Sometimes, when you see a light at the end of the tunnel, it turns out to be an oncoming freight train. So far, that's not the case with Trina Solar
Shipments rose by more than 30% sequentially, while price declines held sequential revenue growth to just 13.5%. Thanks to plunging polysilicon costs (which dropped by more than 30%), in addition to lower non-silicon manufacturing costs, Trina's gross margins fattened up to 27.4%. That's well ahead of the figure reported by Canadian Solar
With such aggressive cost reductions being achieved, integrated Chinese players such as Trina and Yingli Green Energy
Anyway, back to Trina's quarter. A recent Barron's piece challenged First Solar's
Investors have warmed to Trina's story. They've bought into a recent equity fundraising round that netted the company more than $140 million. I can see the appeal, but the valuation is no longer compelling after the shares' huge run from their lows. We probably won't see those single-digit share prices again any time soon, but I think potential investors will get a better entry point in the months ahead, especially if Germany suddenly gets stingy with its subsidies.
More Foolishness:
- First Solar faces a turf war.
- Solar earnings season got off on the right foot.
- Some results have been soft, however.