Q-Cells Q1 2011 revenue drops by 46% Y/Y on sluggish market, regulatory changes

(ADPnews) - May 12, 2011 - German photovoltaic (PV) specialist Q-Cells SE (ETR:QCE) saw its revenue slump by 46% year-on-year to EUR 125.1 million (USD 177.2m) in the first quarter of 2011, driven down by the weak market demand and the uncertainty around regulatory changes for the solar sector in France and Italy.

The company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell to EUR 15.3 million from EUR 18.8 million a year earlier.

The loss before interest and tax expanded to EUR 10.6 million from EUR 9.3 million.

Q-Cells said earnings in the first quarter were dented by the fall in selling prices on one hand and the rising solar wafer and silver prices as well as the weak demand on the other.

Nevertheless, the company managed to reduce its net loss to EUR 41.1 million from EUR 46.4 million in the first three months of 2010.

Q-Cells said its total solar cells and thin-film modules production for the first quarter was 313 MWp. Solar cell production surged by 72.1% on the year to 284 MWp and thin-film modules production jumped to 29 MWp from only 9 MWp in the first quarter of last year.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.417)

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