SOLR GT Solar International, Inc. (MM)

GT Solar International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOLR) today reported results for its first quarter of fiscal year 2012, which ended July 2, 2011.

First quarter revenue totaled $231.1 million, compared to $271.6 million last quarter and up 71% from the $135.2 million of revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2011. Revenue by business segment for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 was $23.9 million in polysilicon, $198.6 million in photovoltaic (PV), and $8.6 million in the sapphire segment, all of which was sapphire materials revenue.

Gross profit for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 totaled $113.4 million, or 49.1 percent of revenue, up from $116.9 million, or 43.0 percent of revenue in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 and $45.9 million, or 34.0 percent of revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2011.

Operating margin for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 was 34.0 percent of revenue, compared to 30.5 percent of revenue in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 and 20.0 percent in the first quarter of fiscal 2011.

The company had net income of $52.1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 compared to $51.9 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 and $16.5 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2011.

Earnings per share in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 on a fully-diluted basis were $0.41, versus $0.41 for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 and $0.11 for the first quarter of fiscal 2011.

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2012 were $473.4 million, up from $362.7 million at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 and compared to $276.4 million of cash and short term investments at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2011. In addition, the company had debt of $95.6 million at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2012, down from $120.3 million at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 and zero debt at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2011.

As of July 2, 2011, the company’s backlog was $2.3 billion, the highest level of quarter-ending backlog ever achieved by the company. This included $978.2 million in the polysilicon segment, $369.6 million in the PV segment and $952.5 million in the sapphire segment. Included in the total backlog was $395.7 million of deferred revenue.

Net new orders for the first quarter were $1.3 billion, which included $464.7 million in polysilicon, $95.2 million in PV and $776.8 million in sapphire.

Management Commentary

“We were pleased to deliver strong top and bottom line performance in the first quarter as well as record gross margin percentage, bookings, backlog and cash balance,” said Tom Gutierrez, president and chief executive officer. “These results stem from our continued leadership across all of our business segments driven by our focus on innovation, superior service, and excellent product performance.

“We believe our efforts to diversify the company’s revenue base position us to weather cyclicality that we may encounter in the PV, polysilicon and LED industries. Meanwhile, our strong balance sheet and cash generation capabilities enable us to evaluate additional strategic opportunities to strengthen the company’s long-term growth prospects.

“Bolstered by our $2.3 billion backlog position, we are confident in our ability to achieve our FY12 guidance and also believe that we have built a solid foundation for continued growth in FY13 and beyond.”

New Investor Financial Summary Document

The company has created a new summary of financial information which can be found on the Investor Relations section of its website in the “Featured Documents” section and the “Q1 FY12 Earnings Call” webcast page. To access: http://investor.gtsolar.com.

Business Outlook

The company reiterated its fiscal 2012 guidance for revenue in the range of $1.0 billion to $1.1 billion, and for fully diluted earnings per share in the range of $1.55 to $1.85 based on estimated weighted average diluted shares outstanding of approximately 131 million. The company is raising its gross margin guidance to a range of 43 percent to 45 percent up from the prior guidance of 42 percent to 44 percent.

The company will provide additional details on its fiscal 2012 guidance during its live webcasted conference call. See details below.

Name, Ticker and CUSIP Change

Effective Monday August 8th with the market open on NASDAQ the company will change its name, website, ticker, and CUSIP as follows:

Effective Monday, August 8, 2011 as of Market Open on NASDAQNew Name: GT Advanced Technologies Inc.New Website: www.gtat.comNew Ticker: GTAT (NASDAQ)New CUSIP: 36191U 106

Conference Call, Webcast

Tomorrow morning, Thursday, August 4, 2011, at 8:00am ET the company will host a live conference call to discuss quarterly results and the company’s longer-term outlook with Tom Gutierrez, president and chief executive officer, and Richard Gaynor, chief financial officer.

The call will be webcast live and can be accessed by logging on to the "Investors" section of GT Solar's website, www.gtsolar.com. No password is required to access the webcast. A slide presentation will accompany the call.

The live call can also be accessed by dialing 866.783.2146 for callers in the United States and Canada and 857.350.1605 for international callers. The telephone passcode is SOLR.

A replay of the call will be available through October 31, 2011. To access the replay, please go to http://investor.gtsolar.com/ and select the webcast replay link on the ‘Events and Presentations’ page. Or, please dial 888 286.8010 for callers in the United States and Canada, or 617 801.6888 for international callers. The telephone replay passcode is 23180500.

About GT Solar International, Inc.

GT Solar International, Inc. is a global provider of polysilicon production technology, and sapphire and silicon crystalline growth systems and materials for the solar, LED and other specialty markets. The company's products and services allow its customers to optimize their manufacturing environments and lower their cost of ownership. Effective August 8, 2011, GT Solar will be changing its name to GT Advanced Technologies as it establishes a new global brand. The new name reflects the broader range of markets and technologies the company now addresses since its acquisition of Crystal Systems in July of 2010. For additional information about GT Solar, please visit www.gtsolar.com or www.gtat.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the information in this press release are “forward-looking statements” for the purposes of the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to, all statements under the caption “Business Outlook,” the Company’s estimates for future periods with respect to revenue, earnings per share, gross margins and other financial information our ability to weather cyclicality that we may encounter, our ability to achieve our FY12 guidance and our ability to achieve continued growth in FY13 and beyond. 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 is based on signed purchase orders or other written contractual commitments in effect as of the end of our third 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 changes in government incentives may reduce demand for solar products, which would, in turn, reduce demand for our equipment, 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 2011 filed on May 25, 2011. 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)

 

July 2,2011

April 2,2011

Assets Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $473,391 $362,749 Accounts receivable, net 55,426 87,134 Inventories 162,021 127,572 Deferred costs 107,641 125,805 Vendor advances 24,823 20,044 Deferred income taxes 64,153 62,539 Refundable income taxes 1,516 21,780 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 13,333 17,114 Total current assets 902,304 824,737 Property, plant and equipment, net 62,052 54,441 Other assets 7,759 9,930 Intangible assets, net 21,635 22,705 Deferred cost 120,859 129,301 Goodwill 84,806 85,178 Total assets $1,199,415 $1,126,292 Liabilities and stockholders’ equity Current liabilities: Current portion of long-term debt $18,750 $18,750 Accounts payable 40,233 63,401 Accrued expenses 28,550 39,987 Contingent consideration 6,619 4,837 Customer deposits 263,551 144,429 Deferred revenue 191,113 247,495 Accrued income taxes 32,142 23,014 Total current liabilities 580,958 541,913 Long-term debt 76,875 101,563 Deferred income taxes 49,321 59,080 Deferred revenue 204,566 198,022 Contingent consideration 5,289 6,391 Other non-current liabilities 269 817 Accrued income taxes 19,653 16,566 Total liabilities 936,931 924,352 Commitments and contingencies Stockholders’ equity: Preferred stock, 10,000 shares authorized, none issued and outstanding — — Common stock, $0.01 par value; 500,000 shares authorized, 126,536 and 125,683 shares issued and outstanding as of July 2, 2011 and April 2, 2011 respectively 1,265 1,257 Additional paid-in capital 130,921 123,338 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (1,968) (2,852) Retained earnings 132,266 80,197 Total stockholders’ equity 262,484 201,940 Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $1,199,415 $1,126,292        

GT Solar International, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

(In thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

  Three Months Ended

July 2,2011

July 3,2010

Revenue $231,096 $135,166 Cost of revenue 117,707 89,243 Gross profit 113,389 45,923 Operating expenses: Research and development 11,272 3,747 Selling and marketing 6,153 3,711 General and administrative 16,208 10,588 Amortization of intangible assets 1,070 791 Total operating expenses 34,703 18,837 Income from operations 78,686 27,086 Other income (expense): Interest income 91 163 Interest expense (3,512) (139) Other, net (77) 184 Income before income taxes 75,188 27,294 Provision for income taxes 23,119 10,796 Net income $52,069 $16,498 Net income per share: Basic $0.41 $0.11 Diluted $0.41 $0.11 Weighted average number of shares used in per share calculations: Basic 125,927 143,977 Diluted 128,561 145,614