ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE:SOL) slipped to a quarterly loss, wider than market expectations, as revenue plunged 41 percent amid fall in the average selling price (ASP) of solar wafers.
For the first quarter, net loss was $40.2 million or $0.47 per share, compared with earnings of $43.3 million or $0.49 per share in the year-ago quarter. Analysts expected the company to lose $0.31 a share. In the previous quarter, ReneSola posted a loss of $0.43 per share.
Net revenue fell to $211.4 million from $359.2 in the same period of last year. Sequentially, revenue rose 13 percent.
Gross margin was a negative 3.8 percent versus a positive 28.2 percent in the comparable quarter of last year. In the previous quarter, gross margin was a negative 23.1 percent.
Total solar wafer and module shipments were 466.0 megawatts (MW), up 41.0 percent year over year and 37 percent sequentially.
Looking ahead for the second quarter, the Chinese company expects revenue in the range of $200 million to $220 million with positive gross margins. It forecasts total solar wafer and module shipments to be in the range of 460 MW to 480 MW, with module shipments of 150 MW to 170 MW.
For the whole of 2012, ReneSola still sees total solar wafer and module shipments between 1.8 gigawatts (GW) and 2.0 GW.
American Depositary Receipts of SOL ended Thursday's regular trading session at $1.79. The stock has been trading in the 52-week range between $1.45 and $8.83.