(By Balachander) ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) posted a wider quarterly loss as margins were hit due to fall in selling prices and substantial supply-demand imbalance. Cost of revenue jumped 31 percent. Total operating expenses also surged 62 percent.
For the third quarter, net loss was $78.6 million or $0.91 per ADS, compared with a loss of $8.2 million or $0.09 per ADS in the year-ago quarter. Wall Street analysts, on average, expected the company to lose $0.31 a share. In the previous quarter, ReneSola posted a loss of $0.40 per ADS.
Net revenue rose 15.4 percent to $218.2 million, versus consensus estimate of a increase of 14 percent. Sequentially, revenue declined 6.4 percent.
Gross margin was a negative 18.0 percent versus a negative 4.0 percent in the comparable quarter of last year. In the previous quarter, gross margin was a positive 0.6 percent.
Total solar wafer and module shipments were 532.8 megawatts (MW), up 62.2 percent year over year and 6 percent sequentially.
Looking ahead for the fourth quarter, the Chinese company expects revenue in the range of $240 million to $260 million versus consensus estimate of $288.6 million. Total solar wafer and module shipments is forecast between 635 MW and 675 MW, with module shipments of 250 MW to 270 MW.
For the whole of 2012, ReneSola now sees total solar wafer and module shipments to be close to 2.2 gigawatts (GW) versus between 2.2 GW and 2.4 GW projected earlier.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) of SOL ended Thursday's regular trading session at $1.18. The stock has been trading in the 52-week range between $1.08 and $3.38.