Canadian Solar revises up estimates while giving PG&E update

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From pv magazine global

There was a good news, not-so-good news scenario in the latest Nasdaq update issued by Ontario-based solar manufacturer Canadian Solar.

Shareholders will be cheered to see the Chinese-Canadian company’s final-quarter estimates for last year being revised upwards across the board ahead of the final figures being announced in March.

The board of the solar manufacturer and developer also saw fit today to update the market on its potential exposure to risk related to the bankruptcy filing made by U.S. utility Pacific Gas & Electric.

The Guelph-headquartered company announced PPAs related to the supply of power from a 60 MWac portion of its Gaskell West 2 project in California were in doubt due to the travails of the ailing utility. Canadian Solar’s update added, the agreements were negotiated in late 2017 “at very competitive prices”.

Things are looking up

The developer added there had been no impact yet on commercial operation dates for two further projects – with a total capacity of 700 MWac –which PG&E is due to interconnect.

On a happier note, the board has revised up its estimated net revenue for the final three months of last year, from US$690-800 million to $850-900 million. That is on the back of higher-than expected shipments of 1.9-1.95 GW worth of solar panels, up from an expected 1.67-1.72 GW.

Those bumper figures mean the estimated gross margin has also risen for the three-month period, from 24-26% to 27-28%.

Canadian Solar said it will announce its final-quarter and full-year 2018 figures on a conference call on March 21.

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