Solar sales to soar, but will profits follow?

Higherthanexpected sales estimates this month from Chinas JA Solar and U.S.based Evergreen Solar have boosted expectations for the sector, as demand for panels that turn sunlight into electricity rebounds sharply from 2009.

Results should be pretty strong on the balance, said Simmons & Co analyst Burt Chao. If we havent passed the bottom, were very, very close to it, he added.

Much of this years surge in demand has occurred in Germany, where renewable energy developers have rushed to get projects in place ahead of planned cuts in incentives that have made the country the worlds largest solar market.

Sales are not going to be the problem this quarter. It was not the problem last quarter either. The big question for most companies will be margins, said Pavel Molchanov, analyst with Raymond James in Houston.

Increased competition from Asian companies and last years slump pushed down average selling prices for modules as much as 40 percent in 2009, squeezing profit margins for the nascent industry. Just recently, Canadian Solar warned firstquarter margins would fall below an earlier estimate.

And despite strong demand, most solar stocks, and stocks of cleantech companies generally, have struggled this year.

Since the start of 2010, the Wilderhill Clean Energy Index, an index made up of green energy companies, has sunk 5.3 percent. By comparison, the S&P 500 has risen 9.2 percent.

Shares are not likely to see a significant upswing soon, most analysts say, as markets wait to see what will happen after the German cuts. Some say demand will drop and that companies, which have been working to bulk up their capacities, will be stuck with excess supply.

The German government is set to reduce most of the mandated prices paid for electricity from German solar arrays starting in July, with proposed cuts of 16 percent for rooftop panels.

The stock underperformance is driven by the concern... that theres too much supply and that panel prices are falling, said Wunderlich Securities analyst Theo ONeill.

He predicted that average selling prices of modules would drop another 20 percent in 2010, mostly in the second half.

First Solar Inc, the industrys lowest cost manufacturer, is the first to kickoff firstquarter earnings releases, while JA Solar Holdings reports on May 11, Chinas Suntech Power Holding and LDK Solar on May 21, Yingli Green Energy on May 22, and Canadian Solar on May 26.

The European sector leaders SolarWorld, QCells and SMA Solar are expected to report firstquarter results in the second week of May.

Those European players have been battling to maintain market share on their home turf as they face stiff price competition from lower cost Chinese producers.

Still, analysts forecast earnings to be strong as European companies are likely to be the principal benefactors of German demand. New European markets like Italy are also seen stepping up this year.

The Chinese companies, which have grown rapidly over the past two years, could disappoint investors as the exceptional demand forced many of them to outsource cell and wafer production to meet sales agreements, according to Gordon Johnson, analyst with Hapoalim Securities.

Theyre having to go buy product in the spot market, which is more expensive than making it internally, he said.