- Though Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ -2.3%) beat Q1 estimates, it's guiding for Q2 revenue of $570M-$620M, below a $675.9M consensus. Module shipments are expected to drop to 950MW-1GW from Q1's 1.23GW; 165MW will go towards Canadian's utility solar projects, and thus won't be immediately recognized as revenue.
- Also: Gross margin is expected to drop to 13%-15% in Q2 from Q1's 17.8% - down 150 bps Q/Q and up 310 bps Y/Y, and near the high end of a 16%-18% guidance range. Q1 margins were hurt by lower module ASPs, and benefited from manufacturing cost reductions.
- Q1 shipments topped guidance of 1GW-1.035GW, and were above Q4's 897MW and Q1 2014's 500MW. 1.03GW were recognized as revenue. Thanks to the Recurrent deal, Canadian's pipeline of late-stage utility solar projects rose by ~1GW Q/Q to 2.5GW; total project pipeline is said to be at 8.5GW. The company will share details about its YieldCo plans at its May 18 investor day.
- The Americas were 48.7% of Q1 revenue, Europe 17.7%, and Asia/other markets 33.6%. Operating expenses rose a moderate 7.7% Y/Y to $74.2M. Canadian ended Q1 with $1.04B in cash, $885.6M in short-term borrowings, $125.9M in long-term debt, and $150M in convertible notes.
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Q1 results, PR