UPDATE 3-ECD's Q2 loss, bleak outlook send shares to 6-year low

* Q2 loss/shr $0.92 vs est loss of $0.43

* Q2 sales $52.9 mln vs est $49 mln

* Q2 utilization at 50 pct, sees Q3 utilization at 25 pct

* Says to run at low utilization to lower inventories

* Shares fall 11 pct (Adds conf call details, share movement)

By Adveith Nair

BANGALORE, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Energy Conversion Devices Inc ENER.O slumped to its third straight quarterly loss and warned of continuing underutilization, sending its shares down 11 percent to their lowest levels in almost six years.

The company, whose second-quarter loss was far worse than analysts' expectations, also refrained from giving a specific outlook, indicating continued poor visibility.

"We anticipate that results in the near term will be lumpy with inconsistent financial results," Chief Executive Mark Morelli said on a conference call with analysts.

Rochester Hills, Michigan-based ECD shares touched a low of $7.90, before paring some losses to trade down 92 cents at $7.97 Tuesday on Nasdaq. The stock was among the top percentage losers.

ECD makes lightweight, flexible solar laminates for rooftops and buildings that convert sunlight into electricity.

Like other solar companies, ECD has been hit by a lack of financing for new projects and a glut of panels that forced it to slash production capacity to 50 percent in the second quarter and axe a fifth of its workforce.

"Challenges surrounding restructuring at the company were evident amidst the numerous charges the company took in the quarter," Simmons & Co analyst Burt Chao said, adding that underutilization hurt results.

In the latest second quarter, when it was operating at 50 percent utilization, ECD recorded a related $7.4 million charge.

"In the third quarter, we will be at about 25 percent productive capacity...you can expect our manufactured cost per watt to go up," ECD executives said, adding that the company currently had about 44 megawatts in finished goods inventory.

"We anticipate that we will continue to run our factories at reduced levels for the next two quarters, to further reduce our inventory levels," CFO Harry Zike said on the call.

The company also said average selling prices fell 10 percent in the quarter, accounting for $3.9 million of the second-quarter loss. ECD had reported first-quarter ASP of $2.33/watt.

The company, however, said its ASPs were unlikely to be hurt by the proposed feed-in tariff (FIT) cuts in Germany. Germany had unveiled plans to slash subsidies for solar power in a move to ease the world's largest solar market towards free competition, drawing howls of protests from panel makers. [ID:nLDE60J0PA]

"I don't think that the changes in the German market will impact us directly on the ASP as we've traditionally not focused or sold well into the German markets," a company executive said.

Most industry leaders, including Yingli (YGE.N) and Suntech (STP.N) from China, Q-Cells (QCEG.DE) and SMA Solar (S92G.DE) from Germany and U.S. groups First Solar (FSLR.O) and SunPower SPWRA.O, have big sales exposure to Germany.

For the second quarter ended Dec. 31, 2009, ECD posted a loss of $39 million, or 92 cents a share, while analysts were looking for a loss of 43 cents a share. The company made a profit of 31 cents a share, a year ago. [ID:nWNAB4805] (Reporting by Adveith Nair in Bangalore; Editing by Maju Samuel)