Canadian Solar Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2011 Financial Results

ONTARIO, March 7, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar companies, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2011.

Fourth Quarter 2011 Highlights

•     Solar module shipments were 436 MW, an increase of 23% from 355 MW in the third quarter 2011.
•     Net revenue was $474.1 million, compared to $499.6 million in the third quarter 2011.
•     Gross margin was 8.7%, compared to 2.4% in the third quarter 2011.
•     Diluted loss per share was $1.39, compared to diluted loss per share of $1.02 in the third quarter 2011.
•     Operating cash flow was approximately $48.9 million, compared to approximately $94 million in the third quarter 2011.
•     Inventory balance at the end of the quarter was $296.6 million, compared to $406.0 million at the end of the third quarter 2011.

Fiscal Year 2011 Highlights

•     Solar module shipments were 1,323 MW, an increase of 65% from 803 MW in fiscal year 2010.
•     Net revenue was $1.9 billion, compared to net revenue of $1.5 billion for fiscal year 2010.
•     Gross margin was of 9.6%, compared to 15.3% in fiscal year 2010, due to a significant decline in average selling price during 2011.
•     Diluted loss per share was $2.11, compared to earnings of $1.16 per diluted share for fiscal year 2010.
•     Operating cash flow was approximately $46.3 million, compared to negative $58.5 million for fiscal year 2010.
•     Inventory balance at the end of fiscal year 2011 was $296.6 million, compared to $272.1 million at the end of fiscal 2010.

Fourth Quarter 2011 Results

Net revenue for the fourth quarter of 2011 was $474.1 million, down 5.1% from $499.6 million in the third quarter of 2011 and up 4.7% from $452.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.  Total solar module shipments for the fourth quarter of 2011 were 436 MW, compared to total module shipments of 355 MW for the third quarter 2011 and 237 MW for the fourth quarter of 2010.  Total solar module shipments for the fourth quarter of 2011 included 16.3 MW used in the Company's total solutions business.

By geography, in the fourth quarter of 2011, sales to European markets represented 46.5% of revenue, sales to North America represented 26.9% of revenue, and sales to Asia and all other markets represented 26.6% of revenue, compared to 61.7%, 16.1% and 22.2%, respectively, in the third quarter of 2011 and 70.9%, 10.3% and 18.8%, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2010.  Specifically, India, China and the U.S. were markets of notable positive growth for the Company in 2011.