LDK Solar Earnings: Misses Street Estimates as Loss Worsens

LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE:LDK) reported its results for the first quarter. LDK Solar is a solar module manufacturer. The company sells multicrystalline and monocrystalline wafers globally to manufacturers of solar cells and modules.

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LDK Solar Co. Ltd. Earnings Cheat Sheet

Results: Loss widened to $254.3 million ($2 per diluted share) from a loss of $87.7 million (loss of 62 cents per share) in the same quarter a year earlier.

Revenue: Fell 52.9% to $235.4 million from the year-earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: LDK Solar Co. Ltd. fell short of the mean analyst estimate of a loss of $1.14 per share. It beat the average revenue estimate of $225.5 million.

Quoting Management: “For the second quarter of 2012, our revenue was within the expected range as we saw wafer shipments increase sequentially,” stated Xiaofeng Peng, Chairman and CEO of LDK Solar. “Industry-wide competition and demand constraints continued to drive price declines across the entire solar supply chain and negatively impacted our margins and profitability.

Looking Forward: For the past two months, analysts have become increasingly pessimistic about the results for the company next quarter. The average estimate for the second quarter is a loss of $1.06 per share, down from a loss of 64 cents sixty days ago. For the fiscal year, the average estimate has moved from a loss of $1.47 a share to a loss of $3.40 over the last ninety days.

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(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

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