Jinkosolar sees higher second-quarter panel shipments

(Reuters) - Chinese solar company JinkoSolar Holding Co (JKS.N) reported a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss on weak demand and lower selling prices, but forecast a rise in module shipments in the current quarter.

Shares of the company, valued at $101.3 million, were down 7 percent at $4.21 on the New York stock exchange on Wednesday. The stock has lost about 83 percent of its value in the last one year, compared with a 73 percent decline in the broader MAC Global Energy Index .SUNIDX.

The company expects solar module shipments to rise to 200 to 240 megawatt (MW) in the second quarter from 157.1 MW in the first.

A number of Chinese solar companies like Trina Solar Ltd (TSL.N), Canadian Solar Inc (CSIQ.O) and Trina Solar (CSUN.O) have forecast higher second-quarter shipments.

JinkoSolar said it had a loss of $56.6 million, or $2.55 per American Depositary Share(ADS), in the first quarter.

On an adjusted basis, the loss was $2.36 per ADS. Analysts were expecting a loss of $1.12 per ADS, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Quarterly revenue fell 51 percent to $168.3 million.

"Business conditions continued to be challenging during the first quarter as demand and prices remained weak due to economic uncertainty, especially in Europe, and a global oversupply of solar products," Chief Executive Kangping Chen said in a statement.

Solar manufacturers have struggled as prices of panels that turn sunlight into electricity have tumbled sharply since the beginning of 2011 due to a glut in supply.

That has in turn shrunk margins across the industry, forcing dozens of companies in China, Europe and the United States to shut down.

(Reporting by Sunayan Bhattacharjee in Bangalore; Editing by Roshni Menon)

(This June 20 story has been corrected to fix headline, first and third paragraphs to clarify that the company forecast higher module shipments, not lower)