N@N

GT Solar International, Inc. Reports Results for Fiscal Year 2009 Third Quarter

^{Published on 2009-02-03 14:44:20, Last Modified on 2009-02-03 14:47:04 - Market Wire}
 

MERRIMACK, N.H.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--GT Solar International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOLR)

Highlights:

• Revenue of $205.2 million
• Backlog at $1.3 billion with new customer and installed base expansion
• Gross margin of 43.6%; operating margin at 34.6%
• Net income of $43.1 million or EPS of $0.30

GT Solar International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOLR) ("GT Solar"), a global provider of specialized equipment and technology for the solar power industry, today reported results for its fiscal year 2009 third quarter, which ended December 27, 2008.

Revenues for the third fiscal quarter totaled $205.2 million, up 46 percent from $140.2 million in the second fiscal quarter and compared with $14.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2008. Revenues for the third fiscal quarter included $109.4 million in the photovoltaic ("PV") segment of the business, which consists of Directional Solidification System (DSS) furnaces and related products, and $95.8 million in the polysilicon segment of the business, which consists of Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) reactors and related products. As anticipated, the third quarter revenues for the polysilicon segment included $91.5 million of revenue recognized from the first contract with DC Chemical.

Gross profit increased to $89.5 million, or 43.6 percent of revenues, compared to $1.7 million, or 11.8 percent of revenues in the third quarter of fiscal year 2008. Operating margin was 34.6 percent, compared to negative 60.4 percent in the third quarter of fiscal 2008. The company had net income of $43.1 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2009 versus a loss of $4.5 million for the same quarter of fiscal 2008. Earnings per share on a fully diluted basis were $0.30 versus a $0.03 loss for the same quarter last year.

At quarter's end, the company's backlog exceeded $1.3 billion with $493 million in the PV business and $837 million in the polysilicon business. Bookings for the quarter were $120.8 million. This included $63.0 million of bookings in the PV segment and $57.8 million in the polysilicon segment.

"Our third quarter results reflect the resilience of our business model with strong revenue performance, excellent operating and gross margins, and solid profitability" said Tom Zarrella, GT Solar's president and chief executive officer. "While we have seen an impact on some of our customers, whose ability to grow in the near term has been affected by the economic downturn, we continue to experience growth with a number of customers in both segments of our business. We are also encouraged by recent new customer additions, particularly by the interest we are seeing from new well-capitalized entrants in the solar industry.

"With our strong financial performance, healthy balance sheet and no debt, we believe that GT Solar is well-positioned to maintain its leadership position in the solar industry. Our industry is making progress in bringing solar power closer to parity with conventional energy sources and we continue to be a major force in that effort through our technology innovation, cost effectiveness and execution."

Business Outlook

The company provided guidance on financial performance for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 ending March 28, 2009, for revenues in the range of $140 million – $170 million, with earnings per share of between $0.16 and $0.22 fully diluted. The company also updated its annual revenue guidance for the fiscal year ending March 28, 2009 to a range of $540 million to $570 million and its EPS guidance for the year to a range of $0.68 to $0.74.

Conference Call, Webcast

The company will host a live conference call and web cast at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time today with Tom Zarrella, president and chief executive officer, and Bob Woodbury, chief financial officer.

To listen to the conference call, callers in the United States and Canada may dial 1-877-741-4240. International callers may dial 1-719-325-4831. A link to the live audio web cast of the company's earnings conference call may be found on the company's investor website under ‘Events and Presentations' at [ http://investor.gtsolar.com/ ].

A telephone replay will be available through February 16, 2009. To listen to the replay callers in the United States and Canada may dial 1-888-203-1112. International callers may dial 1-719-457-0820. The replay passcode is 5124396.

About GT Solar International, Inc.

GT Solar International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOLR) is a leading global provider of specialized manufacturing equipment and services essential for the production of photovoltaic wafers, cells and modules and polysilicon utilized in the solar power industry. The company's principal products are directional solidification systems and chemical vapor deposition reactors and related equipment.

Forward-Looking Statement

Some of the statements in this press release are forward looking in nature, including statements regarding availability of capital to fund growth initiatives, the Company's future as a leading equipment and technology supplier for the global solar power industry, management's expectations about costs of solar power, the Company's new products and technologies and Company estimates for future periods with respect to revenues and earnings per share or other financial information. 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 technological changes could render existing products or technologies obsolete, the Company's inability to recognize actual revenue on contracts in its order backlog, the Company's inability to protect its intellectual property rights, increased competition from other manufacturers of equipment for PV products, the impact of conditions in the credit markets and the economy on 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 Prospectus dated July 23, 2008 and filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, on July 24, 2008, and the statements under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on November 7, 2008. 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.