Oslo, October 27, 2009: Renewable Energy Corporation ASA (REC) reported revenue of NOK 2,160 million in the third quarter 2009, an increase of 13 percent from NOK 1,919 million in the third quarter 2008.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to NOK 429 million in the third quarter 2009, a decline of 40 percent from NOK 711 million in the third quarter 2008. The EBITDA margin of 20 percent in the third quarter 2009 compares with 37 percent in the same quarter last year.
The significant decline in EBITDA mainly relates to; (i) weaker market demand and reduced capacity utilization in REC Solar and REC Wafer, (ii) expansion cost and negative contribution from the ramp-up of new plants of NOK ~168 million, (iii) loss on sales and write-down of cell and module inventories of NOK ~100 million, and (iv) a further increase of the provision in REC Solar of approximately NOK 21 million for repairs of malfunctioning junction boxes.
When adjusting for expansion/ramp-up cost, inventory write-downs and junction box (total of NOK ~289 million), the underlying EBITDA margin was 33 percent.
The operating profit (EBIT) was NOK -665 million in the third quarter, compared to NOK 537 million in the same quarter in 2008, and the EBIT margin decreased to -31 percent from 28 percent. Excluding the impairment charge relating to Sovello, EBIT for the third quarter amounted to NOK 7 million.
REC reported net financial items of NOK -478 million in the third quarter, including net loss on derivatives of NOK 51 million. In the same quarter last year, net financial items were NOK 1,224 million, including net gains on derivatives of NOK 932 million.
Including these effects, loss before tax was NOK 1,143 million in the third quarter 2009, compared to a profit before tax of NOK 1,761 million in the third quarter 2008.
Earnings per share for the quarter was negative NOK 1.52, compared to positive NOK 2.20 in the third quarter 2008 and negative NOK 1.20 in the second quarter 2009. The earnings per share are calculated on the base of the average number of shares of 664.8 million in the third quarter 2009.
For more information, please see the attachments on www.newsweb.no
Morning program:
REC will release its third quarter results for 2009 on Tuesday October 27, 2009 just after 07:00 AM CET.
On the release day, President and CEO Ole Enger of REC will give a presentation together with other members of the management team. The presentation will take place at 08:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET at the conference centre Oslo Konserthus, Munkedamsveien 14, 0250 Oslo (www.oslokonserthus.no).
The presentation, held in English, will be broadcasted live over the Internet, and can be accessed from: www.recgroup.com.
It will also be possible to listen to the presentation through a conference call. Please use one of the following numbers (conference ID, 3435489):
Norway free call: 800 51 070
UK free call: 0 800 028 1243
USA free call: 1 888 935 4575
International dial in: +44 (0) 20 7806 1951
Afternoon program:
REC will further host an analyst conference call with possibilities for questions and answers later the same day at 15:00 CET. Please make sure to dial inn at least 5 minutes ahead of time to finalize your registration:
Norway free call: 800 80 119
International dial in: +47 23 00 04 00
Immediately after the call, a replay of the conference call will be made available. To access, please dial +47 67 89 40 91 and use the following procedure:
- Type account number 1524 followed by # (pound-sign) and press 1
- Continue by typing the conference number: 524 followed by # (pound-sign) and press 1 to play
For more information, please contact:
Jon André Løkke, SVP and Investor Relations Officer, Tel: +47 907 44 949
About REC
REC is uniquely positioned as one of the most integrated companies in the solar energy industry. REC Silicon and REC Wafer are the world's largest producers of polysilicon and wafers for solar applications. REC Solar produces solar cells and solar modules and engage in project development activities in selected segments of the PV market. REC Group had revenues in 2008 of NOK 8,191 million and an operating profit of NOK 3,279 million. Please also see www.recgroup.com
This information is subject of the disclosure requirements acc. to §5-12 vphl (Norwegian Securities Trading Act)
