GT Solar International, Inc. Reports Results for Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2010

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20091109006406/en

Revenue of $104.2 million; net income of $9.4 million; EPS of $.06 and cash of
$204 million
MERRIMACK, N.H.--(Business Wire)--
GT Solar International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOLR), a global provider of specialized
production equipment, process technology and turnkey manufacturing services for
the solar power industry, today reported results for its second quarter of
fiscal year 2010, which ended September 26, 2009.

Revenue for the second fiscal quarter totaled $104.2 million, compared with
$140.2 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2009. Revenue for the second
fiscal quarter included $62.4 million in the PV segment and $41.8 million in the
polysilicon segment.

Gross profit for the quarter totaled $34.3 million, or 32.9 percent of revenue,
compared to $61.4 million, or 43.8 percent of revenue, for the second quarter of
fiscal year 2009. The company`s gross margin for the first half of fiscal 2010
was 39.3 percent. Operating margin for the quarter was 14.8 percent, compared to
30.8 percent in the second quarter of fiscal 2009. Operating margin for the
first half of fiscal year 2010 was 17.6 percent. The company had net income of
$9.4 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2010 versus $27.9 million for the
same quarter of fiscal 2009. Earnings per share in the second quarter on a fully
diluted basis were $0.06, versus $0.19 for the same quarter last year.

At quarter`s end, the company`s backlog was $1.03 billion, with $279 million in
the PV segment and $752 million in the polysilicon segment. New orders for the
quarter, net of de-bookings, were $20.1 million.

Management Commentary

"Our focus has been and continues to be on strengthening GT Solar`s competitive
and technology leadership positions in the solar equipment industry," said Tom
Gutierrez, president and chief executive officer. "In fiscal year 2010 to date,
we have posted solid financial results, maintained what we believe to be one of
the industry`s strongest balance sheets with $204 million of cash and no debt,
and we are continuing to significantly increase our investment in R&D.

"In the second quarter, we received new orders of $30.7 million including the
first for our new SDR-400 reactor and for engineering services in our new silane
business, as well as an order for our multi-crystalline furnaces from a new
customer that has historically been a mono-crystalline wafer manufacturer,"
continued Gutierrez. "We are also seeing continued evidence that our reputation
for quality, performance and industry-leading efficiencies is providing strong
differentiation in the marketplace."

Business Outlook

The company indicated today that its previous guidance for fiscal year ending
April 3, 2010, for revenue of $450 million to $550 million and fully diluted
earnings per share of $0.45 to $0.60, remains unchanged. The company also
indicated its overall gross margin for the year is expected to be comparable to
its year to date gross margin of approximately 39 percent.

Conference Call, Webcast

The company will host a live conference call and webcast at 5:00 p.m. Eastern
Time today with Tom Gutierrez, president and chief executive officer, and Rich
Johnson, vice president of finance.

To listen to the conference call, callers in the United States and Canada may
dial 1.800.510.9834. International callers may dial 1.617.614.3669. The
conference call passcode is SOLR. A link to the live audio webcast of the
company's earnings conference call may be found under `Events` at
http://investor.gtsolar.com/.

A telephone replay will be available through January 8, 2010. To listen to the
replay, callers in the United States and Canada may dial 1.888.286.8010.
International callers may dial 1.617.801.6888. The replay passcode is 18866870.

About GT Solar International, Inc.

GT Solar International, Inc., based in Merrimack, NH, USA, is a leading global
provider of specialized production equipment, process technology and turnkey
manufacturing services for the solar power industry. The company's products and
services allow its customers to optimize their manufacturing environments and
lower their cost of ownership, accelerating the drive towards grid parity. For
additional information about GT Solar, please visit www.gtsolar.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements in this press release are forward-looking in nature,
including statements regarding the Company`s future as a leading equipment and
technology supplier for the global solar power industry, the Company`s new
products and technologies and the Company`s estimates for future periods with
respect to revenue, earnings per share, gross margin or other financial
information. These statements are based on management`s current expectations or
beliefs. These forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of performance and
are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are
outside the Company`s control, which could cause actual events to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by the statements. These factors may
include the possibility that the Company is unable to recognize revenue on
contracts in its order backlog. Although the Company`s backlog as indicated
above is based on signed purchase orders or other written contractual
commitments in effect as of the end of our second fiscal quarter, we cannot
guarantee that our bookings or order backlog will result in actual revenue in
the originally anticipated period or at all, which could reduce our revenue,
profitability and liquidity. Other factors that may cause actual events to
differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking
statements include the possibility that technological changes could render
existing products or technologies obsolete, the Company may be unable to protect
its intellectual property rights, competition from other manufacturers may
increase, exchange rate fluctuations and conditions in the credit markets and
economy may reduce demand for the Company`s products and various other risks as
outlined in GT Solar International, Inc.`s filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including the statements under the heading "Risk Factors"
in the Company`s annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal 2009 filed on June 9,
2009 and Form 10-Q for the first quarter of fiscal 2010 filed on August 5, 2009.
Statements in this press release should be evaluated in light of these important
factors. GT Solar International, Inc. is under no obligation to, and expressly
disclaims any such obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or
otherwise.

GT Solar International, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In thousands except per share data)

(Unaudited)

September 26, March 28,
2009 2009
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 204,257 $ 107,148
Accounts receivable, net 24,325 57,552
Inventories 78,665 103,476
Advances on inventory purchases 50,897 120,227
Deferred costs 226,461 174,961
Deferred income taxes 27,164 25,498
Refundable and prepaid income taxes 677 40,329
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 1,724 2,825
Total current assets 614,170 632,016
Property, plant and equipment, net 17,895 18,856
Other assets 777 940
Intangible assets, net 4,786 6,368
Deferred cost 66,538 36,643
Advances on inventory purchases 15,040 -
Goodwill 42,600 42,600
Total assets $ 761,806 $ 737,423
Liabilities and stockholders` equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 13,400 $ 50,832
Accrued expenses 13,644 15,695
Customer deposits 135,434 222,654
Deferred revenue 364,232 285,005
Accrued income taxes -- 158
Total current liabilities 526,710 574,344
Deferred income taxes 20,577 15,647
Deferred revenue 107,290 63,122
Other non-current liabilities 965 2,405
Total liabilities 655,542 655,518

Commitments and contingencies (Note 8) -- -

Stockholders` equity:
Preferred stock, 10,000 shares authorized, none issued and outstanding -- -
Common stock, $0.01 par value, 500,000 shares authorized; 143,382 and 143,048 shares 1,434 1,431
issued and outstanding as of September 26, 2009 and March 28, 2009 respectively
Additional paid-in capital 83,636 80,070
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (4,813 ) (8,389 )
Retained earnings 26,007 8,793
Total stockholders` equity 106,264 81,905
Total liabilities and stockholders` equity $ 761,806 $ 737,423

GT Solar International, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

(In thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
September 26, September 27, September 26, September 27,
2009 2008 2009 2008
Revenue $ 104,193 $ 140,192 $ 176,012 $ 197,274
Cost of revenue 69,934 78,821 106,788 111,606
Gross profit 34,259 61,371 69,224 85,668
Operating expenses:
Research and development 4,637 4,049 11,036 7,865
Selling and marketing 3,158 5,044 7,025 8,828
General and administrative 10,237 8,348 18,566 16,124
Amortization of intangible assets 791 762 1,582 1,553
Total operating expenses 18,823 18,203 38,209 34,370
Income from operations 15,436 43,168 31,015 51,298
Interest income (expense):
Interest income 122 1,069 164 2,321
Interest expense (204) (67) (381) (67)
Interest component of forward foreign exchange contracts -- 1,368 (639) 1,944
Other income (expense), net 182 (1,657) (2,181) (3,099)
Income before income taxes 15,536 43,881 27,978 52,397
Provision for income taxes 6,101 15,939 10,764 19,312
Net income $ 9,435 $ 27,942 $ 17,214 $ 33,085
Income per share:
Basic $ 0.07 $ 0.20 $ 0.12 $ 0.23
Diluted $ 0.06 $ 0.19 $ 0.12 $ 0.23

Dividend paid per common share -- $ 0.632 -- $ 0.632

Weighted average number of common shares outstanding:
Basic 143,339 142,398 143,228 142,344
Diluted 145,198 145,075 145,265 145,119

GT Solar International, Inc.
Media
Susan Vaillancourt, 603-589-3782
susan.vaillancourt@gtsolar.com
or
Investors/Analysts
Bob Blair, 603-681-3869
bob.blair@gtsolar.com

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