SHANGHAI, May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd., (Nasdaq: JASO) a leading manufacturer of high-performance solar products, today announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2009.
First Quarter 2009 Results
Revenue in the first quarter of 2009 was RMB 231.7 million ($33.9 million), a decrease of 79.4 percent from RMB 1.1 billion ($164.2 million) in the first quarter of 2008 and a decrease of 76.3 percent from RMB 979.0 million ($143.3 million) reported in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Total gross loss in the first quarter was RMB 142.7 million (a loss of $20.9 million), compared with gross profit of RMB 235.9 million ($34.5 million) in the first quarter of 2008, and gross profit of RMB 9.7 million ($1.4 million) in the fourth quarter of 2008. Inventory provision at the end of the first quarter of 2009 was RMB 138.4 million ($20.3 million), an increase of RMB 60.4 million ($8.8 million) compared with the balance at the end of the fourth quarter of 2008.
Total operating expenses in the first quarter of 2009 were RMB 50.4 million ($7.4 million), compared with RMB 72.3 million ($10.6 million) in the first quarter of 2008 and RMB 130.8 million ($19.1 million) in the fourth quarter of 2008. Included in operating expenses was an RMB 11.9 million ($1.7 million) non-cash stock based compensation charge related to the hiring and retention of key employees in the first quarter of 2009. Stock based compensation charged to the income statement amounted to RMB 53.9 million ($7.9 million) and RMB 32.3 million ($4.7 million) for the first quarter of 2008 and the fourth quarter of 2008, respectively. Operating loss in the first quarter of 2009 was RMB 193.1 million (a loss of $28.3 million), compared with operating income of RMB 163.6 million ($23.9 million) in the first quarter of 2008 and operating loss of RMB 121.1 million (a loss of $17.7 million) in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Net loss per diluted ADS in the first quarter of 2009 was RMB 1.20 (a loss of $0.18), compared with net income per diluted ADS of RMB 0.99 ($0.15) in the same period of 2008 and net loss per diluted ADS of RMB 0.68 (a loss of $0.10) in the fourth quarter of 2008.
At March 31, 2009, JA Solar had cash and cash equivalents of RMB 1.7 billion ($249.2 million), compared with RMB 1.9 billion ($282.4 million) at Dec. 31, 2008. Total working capital at March 31, 2009 was RMB 2.6 billion ($385.2 million). The company repurchased RMB 42.4 million ($6.2 million) of convertible bonds in the first quarter of 2009, and the convertible bonds outstanding as of March 31, 2009 were RMB 2.2 billion ($315.3 million). Total credit facility available at March 31, 2009 was RMB 1.5 billion ($213.7 million), of which RMB 520.0 million ($76.1 million) has been drawn down.
"The first quarter of 2009 was the most challenging quarter for JA Solar since the company was founded in 2005," said Samuel Yang, CEO of JA Solar. "The global industry conditions were particularly difficult, with the market affected by worse than normal seasonality, a weak macro-economic environment and the continuing impact of the credit crisis resulting in some issues with customer project financing. However, we are actively managing our business to prepare for what we hope to be the market's recovery in the latter part of this year and we are seeing encouraging signs of market improvement in key end markets. We have sufficient liquidity to sustain the current downturn and we are positioning ourselves for growth in the second half of 2009 and beyond," he said.
2009 Outlook
The first quarter results and the continuing market uncertainty are translating into less visibility for the coming quarters. At this time, JA Solar believes it is unlikely to achieve the results as given in the 2009 guidance provided on March 10, 2009, which was for revenue of $830 million to $952 million and production output of 500 MW to 550 MW. JA Solar has no plans to give further guidance on its 2009 revenue or production unless and until the company has better visibility of the global solar market conditions in the coming quarters.
Currency Convenience Translation
The conversion of Renminbi into U.S. dollars in this release, made solely for the convenience of the reader, is based on the noon buying rate in the city of New York for cable transfers of Renminbi as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as of March 31, 2009, which was RMB 6.8329 to $1.00. No representation is intended to imply that the Renminbi amounts could have been, or could be, converted, realized or settled into U.S. dollars at that rate on March 31, 2009, or at any other date. The percentages stated in this press release are calculated based on Renminbi.
Investor Conference Call / Webcast Details
A conference call has been scheduled for today, Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 8:00 am Eastern time. The call may be accessed by dialing 1.866.831.6267 (U.S.) or 1.617.213.8857 (international). The passcode is JA Solar. A live webcast of the conference call will be available on the company's website at www.jasolar.com. A replay of the call will be available beginning two hours after the live call and will be accessible by dialing 1.888.286.8010 (U.S.) or 1.617.801.6888 (international). The passcode for the replay is 84524855.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "will," "may," "expect," "anticipate," "aim," "intend," "plan," "believe," "estimate," "potential," "continue," and other similar statements. Statements other than statements of historical facts in this announcement are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, our expectations regarding the expansion of our manufacturing capacities, our future business development, and our beliefs regarding our production output and production outlook. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the Company and the industry. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Form F-20 and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that its expectations will turn out to be correct, and investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results.
About JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd.
JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. is a leading manufacturer of high-performance solar cells. The company sells its products to solar manufacturers worldwide, who assemble and integrate solar cells into modules and systems that convert sunlight into electricity for residential, commercial, and utility-scale power generation. For more information, please visit http://www.jasolar.com.
JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Unaudited)
For three months ended
Mar. Dec. Mar. Mar.
31, 2008 31, 2008 31, 2009 31, 2009
RMB'000 RMB'000 RMB'000 USD'000
Net revenues 1,122,033 979,032 231,684 33,907
Cost of sales (886,175) (969,366) (374,424) (54,797)
-------- -------- -------- -------
Gross profit 235,858 9,666 (142,740) (20,890)
------- ----- -------- -------
Selling, general and
administrative
expenses (69,605) (117,443) (39,466) (5,776)
Research and
development expenses (2,697) (13,353) (10,937) (1,601)
Total operating
expenses (72,302) (130,796) (50,403) (7,377)
------- -------- ------- ------
Income/(loss) from
operations 163,556 (121,130) (193,143) (28,267)
------- -------- -------- -------
Interest expense (492) (63,611) (58,155) (8,511)
Change in fair value
of derivatives 40,723 118,570 33,318 4,876
Gain on buyback of
convertible bond - 203,514 13,817 2,022
Other income/
(expenses) (40,302) 1,071 (8,524) (1,247)
Income/(loss) before
income taxes 163,485 138,414 (212,687) (31,127)
------- ------- -------- -------
Income tax benefit/
(expenses) (9,017) 10,377 19,419 2,842
------ ------ ------ -----
Net income/(loss) 154,468 148,791 (193,268) (28,285)
------- ------- -------- -------
Net income/(loss) per
share:
Basic 1.00 0.92 (1.20) (0.18)
Diluted 0.99 (0.68) (1.20) (0.18)
Weighted average
number of shares
outstanding:
Basic 154,058,500 161,366,977 161,419,260 161,419,260
Diluted 155,773,928 174,981,652 161,419,260 161,419,260
JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Unaudited)
December 31, March 31,
2008 2009 2009
RMB'000 RMB'000 USD'000
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents 1,929,433 1,702,612 249,178
Available for sale securities 68,277 - -
Accounts receivable 355,051 163,937 23,992
Inventories 591,989 633,457 92,707
Advances to suppliers 680,447 688,066 100,699
Other current assets 205,227 289,407 42,355
------- ------- ------
Total current assets 3,830,424 3,477,479 508,931
--------- --------- -------
Property and equipment, net 1,369,807 1,435,018 210,016
Advances to suppliers 1,944,912 2,006,368 293,633
Derivative asset-Capped call options 4,485 1,346 197
Deferred issuance cost 58,953 56,042 8,202
Other long term assets 70,603 74,476 10,900
------ ------ ------
Total assets 7,279,184 7,050,729 1,031,879
========= ========= =========
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Short-term bank borrowings 490,000 520,000 76,102
Accounts payable 117,982 78,698 11,517
Accrued and other liabilities 262,842 246,501 36,076
------- ------- ------
Total current liabilities 870,824 845,199 123,695
------- ------- -------
Convertible Bond 1,532,600 1,531,131 224,082
Embedded derivatives 115,676 77,690 11,370
Other long term liabilities 5,185 21,822 3,194
----- ------ -----
Total liabilities 2,524,285 2,475,842 362,341
--------- --------- -------
Commitment and Contingencies
Shareholders' equity 4,754,899 4,574,887 669,538
--------- --------- -------
Total liabilities and shareholders'
equity 7,279,184 7,050,729 1,031,879
========= ========= =========
SOURCE JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd.
CONTACT:
Deborah Stapleton,
deb@stapleton.com,
or
Alexis Pascal,
alexis@stapleton.com,
both of Stapleton Communications,
+1-650-470-0200,
for JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd.
Web Site: http://www.jasolar.com
(JASO)