companies reported disappointing earnings and said the market would remain weak into the first half of 2012.

At the request of some U.S. solar companies, the Obama Administration is investigating whether Chinese manufacturers, including Yingli, have engaged in "dumping" their solar panels at below-market prices. Yingli has strongly denied the dumping charge, and China's industry fired back this week, saying it might seek an investigation into possible dumping of polysilicon by U.S. companies.

Yingli Green's net loss for the third quarter was $28.3 million, or 18 cents per American Depositary Share ADS, compared with a year-earlier profit of $68.2 million, or 44 cents per ADS. Revenues rose 36 percent to about $667.7 million. Yingli's gross margin shrank to 10.8 percent from 22.1 percent in the second quarter and 33.3 percent a year earlier.

For 2011, Yingli cut its module shipment forecast to a range of 1,580 to 1,630 megawatts from its previous estimate of 1,700 to 1,750 MW. The revised figure represents growth of about 50 percent from 2010 shipment levels.

Shares of Yingli Green rose 32 cents to $3.86 in trading on Wednesday.

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