In the news release, "China Sunergy Announces Update on Commercial
Production of Selective Emitter Cells", issued today by China Sunergy Co.,
Ltd.
(Nasdaq: CSUN) through Xinhua PR Newswire, we are advised by the company that
in the last sentence of the fifth paragraph, the year should read "2007" and
not "2008" as originally issued inadvertently. The full sentence should read,
"The company now expects high efficiency cell production output to be over 2
MW from the previously estimated 1.5 MW for the full-year 2007."
China Sunergy Co., Ltd.
------
China Sunergy Announces Update on Commercial Production of Selective Emitter
Cells
NANJING, China, Dec. 17 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- China Sunergy Co., Ltd.
("China Sunergy" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: CSUN), a specialized solar cell
manufacturer based in Nanjing, China, announced today that the Company has
achieved very encouraging initial results during commercial production of its
selective emitter cells.
From 10th November to 14th December (the "Period"), the Company produced
approximately 380,000 pieces of selective emitter cells on one of its six
production lines, compared to approximately 36,000 pieces, produced during
October. The average daily conversion efficiency rates of the cells produced
during the Period were in the range of 17.1% and 17.9% with the average
conversion efficiency for the Period being 17.5%. The Company also observed
that the peak efficiency reached 18.4%.
Despite the substantial increase in conversion efficiency rates, the
Company's incremental costs, that consisted mainly of depreciation and other
raw material costs, were marginal for selective emitter cell production over
more traditional P-type cell production.
Furthermore, the Company's selective emitter cells have demonstrated lower
than expected "choosiness" and "reliance" on wafer quality during production,
as mediocre or even low quality wafers can be produced into high efficiency
selective emitter cells.
To further increase the daily production quantity on the newly
reconfigured selective emitter cell line, the Company is in the process of
purchasing ancillary production equipment from local vendors to finalize the
debottlenecking initiatives with minimal increase to its overall capital
expenditure. The Company expects daily production of selective emitter cells
to substantially increase once the debottlenecking exercise is completed
around the turn of this year. The company now expects high efficiency cell
production output to be over 2 MW from the previously estimated 1.5 MW for the
full-year 2008.
In June 2007, the Company placed orders to buy four new solar cell lines.
All these new cell lines will be equipped for selective emitter cell
production. Once they commence massive commercial production in late July
2008,
five out of ten production lines operating at China Sunergy's facilities will
be rolling out high efficiency selective emitter cells.
Commenting on the announcement, Dr. Zhao Jianhua, CTO of China Sunergy,
said: "The initial efficiency rates achieved by our selective emitter cells,
and the low sensitivity these cells demonstrated towards varying wafer
quality,
are extremely encouraging. This has allowed the R&D team to shift its effort
onto other new high efficiency technologies. As the Company steps up its
production of these high efficiency cells, and further fine-tunes the
production equipment and processing sequences, I expect to see average
conversion rates to rise to around 18%."
Commenting further, Dr. Allen Wang, CEO of China Sunergy, said: "Our
ability to consistently keep the average daily conversion efficiency rates
well above 17% and reach peak rates of 18.4% during large scale commercial
production is a considerable achievement. This gives me great confidence that
we can leverage our technological advantages to improve margins and reduce our
overall reliance on the quality of supply during 2008. Even though we will see
a marginal increase to our cost base, this is more than offset by the pricing
premium incremental output they command. This will lead to a marked
improvement to our gross margin profile over what could be achieved through
normal P-type cell production.
"I believe that China Sunergy is one of the very few solar cell companies
globally that has not only declared a promising R&D roadmap but also delivered
solid execution and commercial successes under it. Our R&D efforts are now
focusing on other varieties of high-efficiency cells, as well as ways to
further improve the efficiencies we have achieved so far with selective
emitter cells.
"Due to the ongoing polysilicon supply tightness and the relatively low
overall proportion of high efficiency cells we anticipate producing in the
first half of 2008, our blended profitability may still be under some
pressure.
As we produce a greater proportion of high efficiency cells during the second
half of 2008, and potentially see a greater contribution from other new
products now being developed, we should start to see upside in our financial
performance. Should the supply landscape become more balanced, we believe that
our technological leadership will put us in a very favorable position among
mid and downstream solar manufacturers."
About China Sunergy Co., Ltd.:
China Sunergy Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq: CSUN) ("China Sunergy") is a leading
manufacturer of solar cell products in China as measured by production
capacity. China Sunergy manufactures solar cells from silicon wafers utilizing
crystalline silicon solar cell technology to convert sunlight directly into
electricity through a process known as the photovoltaic effect. China Sunergy
sells solar cell products to Chinese and overseas module manufacturers and
system integrators, who assemble solar cells into solar modules and solar
power systems for use in various markets. For more information please visit
http://www.chinasunergy.com .
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by such
terms as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "estimates," the
negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology. Factors that could
cause actual results to differ include the effectiveness, profitability, and
the marketability of the company's products; the ability of the company to
operate as a public company; the period of time for which its current
liquidity will enable the company to fund its operations; future shortage or
availability of the supply of raw materials; general economic and business
conditions; the volatility of the company's operating results and financial
condition; the company's ability to attract or retain qualified senior
management personnel and research and development staff; and other risks
detailed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates
and projections about the companies and the industry. The company undertakes
no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent
occurring events or circumstances, or to changes in its expectations, except
as may be required by law. Although the company believes that the expectations
expressed in these forward looking statements are reasonable, they cannot
assure you that their expectations will turn out to be correct, and investors
are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated
results.
For further information, please contact:
China Sunergy
Fischer Chen
Email: fischer.chen@chinasunergy.com
Financial Dynamics
Julian Wilson:
Tel: +86-10-8591-1951
Email: julian.wilson@fd.com
Peter Schmidt
Tel: +1-212-850-5654
Email: peter.schmidt@fd.com
SOURCE China Sunergy Co., Ltd.
China Sunergy - Fischer Chen, fischer.chen@chinasunergy.com; or Financial
Dynamics - Julian Wilson, +86-10-8591-1951, or julian.wilson@fd.com; or Peter
Schmidt, +1-212-850-5654, or peter.schmidt@fd.com, both for China Sunergy Co.,
Ltd.
