ReneSola Ltd. Announces First Quarter 2012 Results

JIASHAN, China, May 11, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- ReneSola Ltd ("ReneSola" or the "Company") (NYSE: SOL), a leading global manufacturer of solar products, today announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012.

First Quarter 2012 Financial and Operating Highlights

•     Total solar wafer and module shipments in Q1 2012 were 466.0 megawatts ("MW"), exceeding Company guidance and representing an increase of 37.1% from 339.9 MW in Q4 2011.
•     Q1 2012 net revenues were US$211.5 million, exceeding Company guidance and representing an increase of 12.7% from US$187.7 million in Q4 2011.
•     Q1 2012 gross loss was US$8.0 million with a gross margin of negative 3.8%, which included a $12.2 million write-down for inventory, compared to a gross loss of US$43.4 million with a gross margin of negative 23.1% in Q4 2011. 
•     Q1 2012 operating loss was US$37.8 million with an operating margin of negative 17.9%, compared to an operating loss of US$52.7 million with an operating margin of negative 28.1% in Q4 2011.
•     Q1 2012 net loss was US$40.2 million, representing basic and diluted loss per share of US$0.23, and basic and diluted loss per American depositary share ("ADS") of US$0.47.
•     Cash and cash equivalents plus restricted cash were $388.3 million as of the end of Q1 2012, compared to US$437.4 million as of the end of Q4 2011.

"We continue to navigate what remains a challenging and substantially oversupplied global solar market by aggressively managing our costs," said Mr. Xianshou Li, ReneSola's chief executive officer. "At the same time, however, we have seen steady improvement in our module sales and have built up a backlog of orders, which we are confident will continue to increase. As such, we are working to leverage our R&D advantages in wafer technology, and specifically our Virtus wafer products, to produce higher-efficiency Virtus modules, which deliver a power output of 245 W to 255 W. Our Virtus modules will use our self-manufactured Virtus wafers, which represent ReneSola's core competitive strengths in wafer R&D and technology. On May 17, we will formally announce and kick-off marketing for our high-efficiency modules and diamond-steel wires at the Shanghai New Exhibition Center (SNEC) PV Power Expo. Additionally, our polysilicon project remains on track, and will give us important flexibility as the market continues to evolve."