Canadian Solar Inc. shares fell 4% in early trading after the company reported a wider-than-expected loss for the second quarter and issued weak guidance for the third quarter.
The Kitchener, Ontario-based solar manufacturer posted a net loss of $77 million, or $1.40 per share, compared with a net income of $7 million in the same period last year. Analysts had expected a loss of $0.74 per share. Revenue totaled $1.2 billion, slightly above the $1.18 billion estimate but down 29% from $1.69 billion a year earlier. Gross margin narrowed to 13.9% from 29.8% in the year-ago quarter, primarily due to the absence of prior-year tariff refund benefits.
For the third quarter, Canadian Solar guided revenue to $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion, well below the $1.76 billion consensus estimate. Gross margin is expected to range between 13.5% and 15.5%, while solar module shipments are projected at 3.5 gigawatts to 3.8 gigawatts. Battery storage shipments are seen at 3.4 gigawatt-hours to 3.8 gigawatt-hours.
In the second quarter, the company shipped 3.1 gigawatts of solar modules and 3.7 gigawatt-hours of battery energy storage solutions, exceeding its prior guidance of 2.8 gigawatt-hours to 3.2 gigawatt-hours.
Chief Executive Colin Parkin highlighted ongoing investments in advanced solar technologies, including the recent opening of a heterojunction solar cell factory in the United States. "We are executing on a multidimensional solar technology roadmap, spanning advanced cell innovations to next-generation applications," Parkin said. The new facility marks Canadian Solar as the first commercially operational heterojunction manufacturer in the U.S., he added.
