NANJING, China, June 12,
2015 /PRNewswire/ -- China Sunergy Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: CSUN)
("China Sunergy" or "the Company"), a specialized solar cell and
module manufacturer, today announced its financial results for the
fourth quarter and full year ended December
31, 2014.
Mr. Tingxiu Lu, CEO of China
Sunergy, commented, "I am pleased with the Company's sharp
turnaround in the fourth quarter. During the fourth quarter, we
were able to increase module sales to China, improve manufacturing efficiency, and
lower conversion cost, which combined to expand our gross margin by
790 basis points quarter-over-quarter.
Our ability to nimbly adapt to market conditions enabled us to
quickly ramp up our overseas manufacturing base. I am delighted
that our manufacturing plant in Turkey has grown stably since inception, as
total revenue generated from Turkey grew to US$110.1
million in 2014 at a gross margin of 6.2%. We will continue
to ramp up capacity utilization at our Turkey plant to serve the European market. We
will also seek to duplicate our success in Turkey and migrate some of our existing
capacities to other strategic geographies outside of China."
Mr. Lu continued, "In 2015, we expect there will be robust
demand for solar energy in China.
The country is now deepening its commitments to lowering air
pollution and reducing carbon emissions, and plans to boost the
photovoltaic capacity by 19% to 17.8GW in 2015. We will continue to
expand sales in China, as well as,
explore BOT (build-operate-transfer) opportunities for
small-to-mid-sized distributed solar power stations on the
mainland. As we execute on our 2015 strategies, I expect our gross
margin will improve and our customer base will be further
diversified."
Fourth Quarter 2014 Financial Highlights
Total revenue was US$126.7
million, an increase of 100.2% from US$63.3 million in the third quarter of 2014.
Self-branded revenue totaled US$118.4
million and OEM revenue was US$7.4
million.
Shipments totaled 305.4MW, an increase of 121.6%
(167.6MW) from 137.8MW in the third quarter of 2014. Module
shipments including 61.5MW module processed under OEM arrangements
were 218.9 MW. Cell shipments including 3.3MW cell processed under
OEM arrangements were 86.5MW.
Average selling price ("ASP") for the Company's solar
modules, excluding those processed under OEM arrangements, was
US$0.59 per watt, a decrease of 6.3%
from US$0.63 in the third quarter of
2014.
Gross profit was US$5.2
million, and gross margin was 4.1%, compared with gross loss
of US$2.4 million and gross margin of
negative 3.8% in the third quarter of 2014.
Net loss attributable to ordinary
shareholders was US$10.0million, compared with 25.6 million in the
third quarter 2014.
Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders per
ADS was US$0.67, compared with
US$1.73 in the third quarter of
2014.
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash totaled
US$221.5 million, as of December 31, 2014.
Full Year 2014 Financial Highlights
Total revenue was US$341.1
million, an increase of 7.9% from US$316.2 million in the prior year. Self-branded
revenue totaled US$316.7 million and
OEM revenue was US$20.4 million.
Shipments totaled 767.8MW, an increase of 33.0% from
577.4MW in the prior year. Module shipments including 110.4MW
module processed under OEM arrangements were 531.1 MW Cell
shipments including 69.0MW cell processed under OEM arrangements
were 236.7MW.
Average selling price ("ASP") for the Company's solar
modules, excluding those processed under OEM arrangements, was
US$0.63 per watt, an increase of 3.3%
from US$0.61 in the prior year.
Gross profit was US$10.6
million, and gross margin was 3.1%, compared with gross
profit of US$15.2 million and gross
margin of 4.8% in 2013.
Net loss attributable to ordinary
shareholders was US$56.1 million,
compared with US$50.6 million in
2013.
Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders per ADS
was US$4.08, compared to a net loss
per ADS of US$3.7 in the prior
year.
Fourth Quarter & Full-Year 2014 Financial Review
Total Revenue and Shipments
For the fourth quarter of 2014, total revenue was US$126.7 million, an increase of 100.0% from
US$63.3 million in the third quarter
of 2014, primarily driven by higher shipments from both modules and
cells. Revenue for the full-year 2014 was US$341.1 million, an increase of 7.9% from
US$316.2 in the prior year.
Total shipments for the fourth quarter of 2014 were 305.4MW, an
increase of 167.6MW or 121.6% from 137.8MW in the prior quarter
primarily driven by robust demand from China in the fourth quarter of 2014. Total
module shipments, including module processed under OEM arrangement
of 61.5MW were 218.9MW for the fourth quarter of 2014. Total cell
shipments, including cell processed under OEM arrangement of 3.3MW,
were 86.5MW for the fourth quarter of 2014.
Total shipments in 2014 were 767.8MW, an increase of 190.4MW or
33.0% from 577.4MW in the prior year. Total module shipments,
including module processed under OEM arrangement of 110.4MW were
531.1MW for the full year 2014. Total cell shipments, including
cell processed under OEM arrangement of 69.0MW, were 236.7MW for
the full year 2014.
Sales revenue generated from Asia accounted for 68.6% of total revenue in
the fourth quarter of 2014, of which China and Japan accounted for 55.6% and 10.1% of total
revenue, respectively. Sales to European markets represented 26.7%
of total revenue in the fourth quarter 2014, of which France accounted for 19.8% of total
revenue.
Driven by the robust demand from China and Japan, revenue generated from Asia accounted for 64.6% of the total revenue
in 2014, compared with 49.7% of the total revenue in 2013.
ASP
ASP for the Company's self-branded module for the fourth quarter
was US$0.59 per watt, decreased by
four cents or 6.3% from US$0.63 per watt in the previous quarter. The
decrease in self-branded module ASP was primarily due to higher
shipments to lower-priced regions. ASP for the Company's
self-branded cell during the fourth quarter of 2014 was
US$0.31 per watt, unchanged from the
previous quarter.
The Company's self-branded module ASP in 2014 was US$0.63 per watt, compared with US$0.61 per watt in the prior year. The increase
in module ASP was mainly attributable the gradual recovery of
Photovoltaic industry in Chinese market. The Company's self-branded
cell ASP in 2014 increased to US$0.31
per watt, compared with US$0.19 per
watt in the prior year. The increase in cell ASP was mainly
attributable to the Company producing and selling higher quality
cells.
Wafer and Conversion Costs
Blended wafer costs in the fourth quarter of 2014 were
US$0.22 per watt, two cents lower than that in the previous
quarter. Conversion costs of cells and modules manufactured in the
fourth quarter of 2014 were US$0.12
per watt and US$0.18 per watt,
compared with US$0.16 per watt and
US$0.21 per watt, respectively, in
the prior quarter. The reduction of conversion costs for both cells
and modules was mainly attributable to the higher capacity
utilization and shipments in the fourth quarter as compared to the
third quarter of 2014.
Blended wafer costs in the full year of 2014 were US$0.23 per watt, compared with US$0.22 per watt in 2013. Conversion costs of
cells and modules for the full year of 2014 were US$0.14 per watt and US$0.20 per watt, respectively, compared to
US$0.15 per watt and US$0.20 per watt, respectively, in 2013.
Gross Profit and Gross Margin
Gross profit for the fourth quarter of 2014 was US$5.2 million, and gross margin was 4.1%,
compared with gross loss of US$2.4
million and gross margin of negative 3.8% for the third
quarter of 2014. The quarter-over-quarter increase in gross profit
and gross margin was mainly driven by higher module shipments,
which increased by 122.3%.
Gross profit for the full year of 2014 was US$10.6 million, and gross margin was 3.1%, as
compared to gross profit of US$15.2
million and gross margin of 4.8% for the full year of 2013.
The decrease in gross profit and gross margin was mainly due to
lower shipments of self-branded modules. During 2014, the shipments
of self-branded modules were 420.7MW, a decrease of 52.1MW as
compared to 472.8MW in previous year, whereas the total shipments
of cells were 236.7 MW, compared with 29.3 MW in the year of
2013.
Operating Expenses, Operating Profit/Loss and Net
Income/Loss
Operating expenses decreased to US$8.0
million in the fourth quarter of 2014, from US$9.2 million in the third quarter of 2014. The
decrease in operating expenses was primarily due to the sequential
reductions in general and administration expenses. Bad debt
provision for the fourth quarter of 2014 was US$0.9 million versus the bad debt provision of
US$3.4 million in the previous
quarter. In addition, the Company recorded a US$1.4 million impairment provision for its 5MW
power project in the U.K in the third quarter of 2014.
Operating expenses totaled US$41.6
million in 2014, significantly decreased from US$52.4 million in 2013, which was primarily
attributable to the decrease in general and administrative expenses
and selling expenses. General and administration expenses decreased
by $4.8 million to US$25.2 million in 2014 from US$30.0 million in 2013, mainly attributable to a
reversal of bad debt provision of approximately US$4.8 million in 2014, compared with a bad debt
provision of US$0.5 million in 2013,
as well as effective control in transportation expense, rental
expense and consulting expense. Selling expenses reduced by
US$3.2 million to US$13.2 million in 2014, from US$16.4 million in 2013, as a result of combined
savings in salary expense, consulting expense and insurance
expense.
Loss from operations narrowed to US$2.8
million in the fourth quarter of 2014, and to US$31.0 million for full year 2014
Correspondingly, net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders
was US$10.0million in the fourth
quarter of 2014 and US$ 56.1million
for full year 2014.
Amount Due from Related Parties
Amount due from related parties totaled US$88.1 million as of December 31, 2014, an increase of US$14.1 million from US$74.0 million as of September 30, 2014.
Amount Due to Related Parties
Amount due to related parties totaled US$9.1 million as of December 31, 2014, unchanged as compared to that
in September 30, 2014.
Inventory
Inventories at the end of the fourth quarter of 2014 totaled
US$52.9 million, a decrease of
US$16.7 million from US$69.6 million in the prior quarter, driven by
higher shipment during the fourth quarter of 2014.
Cash Position
As of December 31, 2014, the
Company had cash and cash equivalents of US$42.1 million, and restricted cash of
US$179.4 million.
Additional Company Updates Subsequent to Fourth
Quarter 2014
China Sunergy entered into a supply agreement with Blue Sun,
S.L.U, a Honduras based customer,
with total volume of 10.5MW.
China Sunergy obtained government approval of developing a 20MW
ground solar power station in Shangdong Province, China.
China Sunergy obtained government approval of developing two
distributed power projects with 20MW each, in Erdos, Inner Mongolia
Autonomous Region, China.
China Sunergy signs 81MW solar cells supply agreement with Solar
Park Korea, further demonstrating the Company's strong brand
awareness and products presence in global market.
China Sunergy sold the second solar power project in the UK to a
third party purchaser in January
2015. The Company constructed two solar power projects in
the UK in 2012. These solar power projects were connected to the
grid and begun to generate power in March and April,2013,
respectively. The first solar power project, which was connected to
the grid in March 2013, was sold in
later 2013.
For the full-year 2015, the Company estimates total
shipment, including OEM
arrangements will range between 900MW to 1000 MW, an increase of
17% to 30% from full-year 2014.
This guidance is based on the current market conditions and
reflects the Company's current and preliminary estimates of market
and operating conditions and customer demand, which are all subject
to change.
About China Sunergy Co., Ltd.
China Sunergy Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ:CSUN) designs, manufactures and
delivers high efficiency solar cells and modules to the world from
its production centers based in China and Turkey. China Sunergy also invests in high
potential solar projects. Founded in 2004, China Sunergy is well
known for its advanced solar cell technology, reliable product
quality, and excellent customer service.
For more information, please visit
http://www.csun-solar.com.
Investor and Media Contacts:
China Sunergy Co., Ltd.
Wang
Zhuo
Phone: + 86 25 5276
6696
Email: IR@chinasunergy.com
Asia Bridge Group Limited
Wendy Sun
Phone: + 86 10 8556 9033
Email: wendy.sun@asiabridgegroup.com
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements
of historical facts in this announcement are forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current
expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the
Company and the industry, and involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties, including but not limited to, the Company's failure
to maintain its listing qualification due to, among other things,
volatility in the Company's ADS price; the Company's ability to
raise additional capital or renew existing bank borrowings as they
become due to finance the Company's activities; the Company's
customers' financial condition and creditworthiness, and their
ability to settle accounts receivables; the effectiveness,
profitability, and the marketability of its products; litigations
and other legal proceedings, including any decisions by the US
International Trade Committee and Department of Commerce on the
petitions filed; the economic slowdown in China and elsewhere and its impact on the
Company's operations; demand for and selling prices of the
Company's products, execution of our strategy to expand into
downstream solar power businesses, the future trading of the common
stock of the Company; the ability of the Company to operate as a
public company; the Company's ability in maintaining its liquidity;
the period of time for which its current liquidity will enable the
Company to fund its operations; the Company's ability to protect
its proprietary information; general economic and business
conditions; the volatility of the Company's operating results and
financial condition; the Company's ability to attract or retain
qualified senior management personnel and research and development
staff; future shortage or availability of the supply of raw
materials; impact on cost-competitiveness as a result of entering
into long-term arrangements with raw material suppliers and other
risks detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update
forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events
or circumstances, or to changes in its expectations, except as may
be required by law. Although the Company believes that the
expectations expressed in these forward looking statements are
reasonable, it cannot assure you that its expectations will turn
out to be correct, and investors are cautioned that actual results
may differ materially from the anticipated results.
The following financial information is extracted from the
Company's condensed consolidated financial statements for the
respective periods.
China Sunergy Co.,
Ltd
Unaudited
Condensed Consolidated Income Statement Information
(In US$'000,
except ADS and per ADS data)
|
|
For the 3 months
ended
|
|
Dec 31,
2014
|
Sep
30,2014
|
Dec 31,
2013
|
|
|
|
|
Total
sales
|
126,651
|
63,252
|
125,496
|
Cost of goods
sold
|
(121,444)
|
(65,649)
|
(118,934)
|
Gross
profit
|
5,207
|
(2,397)
|
6,562
|
Operating
expenses:
|
|
|
|
Selling
expenses
|
(4,011)
|
(2,725)
|
(3,907)
|
General and
administrative expenses
|
(2,788)
|
(5,657)
|
(8,910)
|
Research and
development expenses
|
(1,232)
|
(855)
|
(1,071)
|
Total operating
expenses
|
(8,031)
|
(9,237)
|
(13,888)
|
Income(loss) from
operations
|
(2,824)
|
(11,634)
|
(7,326)
|
Interest
expense
|
(6,854)
|
(7,082)
|
(9,190)
|
Interest
income
|
1,208
|
1,668
|
1,521
|
Other
income/(expenses), net
|
(2,061)
|
(9,478)
|
2,241
|
Changes in fair value
of derivatives
|
-
|
-
|
0
|
Income(loss)
before income tax
|
(10,531)
|
(26,526)
|
(12,754)
|
Income tax
benefit(expense)
|
445
|
190
|
(565)
|
Net
income(loss)
|
(10,086)
|
(26,336)
|
(13,319)
|
Less: non-controlling
interest
|
(88)
|
(696)
|
(156)
|
|
|
|
|
Net income (loss)
attributable to ordinary shareholders
|
(9,998)
|
(25,640)
|
(13,163)
|
|
|
|
|
Net income (loss)
attributable to ordinary shareholders per ADS
|
|
|
|
Basic
|
($0.67)
|
($1.73)
|
($0.89)
|
Diluted
|
($0.67)
|
($1.73)
|
($0.89)
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted average
ADS outstanding
|
|
|
|
Basic
|
14,849,292
|
14,849,292
|
14,849,292
|
Diluted
|
14,849,292
|
14,849,292
|
14,849,292
|
China Sunergy Co.,
Ltd
Unaudited
Condensed Consolidated Income Statement Information
(In US$'000,
except ADS and per ADS data)
|
|
For the year
ended December 31
|
|
2014
|
|
2013
|
|
|
|
|
Total
sales
|
341,108
|
|
316,186
|
Cost of goods
sold
|
(330,486)
|
|
(300,974)
|
Gross
profit
|
10,622
|
|
15,212
|
Operating
expenses:
|
|
|
|
Selling
expenses
|
(13,168)
|
|
(16,416)
|
General and
administrative expenses
|
(25,247)
|
|
(30,011)
|
Research and
development expenses
|
(3,170)
|
|
(6,022)
|
Total operating
expenses
|
(41,585)
|
|
(52,449)
|
Income(loss) from
operations
|
(30,963)
|
|
(37,237)
|
Interest
expense
|
(27,919)
|
|
(28,806)
|
Interest
income
|
5,606
|
|
6,586
|
Other
income/(expenses), net
|
(2,605)
|
|
8,975
|
Income(loss)
before income tax
|
(55,881)
|
|
(50,482)
|
Income tax
benefit(expense)
|
(614)
|
|
(1,127)
|
Net
income(loss)
|
(56,495)
|
|
(51,609)
|
Less: non-controlling
interest
|
(399)
|
|
(1,000)
|
|
|
|
|
Net income (loss)
attributable to ordinary shareholders
|
(56,097)
|
|
(50,609)
|
|
|
|
|
Net income (loss)
attributable to ordinary shareholders per ADS
|
|
|
|
Basic
|
($4.08)
|
|
($3.68)
|
Diluted
|
($4.08)
|
|
($3.68)
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted average
ADS outstanding
|
|
|
|
Basic
|
13,741,542
|
|
13,741,542
|
Diluted
|
13,741,542
|
|
13,741,542
|
China Sunergy Co.,
Ltd
Unaudited
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet Information
(In
US$'000)
|
|
Dec 31,2014
|
Sep 30,2014
|
Dec 31,2013
|
Assets
|
|
|
|
Current
Assets
|
|
|
|
Cash and cash
equivalents
|
42,079
|
21,462
|
54,296
|
Restricted
cash
|
179,396
|
182,347
|
194,196
|
Accounts receivable,
net
|
60,322
|
58,089
|
82,146
|
Other receivable,
net
|
19,310
|
24,793
|
21,497
|
Project
assets
|
8,222
|
8,628
|
10,155
|
Inventories,
net
|
52,883
|
69,593
|
44,658
|
Advance to suppliers,
net
|
5,882
|
6,922
|
7,193
|
Amount due from
related parties
|
88,048
|
74,025
|
83,987
|
Current deferred tax
assets
|
2,076
|
2,411
|
1,922
|
Total current
assets
|
458,218
|
448,270
|
500,050
|
Property, plant and
equipment, net
|
226,800
|
228,105
|
223,624
|
Prepaid land use
rights
|
23,374
|
23,516
|
27,885
|
Deferred tax
assets
|
7,492
|
6,781
|
7,491
|
Long-term
investment
|
1
|
1
|
-
|
Other long-term
assets
|
5,007
|
5,123
|
5,603
|
Total
assets
|
720,892
|
711,796
|
764,653
|
|
|
|
|
Liabilities and
equity
|
|
|
|
Current
liabilities
|
|
|
|
Short-term bank
borrowings
|
377,205
|
356,826
|
340,255
|
Accounts
payable
|
90,162
|
94,586
|
97,029
|
Notes
payable
|
13,281
|
9,483
|
39,900
|
Accrued expenses and
other current liabilities
|
18,315
|
22,859
|
20,140
|
Income tax
payable
|
3,445
|
3,929
|
3,368
|
Amount due to related
parties
|
9,121
|
9,116
|
11,798
|
Current deferred tax
liability
|
-
|
-
|
6
|
Total current
liabilities
|
511,529
|
496,799
|
512,496
|
Long-term
debt
|
272,348
|
268,529
|
265,976
|
Long-term
payables
|
367
|
365
|
-
|
Accrued warranty
costs
|
22,418
|
21,285
|
20,129
|
Other
liabilities
|
14,721
|
14,757
|
10,438
|
Total
liabilities
|
821,383
|
801,735
|
809,039
|
|
|
|
|
Equity:
|
|
|
|
Ordinary shares: par
value $0.0001; 463,247,600 shares authorized, 267,287,253 shares
issued and outstanding as of
December 31, 2013 and 240,701,253 issued and outstanding as of
September 30, 2014 and December 31, 2014
|
24
|
24
|
24
|
Additional paid-in
capital
|
185,367
|
185,367
|
185,367
|
Treasury shares (at
par value)
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
Accumulated
profit(deficit)
|
(321,293)
|
(311,295)
|
(265,196)
|
Accumulated other
comprehensive income
|
35,909
|
36,511
|
36,071
|
Total equity
attributable to China Sunergy Co. Ltd.
|
(99,990)
|
(89,390)
|
(43,731)
|
Non-controlling
interests
|
(501)
|
(549)
|
(655)
|
Total
equity
|
(100,491)
|
(89,939)
|
(44,386)
|
Total liabilities
and equity
|
720,892
|
711,796
|
764,653
|
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SOURCE China Sunergy Co., Ltd.