Canadian Solar Updates Expectations For Q1 2010

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Apr 20, 2010, 04:00 ET

ONTARIO, Canada, April 20 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. ("the Company", "Canadian Solar" or "we") (Nasdaq: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar power companies, today announced that based on selected unaudited financial results, it now expects PV module shipments in the first quarter of 2010 to be approximately 189 MW to 191 MW, with gross margins at 13% to 13.5%. This compares to prior expectations for shipments of approximately 180 MW to 190 MW and gross margin in the mid-teens. The Company expects to incur a material net foreign exchange loss for the quarter, estimated at US $18 million to US $20 million pre-tax, due to the significant depreciation of the Euro against the U.S. dollar during the quarter.

Arthur Chien, CFO, said: "Demand for our products was very strong in Q1 and we were able to maintain our raw materials prices as well as our processing costs within the expected range for the quarter. The Euro depreciated dramatically during the quarter and we did not have adequate currency hedging to cover our Euro exposure. We have since taken actions to significantly increase our currency hedging, with approximately 85% of our expected Euro exposure for the second quarter of 2010 now protected."

Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO commented: "Based on current market conditions and our order book, we expect continued strong demand in the second quarter of 2010. We expect to maintain a similar gross margin in Q2 2010 through supply cost control, internal process improvement and product pricing adjustments."

The above outlook is based on the Company's current views with respect to operating and market conditions, its current order book and customer' forecasts, which are subject to change. The risks to guidance also include changes in product pricing, availability and pricing of feedstock, and the project financing environment.

Additional information relating to the first quarter 2010 will be available when the Company reports its results.

About Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ)

Canadian Solar Inc. is one of the world's largest solar companies. As a leading vertically integrated provider of ingot, wafer, solar cell, solar module 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 and Asia, Canadian Solar provides premium quality, cost-effective and environmentally-friendly solar solutions to support global, sustainable development. For more information on Canadian Solar Inc., visit http://www.canadiansolar.com .

Safe Harbor/Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release including statements 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 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, including customers of our silicon materials sales; changes in demand from major markets such as Germany and Canada; risks associated with building our new Ontario facility; 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 originally filed on June 8, 2009, as amended by its report on Form 20-F/A filed on October 14, 2009. 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.