SunPower Q4 Results Top Estimates; Guides Q1 Above View

(RTTNews) - Solar power products company SunPower Corp. (SPWR) reported Wednesday a profit for the fourth quarter compared to a loss last year, primarily reflecting lower charges and operating expenses as well as higher gross margins.

Both adjusted earnings per share and revenues topped analysts' expectations. The company also provided adjusted earnings and revenue forecast for the first quarter and the full-year 2014.

"SunPower delivered another strong quarter across all business segments as we exceeded our revenue and profit targets for the quarter and the year," said Chuck Boynton, SunPower CFO. "Additionally, we strengthened our balance sheet while generating approximately $270 million in free cash flow in 2013 by prudently managing our working capital," CFO Chuck Boynton said in a statement.

The San Jose, California-based solar panel maker posted net income of $22.34 million or $0.15 per share for the fourth quarter, compared to a net loss of $144.77 million or $1.22 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted net income for the quarter was $0.47 per share, compared to last year's $0.18 per share. On average, 14 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.28 per share for the fourth quarter. Analysts' estimate typically exclude special items.

Revenues for the quarter declined to $638.13 million from $678.53 million in the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, adjusted revenue of $758.19 million came in above eight Wall Street analysts' consensus estimates of $707.96 million.

Americas revenues plunged to $ 382.65 million from $520.20 million, while EMEA revenues soared to $154.29 million from $89.41 million last year. APAC revenues grew to $101.20 million from $68.92 million a year ago.

Total operating expenses for the quarter plunged to $93.99 million from $159.16 million in the prior-year quarter. Gross margin sharply expanded 13.6 percentage points to to 20.5 percent, and adjusted gross margin improved 170 percentage points to 20.4 percent from last year.

"Our technology and operations teams continue to drive down panel cost as we reduced our annual costs by more than 20 percent for the second year in a row. Additionally, our new 350-megawatt (MW) Fab remains on track and we expect first silicon production in less than 12 months," President and CEO Tom Werner noted.

For fiscal 2013, the company posted net income of $95.59 million or $0.70 per share, compared to a net loss of $352.02 million or $3.01 per share in the prior year. Excluding items, adjusted net income for the year was $1.68 per share, compared to last year's $0.18 per share. Revenues for the full year grew to $2.51 billion from $2.42 billion in the previous year. Meanwhile, adjusted revenue was $2.60 billion.

Street was looking for full-year 2013 earnings of $1.40 per share on annual revenues of $2.55 billion.

Looking ahead to the first quarter of fiscal 2014, the company expects adjusted earnings in a range of $0.25 to $0.40 per share, on projected adjusted revenues between $650 million and $700 million. Analysts currently expect the company to report first-quarter earnings of $0.23 per share, on quarterly revenues of $609.65 million.

For fiscal 2014, the company expects adjusted earnings in a range of $1.00 to $1.30 per share, on projected adjusted revenues between $2.4 billion and $2.6 billion. Analysts expect the company to report full-year 2014 earnings of $1.18 per share on annual revenues of $2.63 billion.

SPWR closed Wednesday's regular trading at $31.62, up $0.50 or 1.61% on a volume of 4.08 million shares. However, the stock lost $1.50 or 4.74 in after-hours trading.