GT Solar backs full-year profit view, shares rise

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters)- Solar equipment maker GT Solar International Inc posted quarterly profit ahead of Wall Street expectations and said cost controls could bump up profit margins even though a weak economy might hurt sales.

Shares rose 10 percent in extended trade as the company posted a 63 percent rise in quarterly profit and added $292 million of bookings, raising its backlog to over $1.4 billion from $1.26 billion at the end of the first quarter.

Solar system installer Akeena Solar Inc earlier on Thursday reported a wider net loss as costs rose, but the company said it still expected sales to rise between 30 percent and 40 percent this year.

GT Solar posted fiscal second-quarter net income of $27.9 million, or 19 cents per share, up from $17.1 million, or 12 cents per share, a year ago, and topping the average Wall Street projection of 14 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.

Revenue rose 71 percent to $140.2 million, up from $81.8 million during the same quarter a year ago.

The company forecast full-year revenue of $575 million to $650 million, down from a previous forecast of $600 million to $650 million, due to economic uncertainty, but kept earnings per share guidance flat at 70 to 75 cents.

Investors were pleased with GT Solar results, analysts said, but concerns arose after the company reported a few of its customers had pushed out their shipment dates for previously ordered equipment.

GT Solar assured investors that all customer orders were backed by large deposit amounts and letters of credit and no orders were canceled during the quarter.

"There was a lot of concern they would lower the guidance because of credit availability," said UBS analyst Stephen Chin, adding that news of the delayed shipments was "a little concerning."

Before the earnings report, GT Solar shares had closed at $4.48, down 14 percent, on Nasdaq. The company's shares have lost more than 70 percent of their value since the company went public in July at $16.50 a share.

Like the stocks of most solar companies, the Merrimack, New Hampshire-based company's shares have been hurt by concerns about a weak global economy, tightening access to credit and a pullback in government solar subsidies in big markets like Germany and Spain.

Although GT Solar's shares rose after the market closed, the future of solar stocks in the shaky global economy is still uncertain, according to Chin.

"The fact that (delivery) pushouts just started, it's consistent with the (downward) movement of solar stocks," he said.

AKEENA BACKS GROWTH OUTLOOK

Earlier in the day, Los Gatos, California-based Akeena's stock rose 1 percent to close at $2.94 after it backed its outlook for 2008 sales growth.

Akeena's third-quarter net loss was $5.5 million, or 19 cents per share, compared with $3.7 million, or 16 cents per share, a year ago.

Gross margins were hurt by costs for a transition to the company's new Andalay brand solar panels and by a higher percentage of commercial projects, which are less profitable.

Net sales were $10.6 million, up 31 percent from $8.1 million last year.

Real Goods Solar, a residential solar energy integrator, also reported a wider quarterly loss on costs related to both its IPO and multiple acquisitions within the last year. Its revenue, however, increased 141 percent thanks to acquisitions and strong demand for renewable energy sources.

The company posted a third-quarter net loss of $200,000, or a penny per share, compared with a net loss of $113,000, or a penny per share, a year ago.

Revenue for the quarter was $10.3 million, up 141 percent, from $4.3 million in the same period a year ago.

The Boulder, Colorado-based company went public this April and bought Independent Energy Systems in August.

Real Goods Solar merged with Regrid Power at the end of the third quarter, causing a leadership shake-up in the company. Tom McCalmont, the CEO of Regrid Power, became CEO of Real Goods Solar, while John Schaeffer, the former CEO of Real Goods, became the president of the merged company.

The company's third-quarter results excluded the merger with Regrid Power.

Real Goods Solar shares fell 3 percent in extended trade to $4.06 after closing at $4.20 on the Nasdaq, up. 4.2 percent on the day.

(Reporting by Jennifer Martinez; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz, Bernard Orr)