Gintech Energy, a Taiwan-based maker of crystalline silicon solar cells, expects its business operation for the second quarter of 2009 to continue suffering loss as seen in the preceding quarter, according to company president & CEO Ellick Liao at the company's 2009 shareholder meeting on June 10.
Gintech recorded a net operating loss of NT$328.0 million (US$9.9 million) and net loss of NT$359.5 million for the first quarter of 2009. While revenues for this quarter are expected to increase considerably from last quarter, larger drops in product prices than in material costs will have resulted in sales coming in at a loss, Liao pointed out. However, Gintech stands a chance of returning to profits on an operational level in the third quarter of 2009, Liao indicated.
With a capital expenditure budget of NT$1.6 billion, Gintech plans to expand its annual solar cell production capacity from 510MWp (megawatt-peak) currently to 660MWp along with 50MWp in solar cell module capacity in the first quarter of 2010, Liao pointed out. The solar cell output in 2009 is forecast at 250-300MWp, Liao noted.
Article translated by Adam Hwang
