Evergreen Solar Reports Third Quarter Revenues of $86.5 Million
Devens Ships a Record 42.6 Megawatts
Initial Production at Wuhan Reaches 3.4 Megawatts
Marlboro, Massachusetts, November 1, 2010 – Evergreen Solar, Inc. (NasdaqGM: ESLR), a manufacturer of String Ribbon® solar power products with its proprietary, low-cost silicon wafer technology, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended October 2, 2010.
Key accomplishments during the quarter were:
• Record shipments of 42.6 MW compared with 39.8 MW in the second quarter 2010, up 7.2% sequentially
• Total manufacturing cost at Devens decreased 3.1% to $1.88 per watt from $1.94 per watt in the second quarter of 2010
• Wuhan expansion on track with 3.4 MW of Evergreen Solar branded solar panels produced
Michael El-Hillow, President and Chief Executive Officer commented, “The Evergreen team has performed exceptionally well in both Devens and Wuhan. The Devens facility is now exceeding our original operational target of 40 megawatts of production per quarter, further validating the performance of our proprietary furnace technology. In mid-September, we held official grand opening ceremonies in Wuhan and began producing Evergreen Solar branded solar panels. We are making good progress with our production ramp in China and produced 3.4 MW of product in Wuhan during the quarter.”
“Demand for the high quality and performance of Evergreen Solar panels continues to be strong. As such, we expect shipments in the fourth quarter to be in the range of about 48 megawatts,” concluded Mr. El-Hillow.
Third Quarter 2010 Financial Results
Revenues for the third quarter of 2010 were $86.5 million, up 2.4% sequentially compared to 2010 second quarter revenues of $84.5 million. Average selling price for the third quarter of 2010 was $2.02 per watt, down slightly from $2.04 per watt recorded in the second quarter of 2010.
Gross margin for the third quarter of 2010 was 7.5%, compared to 8.6% in the second quarter of 2010. The decrease in gross margin resulted primarily from the decrease in royalties associated with the licensing of the Company’s proprietary wafer technology. During the second quarter of 2010, the Company recorded royalty revenue of $3.4 million which included a one-time payment of $2.4 million associated with the sale of Sovello. In the future, the Company expects that royalty payments recorded each quarter will be in line with those levels recorded in the third quarter of 2010.
Operating loss for the third quarter was $22.7 million, compared to $15.5 million for the second quarter of 2010. Operating loss in the third quarter of 2010 increased from the second quarter of 2010 due mainly to a $6.4 million charge relating to the write-off of a receivable associated with a Korean customer and a decrease in royalty revenue, offset by a decrease in manufacturing costs.
Net loss for the third quarter of 2010 was $27.2 million compared to $3.3 million in the second quarter of 2010. Net loss for the third quarter of 2010 includes the aforementioned charge to accounts receivable of $6.4 million and foreign exchange gains of $6.3 million. Net loss in the second quarter of 2010 includes approximately $24.8 million of net gains on the early extinguishment of outstanding debt, $6.9 million of foreign exchange losses caused by the weakening Euro and a $3.2 million recovery of impairment charges associated with the sale of Sovello AG.
Conference Call Information
Management will conduct a conference call at 8:30 a.m. (ET) tomorrow (November 2, 2010) to review the Company’s third quarter financial results and highlights. The call will be webcast live over the Internet and can be accessed by logging on to the “Investors” section of Evergreen Solar’s website, www.evergreensolar.com prior to the event. The call also can be accessed by dialing (888) 204-4368 or (913) 312-0638 (International) prior to the start of the call and refer to confirmation code 1106064. For those unable to join the live conference call, a webcast replay will be available from 11:00 a.m. (ET) on November 2, 2010 through 8:00 p.m. (ET) on November 19, 2010. To access the webcast replay, logon to the “Investors” section of Evergreen Solar’s website, www.evergreensolar.com.
About Evergreen Solar, Inc.
Evergreen Solar, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets String Ribbon(r) solar power products using its proprietary, low-cost silicon wafer technology. The Company’s patented wafer manufacturing technology uses significantly less polysilicon than conventional processes. Evergreen Solar’s products provide reliable and environmentally clean electric power for residential and commercial applications globally. For more information about the Company, please visit www.evergreensolar.com. Evergreen Solar® and String Ribbon® are registered trademarks of Evergreen Solar, Inc.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release includes statements regarding expectations, beliefs, strategies, goals, outlook and other non-historical matters. Any such statements are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements include but are not limited to statements about ongoing production levels at the Company’s Devens, Massachusetts facility, the ramp of the Company’s new facility in China and continued levels of demand for Evergreen Solar’s panels. These forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company’s future production levels to differ, including unexpected materials shortages or price increases, the difficulty of accurately forecasting the production benefits from new technologies, new operational strategies and operational scaling, the difficulty in forecasting customer demand in a volatile and uncertain market for the Company’s products, and other risks and uncertainties described in filings that the Company makes from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward looking statements.
CONTACT:
Evergreen Solar, Inc.
Michael McCarthy
Director – Investor Relations
mmccarthy@evergreensolar.com
Phone: 508-251-3261