Canadian Solar Raises Fourth Quarter 2011 Shipment Guidance to 430 MW to 440 MW

ONTARIO, Canada, Feb. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar companies, today updated its guidance for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2011. The updated guidance is based on Canadian Solar's current views with respect to operating and market conditions, its current order book and customers' forecasts, all of which are subject to change. The updated guidance may also become subject to adjustment based upon completion of the full-year reporting process, and audited results could differ materially from the estimates provided below.

For the fourth quarter of 2011, Canadian Solar expects solar module shipments to increase to approximately 430 MW to 440 MW. This is significantly higher than the original fourth quarter guidance of approximately 340 MW to 360 MW provided on November 22, 2011, and compares to shipments of 287 MW and 355 MW in the second and third quarter of 2011, respectively. The significantly higher shipment level in the fourth quarter of 2011 reflects stronger than expected demand from customers. The Company expects its gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2011 to be in line with prior guidance of 5% to 8%. For the fiscal year 2011 shipments are expected to be in the range of 1,316 to 1,326 MW, compared to prior guidance in the range of 1,200 to 1,300 MW.

Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar, remarked: "Canadian Solar continues to successfully execute on our business strategy. We are increasing shipments to customers in key markets worldwide, while at the same time aggressively reducing our manufacturing costs. In the market place we are winning by stressing our global brand, product quality, high performance, reliability and customer service. We are seeing continued gains in both solar module shipments to installers and in shipments related to our expanding project business. As an illustration of our business momentum, we recently signed agreement for Canadian Solar to develop and sell 9 fully-operational and commissioned utility-scale solar projects in the Province of Ontario, which are expected to contribute to the Company's revenue and profitability between late 2012 and mid-2013."

March 7, 2012 Conference Call Details

The Company will hold a conference call to discuss its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2011 and business outlook on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at 8:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time (9:00 p.m. March 7, 2012 in Hong Kong). The dial-in phone number is +1-617-213-8895 or +1-866-272-9941, with passcode 10107363.  A live webcast of the conference call will also be available on Canadian Solar's website at www.canadiansolar.com.

A replay of the call will be available approximately one hour after the conclusion of the live call through 10:00 a.m. on March 14, 2012, U.S. Eastern Time (10:00 p.m., March 14, 2012 in Hong Kong) by telephone at +1-617-801-6888.  To access the replay, use passcode 75429946. A webcast replay will also be available at www.canadiansolar.com.

About Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ)

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) is one of the world's largest solar companies. As a leading vertically integrated provider of ingots, wafers, solar cells, solar modules and other solar applications, Canadian Solar designs, manufactures and delivers solar products and solar system solutions for on-grid and off-grid use to customers worldwide. With operations in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, Canadian Solar provides premium quality, cost-effective and environmentally-friendly solar solutions to support global, sustainable development. For more information, please visit www.canadiansolar.com.

Safe Harbor/Forward-Looking Statements:

Certain statements in this press release including statements regarding our expected shipment volumes, expansion of worldwide sales and project business are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These statements are made under the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by such terms as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "estimates," the negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include the risks regarding the previously disclosed SEC investigation as well as general business and economic conditions and the state of the solar industry; governmental support for the deployment of solar power; future available supplies of high-purity silicon; demand for end-use products by consumers and inventory levels of such products in the supply chain; changes in demand from significant customers; changes in demand from major markets such as Germany; changes in customer order patterns; changes in product mix; capacity utilization; level of competition; pricing pressure and declines in average selling prices; delays in new product introduction; continued success in technological innovations and delivery of products with the features customers demand; shortage in supply of materials or capacity requirements; availability of financing; exchange rate fluctuations; litigation and other risks as described in the Company's SEC filings, including its annual report on Form 20-F filed on May 17, 2011. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance, or achievements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All information provided in this press release is as of today's date, unless otherwise stated, and Canadian Solar undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.