Exhibit 99.1
GT Solar International, Inc. Reports Results for Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2010
Robust Order, Revenue and EPS Performance; Continued Strong Demand
MERRIMACK, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 2010--GT Solar International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOLR), a global provider of specialized production equipment, process technology and turnkey manufacturing services for the solar power industry, today reported results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2010, which ended April 3, 2010.
Revenue for the fourth fiscal quarter totaled $194.7 million, compared with $173.6 million in the third fiscal quarter and $138.5 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009. Revenue for the fourth fiscal quarter included $130.6 million in the polysilicon segment and $64.1 million in the Photovoltaic (PV) segment. Revenue for fiscal year 2010 finished at $544.2 million, versus $541.0 million dollars for fiscal year 2009. Revenue for fiscal year 2010 included $357.5 million in the polysilicon segment and $186.7 million in the PV segment.
Gross profit for the fourth quarter totaled $73.1 million, or 37.5 percent of revenue, compared to $76.7 million, or 44.2 percent of revenue in the third fiscal quarter and $39.5 million, or 28.5 percent of revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009. Gross profit for fiscal year 2010 was $219.0 million, or 40.2 percent of revenue, compared to $214.7 million, or 39.7 percent of revenue, for fiscal year 2009.
Operating margin for the quarter was 28.4 percent of revenue, compared to 33.2 percent of revenue in the third fiscal quarter and 15.3 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. Operating margin for fiscal year 2010 was 26.5 percent of revenue, consistent with fiscal year 2009.
The company had net income of $33.3 million in the fourth fiscal quarter, versus $36.8 million in the third fiscal quarter and $11.8 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. Earnings per share in the fourth quarter on a fully diluted basis were $0.23, versus $0.25 for the third fiscal quarter and $0.08 for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. Net income for fiscal year 2010 was $87.3 million compared to $88.0 million in fiscal year 2009. Earnings per share for fiscal year 2010 on a fully diluted basis were $0.60, versus $0.61 for fiscal year 2009.
Cash and short term investments at the end of the fourth quarter was $250.7 million, compared to $194.7 million at the end of the third fiscal quarter and $107.1 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009.
At fiscal year end, the company’s backlog was $906.2 million, with $464.9 million in the polysilicon segment and $441.3 million in the PV segment. Included in the total backlog was $334.3 million of deferred revenue. Net new orders for the quarter were $244.0 million.
Management Commentary
“The continued higher order rates we have been experiencing for our DSS furnaces since the third fiscal quarter led to a strong finish to the fiscal year,” said Tom Gutierrez, president and chief executive officer. “Many of our Asian PV customers are running at high utilization rates and making significant investments to increase capacity and better position themselves as low cost, high quality suppliers.
“During the fourth quarter, we booked net DSS orders of more than $250 million with a diverse set of customers, including several of the world’s leading low cost, high quality PV wafer manufacturers,” Gutierrez continued. “Our high win rate in the PV equipment market indicates that existing and new customers recognize that GT Solar’s superior DSS technology delivers greater total value in the form of increased throughput, improved crystal quality and ultimately lower cost.
“In our polysilicon business, we have seen an improvement in the size and quality of pipeline activity over the last several months. While the conversion to revenue is a longer term process in this business, we believe this activity is a noteworthy positive vector.”
Gutierrez concluded: “We are encouraged by the robust demand in the market today and are very well positioned to take advantage of future growth opportunities in the solar industry.”
Business Outlook
The company updated its fiscal year 2011 revenue and EPS guidance to the upper end of its previous range with revenue of $550 million to $600 million and fully diluted earnings per share of $0.55 to $0.65. The company will provide additional detail on its outlook during its live webcasted conference call this afternoon, details below.
Conference Call, Webcast
The company will host a live conference call and webcast at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time today with Tom Gutierrez, president and chief executive officer, Richard Gaynor, chief financial officer, and Dave Keck, vice president and general manager Polysilicon Division, to review quarterly and fiscal year results, near term outlook, commentary on the company’s strategy and longer-term outlook as well as an update on the polysilicon business segment.
The call is expected to last approximately 90 minutes and a slide presentation will accompany the call.
The live webcast of the call, including slides and audio, can be accessed at http://investor.gtsolar.com/. No password is required to access the webcast.
The live call can also be accessed by phone at 866.202.4683 for callers in the United States and Canada and 1.617.213.8846 for international callers. Phone password is SOLR.
Callers wishing to participate in the Q&A portion of the call must use the dial-in number above and should select the “Click here for slides only” version of the slide presentation at http://investor.gtsolar.com/.
A replay will be available through August 27, 2010. To access a webcast replay, that includes slides and audio, please go to http://investor.gtsolar.com/ and select the webcast replay link on the ‘Events and Presentations’ page. Or, for an audio-only replay, please dial 888.286.8010 for callers in the United States and Canada, or 617.801.6888 for international callers. The telephone replay passcode is 81853586.
About GT Solar International, Inc.
GT Solar International, Inc., based in Merrimack, NH, USA, is a leading global provider of specialized production equipment, process technology and turnkey manufacturing services for the solar power industry. The company's products and services allow its customers to optimize their manufacturing environments and lower their cost of ownership, accelerating the drive towards grid parity. For additional information about GT Solar, please visit www.gtsolar.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements in this press release are forward-looking in nature, including statements regarding order rates, factory utilization rates, investments for increased capacity, pipeline activity in the polysilicon segment, the Company’s new products and technologies and the Company’s estimates for future periods with respect to revenue, earnings per share, or other financial information. These statements are based on management’s current expectations or beliefs. These forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the Company’s control, which could cause actual events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements. These factors may include the possibility that the Company is unable to recognize revenue on contracts in its order backlog. Although the Company’s backlog as indicated above is based on signed purchase orders or other written contractual commitments in effect as of the end of our fourth fiscal quarter, we cannot guarantee that our bookings or order backlog will result in actual revenue in the originally anticipated period or at all, which could reduce our revenue, profitability and liquidity. Other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements include the possibility that changes in government incentives may reduce demand for solar products, which would, in turn, reduce demand for our equipment, technological changes could render existing products or technologies obsolete, the Company may be unable to protect its intellectual property rights, competition from other manufacturers may increase, exchange rate fluctuations and conditions in the credit markets and economy may reduce demand for the Company’s products and various other risks as outlined in GT Solar International, Inc.’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the statements under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal 2009 filed on June 9, 2009 and Form 10-Q for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 filed on February 5, 2010. Statements in this press release should be evaluated in light of these important factors. GT Solar International, Inc. is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any such obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
GT Solar International, Inc. and Subsidiaries |
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets |
(In thousands except per share data) |
(unaudited) |
| | | | | |
| | April 3,
2010 | | March 28,
2009 | |
| Assets | | | | | |
| Current assets: | | | | | |
| Cash and cash equivalents | | $ | 230,748 | | $ | 107,148 | |
| Short-term investments | | 19,967 | | --- | |
| Accounts receivable, net | | 52,620 | | 57,552 | |
| Inventories | | 68,858 | | 103,476 | |
| Advances on inventory purchases | | 17,110 | | 120,227 | |
| Deferred costs | | 131,986 | | 174,961 | |
| Deferred income taxes | | 72,868 | | 25,498 | |
| Refundable and prepaid income taxes | | 1,516 | | 40,329 | |
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | | 4,340 | | 2,825 | |
| Total current assets | | 600,013 | | 632,016 | |
| Property, plant and equipment, net | | 19,359 | | 18,856 | |
| Other assets | | 639 | | 940 | |
| Intangible assets, net | | 3,205 | | 6,368 | |
Deferred costs | | 66,265 | | 36,643 | |
| Goodwill | | 42,600 | | 42,600 | |
| Total assets | | $ | 732,081 | | $ | 737,423 | |
| Liabilities and stockholders’ equity | | | | | |
| Current liabilities: | | | | | |
| Accounts payable | | $ | 22,132 | | $ | 50,832 | |
| Accrued expenses | | 17,543 | | 15,695 | |
| Customer deposits | | 119,616 | | 222,654 | |
| Deferred revenue | | 229,951 | | 285,005 | |
| Accrued income taxes | | 33,621 | | 158 | |
| Total current liabilities | | 422,863 | | 574,344 | |
| Deferred income taxes | | 25,661 | | 15,647 | |
| Deferred revenue | | 104,396 | | 63,122 | |
| Other non-current liabilities | | 175 | | 2,405 | |
| Total liabilities | | 553,095 | | 655,518 | |
| | | | | |
| Commitments and contingencies | | — | | — | |
| | | | | |
| Stockholders’ equity: | | | | | |
| Preferred stock, 10,000 shares authorized, none issued and outstanding | | — | | — | |
Common stock, $0.01 par value, 500,000 shares authorized; 143,815 and
143,048 shares issued and outstanding as of April 3, 2010 and
March 28, 2009 respectively | | 1,438 | | 1,431 | |
| Additional paid-in capital | | 86,644 | | 80,070 | |
| Accumulated other comprehensive loss | | (5,145 | ) | (8,389 | ) |
| Retained earnings | | 96,049 | | 8,793 | |
| Total stockholders’ equity | | 178,986 | | 81,905 | |
| Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | | $ | 732,081 | | $ | 737,423 | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
GT Solar International, Inc. and Subsidiaries |
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations |
(In thousands, except per share data) |
(unaudited) |
| | | | | |
| | Three Months Ended | | Fiscal Year | |
| | April 3,
2010 | | March 28,
2009 | | April 3,
2010 | | March 28,
2009 | |
| Revenue | | $ | 194,676 | | $ | 138,544 | | $ | 544,245 | | $ | 541,027 | |
| Cost of revenue | | 121,605 | | 99,084 | | 325,263 | | 326,358 | |
| Gross profit | | 73,071 | | 39,460 | | 218,982 | | 214,669 | |
| Operating expenses: | | | | | | | | | |
| Research and development | | 5,059 | | 5,130 | | 21,410 | | 18,323 | |
| Selling and marketing | | 2,401 | | 3,003 | | 11,823 | | 17,469 | |
| General and administrative | | 9,490 | | 9,293 | | 38,623 | | 32,228 | |
| Amortization of intangible assets | | 791 | | 789 | | 3,164 | | 3,105 | |
| Total operating expenses | | 17,741 | | 18,215 | | 75,020 | | 71,125 | |
| Income from operations | | 55,330 | | 21,245 | | 143,962 | | 143,544 | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Interest income (expense): | | | | | | | | | |
| Interest income | | 125 | | 127 | | 420 | | 2,996 | |
| Interest expense | | (175 | ) | (179 | ) | (758 | ) | (483 | ) |
Interest component of forward
foreign exchange contracts | | 14 | | 268 | | (625 | ) | 2,135 | |
| Other income (expense), net | | (884 | ) | (1,571 | ) | (3,125 | ) | (6,012 | ) |
| Income before income taxes | | 54,410 | | 19,890 | | 139,874 | | 142,180 | |
| Provision for income taxes | | 21,139 | | 8,131 | | 52,618 | | 54,212 | |
| Net income | | $ | 33,271 | | $ | 11,759 | | $ | 87,256 | | $ | 87,968 | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Income per share: | | | | | | | | | |
| Basic | | $ | 0.23 | | $ | 0.08 | | $ | 0.61 | | $ | 0.62 | |
| Diluted | | $ | 0.23 | | $ | 0.08 | | $ | 0.60 | | $ | 0.61 | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Dividend paid per common share | | $ | -- | | $ | -- | | $ | -- | | $ | 0.632 | |
| | | | | | | | | |
Weighted average number of common
shares outstanding: | | | | | | | | | |
| Basic | | 143,711 | | 142,820 | | 143,409 | | 142,582 | |
| Diluted | | 145,432 | | 144,383 | | 145,390 | | 144,471 | |
CONTACT:
Media
GT Solar International, Inc.
Jeff Nestel-Patt, 603-204-2883
jeff.nestelpatt@gtsolar.com
or
Investors/Analysts
Bob Blair, 603-681-3869
bob.blair@gtsolar.com
