San Jose, CA-based SunPower Corporation (SPWR) provided financial guidance for 2015 and revised its GAAP financial guidance for the fourth quarter. The company also briefed investors about its upcoming plans.
Guidance
SunPower projects 2015 adjusted earnings per share in a band of $1.10 to $1.50, lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.67. The revenue guidance of $2.40 billion to $2.60 billion is below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.90 billion and also lower than the 2014 expected range of $2.53–$2.63 million. SunPower shares fell 3.7% following the lackluster guidance.
The company forecasts capital expenditure of $300 million to $350 million for 2015.
SunPower noted that its guidance does not take into account the formation of a separately traded Yieldco vehicle, if the company at all decides to pursue the same. On any such event, SunPower will provide its investors with an updated guidance.
For the fourth quarter, SunPower expects GAAP earnings per share of $1.00 to $1.25 and revenues in the band of $1.12–$1.17 billion. The company’s revenue and earnings are estimated to be positively affected by $450 million in relation to accounting treatment of its 579 Megawatt (“MW”) Solar Star projects. Non-GAAP financial measures for the fourth quarter remain intact.
Project Advancements
This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company gave an insight into its upstream capacity, which it expects to grow three times by 2019. The expansion programs include the completion of the fourth solar cell fabrication facility (Fab 4, 800 MW), panel manufacturing capacity in Fab 5 and 1 Gigawatt (GW) of additional capacity of Low Concentration PV (LCPV).
In addition, Castaic Lake Water Agency (CLWA) and SunPower announced the completion of a 3.5 MW photovoltaic solar plant at CLWA's Rio Vista Water Treatment Plant. By installing solar, water utilities are aiming to curb operational costs and effectively exploit underutilized facilities.
Solar Stocks Spill
Another major solar player Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ) also witnessed a plunge of 8.4% on weak guidance. Apart from SunPower and Canadian Solar, share prices of SolarCity Corporation (SCTY) and First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) also slumped following the news release.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Get all Zacks Research Reports and be alerted to fast-breaking buy and sell opportunities every trading day.
Be the first to comment