Solar cell maker Gintech Energy Corp (昱晶能源) is expected to benefit from improving market conditions and its high exposure to the Japanese market, Yuanta Securities Corp (元大證券) said in a report yesterday.
The company, which reported a net loss of NT$382 million (US$12.9 million) in the first half of the year, is therefore forecast to swing into profit in the second half, Yuanta analyst Felix Hsu (徐凰原) said in the report.
In addition, as major Taiwanese solar cell makers are expected to operate their facilities at full utilization rate next quarter, there is a potential price rebound in store for solar cells, he said.
Gintech’s consolidated revenue increased 8.93 percent year-on-year to NT$1.34 billion in August due to stabilizing prices, ending 18 consecutive months of declines.
In the first eight months of this year, cumulative revenue totaled NT$9.42 billion, down 12.46 percent year-on-year, company data showed.
Yuanta forecast that the company will see revenue expand 2.5 percent to NT$14.3 billion this year from last year and grow another 13 percent next year to NT$16.18 billion.
Gintech is expected to post a net profit of NT$113 million in the July-to-December period, Yuanta said. While the company would remain in the red for the whole of this year, with a net loss of NT$269 million, it could achieve a net profit of NT$631 million next year, the brokerage forecast.
Separately, Gintech yesterday said it had terminated long-term wafer supply contracts with an unnamed foreign company because of a change in market conditions.
The company said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange that it also reached agreements with the unnamed foreign wafer supplier about how to handle the remaining amount of advance payment or deposit.
The filing said the termination of the contracts would have little impact on Gintech’s finance and business. However, it did not say when the unnamed foreign firm would again start supplying solar wafers to the Miaoli County-based firm.
Gintech’s shares closed up 2.05 percent at NT$29.9 yesterday.
So far this year, the stock has risen 7.72 percent, compared with the broader market’s increase of 6.16 percent.
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