Yingli Green (YGE) Reports Wider-than-Expected Loss In Q4

Chinese solar panel manufacturer Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Ltd. (NYSE:YGE) , also known as Yingli Solar, reported adjusted net loss of $4.20 per American Depositary Share (“ADS”) in fourth-quarter 2016, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate loss of $1.88. Moreover, reported loss was wider than the year-ago quarter loss of 72 cents per ADS.

For 2016, the company reported loss of $5.20 per ADS, wider than the year-ago loss of $1.97.

Revenues

Total revenue was $294.0 million, down 9.7% year over year. Revenues also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $321 million by 8.4%.

Full-year revenues came in at $1.21 billion, down 21.6% from the year-ago figure of $1.54 billion. The number also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.28 billion by 5.5%.

Highlights of the Release

Total PV module shipments were 635.1 megawatts (“MW”) in the fourth quarter of 2016, compared with 504.5 MW in fourth-quarter 2015.

Gross margin in the reported quarter deteriorated 480 basis points year over year to 7.0%. Operating expenses were up 28.5% to $271.6 million.

Operating loss in the fourth quarter of 2016 was $251.1 million, compared with the year-ago quarter figure of $172.9 million.

Interest expenses were $24.3 million in the reported quarter, compared with $38.0 million in the year-ago period.

Financial Highlights

The company had cash & cash equivalents of $125.1 million as of Dec 31, 2016, compared with of $191.5 million as of Dec 31, 2015.

Long-term debt, excluding current portion, was $363.5 million as of Dec 31, 2016, down from $371.4 million as of Dec 31, 2015.

Guidance

For the first quarter of 2017, Yingli Green expects PV module shipments in the range of 380–400 MW. The company expects shipments in the range of 2.1 GW to 2.2 GW for the full year.

Peer Releases

JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ:JASO) posted fourth-quarter 2016 adjusted earnings of 98 cents per diluted ADS. The Zacks Consensus Estimate stood at a loss of 7 cents. Earnings improved 96% from 50 cents in the year-ago period.

JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE:JKS) reported fourth-quarter 2016 non-GAAP earnings per ADS of 88 cents, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.33 by 33.8%. The reported figure also declined 62.4% from the year-ago quarter earnings of $2.34 per ADS.

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) reported fourth-quarter 2016 earnings of 24 cents per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 29 cents by 17.2%. Reported earnings also plunged 77.1% from the year-ago tally of $1.05 per share.

Zacks Rank

Yingli Solar currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.

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