=Canadian Solar (CSIQ) reported earnings on Thur 10 March 2016 (b/o)

Canadian Solar beats by $0.32, beats on revs; guides Q1 and FY16 rev below consensus :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.05 per share, $0.32 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.73; revenues rose 17.2% year/year to $1.12 bln vs the $1.03 bln Capital IQ Consensus. 
  • Total solar module shipments were a quarterly record high of 1,430 MW, of which 1,398 MW were recognized in revenue, compared to 1300-1350 mW guidance and  1,150 MW recognized in revenue in Q3.
• Co issues guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs of $645-695 mln vs. $799.90 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  • Company expects total module shipments to be in the range of ~1,085 MW to 1,135 MW, including ~15 MW of shipments to the Company's utility-scale solar projects that may not be recognized in first quarter 2016 revenue. Gross margin expected to be between 12% and 14%.
• Co issues guidance for FY16, sees FY16 revs of $2.9-3.1 bln vs. $3.37 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  • For the full year 2016, the Company expects total module shipments to be in the range of ~5.4 GW to 5.5 GW, with ~5.0 GW recognized in revenue. The Company expects its cost of production to decrease throughout the year as new internal wafer, cell module capacities come online both inside and outside China, and the percentage of external purchase and OEM is reduced. Management expects that the increase in vertical integration along the manufacturing steps will help the Company maintain or improve its gross margin.