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First Solar, Inc (FSLR) swung to a net loss for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2016. The company has made a net loss of $719.86 million, or $ 6.92 a share in the quarter, against a net profit of $164.14 million, or $1.60 a share in the last year period. On an adjusted basis, the company has earned $129.10 million, or $1.24 a share for the quarter.
Revenue during the quarter plunged 49.02 percent to $480.43 million from $942.32 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter contracted 1132 basis points over the previous year period to 13.24 percent.
Operating loss for the quarter was $765.41 million, compared with an operating income of $131.82 million in the previous year period.
"Despite the difficult restructuring decisions that we undertook in the fourth quarter, we ended the year with strong operational results," said Mark Widmar, chief executive officer of First Solar. “Our best line exited the quarter running above 16.9% conversion efficiency, and for the full year our fleet averaged 16.4% efficiency, an 80 basis point improvement over the prior year. From a financial perspective we delivered full year non-GAAP earnings per share of $5.17, exceeding our guidance for the year. We ended the year with $1.8 billion of net cash and are well positioned as we move forward with our Series 6 transition."
For financial year 2017, First Solar, Inc projects revenue to be in the range of $2,800 million to $2,900 million. The company projects adjusted operating income to be in the range of $40 million to $80 million . It company forecasts diluted loss per share to be in the range of $0.80 to $0.05.
Working capital increases
First Solar, Inc has recorded an increase in the working capital over the last year. It stood at $2,886.91 million as at Dec. 31, 2016, up 21.06 percent or $502.13 million from $2,384.79 million on Dec. 31, 2015. Current ratio was at 4.21 as on Dec. 31, 2016, up from 3.48 on Dec. 31, 2015. Cash conversion cycle (CCC) has increased to 77 days for the quarter from 39 days for the last year period. Days sales outstanding went up to 47 days for the quarter compared with 27 days for the same period last year.
Days inventory outstanding has increased to 47 days for the quarter compared with 33 days for the previous year period. At the same time, days payable outstanding went down to 16 days for the quarter from 22 for the same period last year.
Debt comes down significantly
First Solar, Inc has recorded a decline in total debt over the last one year. It stood at $188.39 million as on Dec. 31, 2016, down 34.91 percent or $101.03 million from $289.42 million on Dec. 31, 2015. Total debt was 2.74 percent of total assets as on Dec. 31, 2016, compared with 3.96 percent on Dec. 31, 2015. Debt to equity ratio was at 0.04 as on Dec. 31, 2016, down from 0.05 as on Dec. 31, 2015. Disclaimer: Please note that this is an auto-generated article. IRIS does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information. IRIS especially states that it has no financial liability whatsoever to any user on account of the use of information provided on its website. For queries contact: editor@irisindia.net
