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First Solar, solar energy technology vendor, showed strong earnings with shares up $1.61 to $50.85. This news came up after their Q2 earnings release and was great news for the company. The jump was higher than anticipated by insiders and it raises the potential for profits throughout the remainder of the year. They yielded an EPS of $0.87 after the June revenue rose by 4%, year-to-year. Their final revenue calculated to over $930-million.

Analysts and economic experts had projected revenue of $860-million and ending at $0.55 EPS. The company’s spokesman attributed the performance to an increase in sales, revenue gained from various project systems and the Kingbird project. Put together these were the main reasons for the outstanding revenue showing, but still there were other aspects that affected it.

Mark Widmar, CEO stated that operations made a strong showing and was able to push projects out ahead of schedule. Namely they also were able to include revenue from the Stateline project and the Silver State South project. These both hit above target dates for completion and were included in revenue streams as a result in Q2. Without this additional income, likely their numbers would have been more in line with analysts’ projections.

Widmar added that their execution throughout 2016 is continuously direct and strong. In addition, the company lowered their cost per watt. The portfolio of systems also saw great decreases in cost. Put together, this is what brought the expenses down to lean management numbers. Add to that a larger revenue stream and it created First Solar’s outstanding performance for the first half of the year.

The company generally expects revenue within the $3.8-billion-to-$4-billion range. It anticipates a slight rise in the gross profit also, with a cut in operating income to just-over $200-million.