ReneSola shares rise on 4Q optimism

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of ReneSola Ltd. jumped Friday after the Chinese solar panel maker reported another quarterly loss, but said it expects its fortunes to improve in the fourth quarter thanks to an increase in shipments.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, ReneSola posted a loss of $78.6 million, or 91 cents per American depository share, compared with a loss of $8.2 million, or 9 cents per ADS, in the same quarter last year. The recent quarter's results were hurt by a $31.6 million write-down related to a drop in the value of its inventory.

Revenue rose 15 percent to $218.2 million from $189.1 million.

Analysts, on average, expected a loss of 31 cents per share on $215.8 million in revenue, according to a FactSet poll.

The company said its total solar wafer and module shipments rose 62 percent 532.8 megawatts. But the jump was offset by a drop in selling prices and continued weak demand from many markets.

Despite the tough market conditions, the company said it remains focused on cutting costs and improving its technology that will help its business grow.

For the fourth quarter, the company said it expects shipments to rise from third-quarter levels to between 635 megawatts and 675 megawatts. Revenue is projected at between $240 million and $260 million, below analyst expectations of $288.6 million. But the company added that it expects its fourth-quarter gross margin to be positive. Gross margin measures how much of each dollar in revenue generated it gets to keep.

ReneSola shares rose 10 cents, or 7.6 percent, to $1.28 in afternoon trading, after peaking at $1.30 earlier in the day. Over the past 52 weeks, the company's shares have traded between $1.08 and $3.38.