Why it is profiled? The company has a strong order backlog and a clean balance sheet.
GT Solar International Inc. (SOLR) is a U.S. solar equipment maker. The adoption of solar energy systems around the world continues to be driven by growing awareness of the consequences of fossil fuel-based energy sources.
Market research firm Solarbuzz estimates that the solar PV (photovoltaic) equipment market will record revenue of $11.7 billion in 2011 compared to $10.7 billion in 2010, helped by growing equipment demand from Asian cell manufacturers.
For readers who are new to GT Solar, here's a brief overview of the company.
GT Solar provides polysilicon production technology, crystalline ingot growth systems and related photovoltaic manufacturing services for several solar companies as well as companies in the chemical industry.
The company has 3 business segments - Polysilicon business, Photovoltaic business and Sapphire business. China accounts for a major part of the company's revenue - making up 62%, followed by Europe's 17% share, Korea's 13%, other Asian countries make up 6% while the U.S. accounts for 2%. ( data according to fiscal 2010 Annual Report). GT Solar's fiscal year ends in March.
Revenue
Revenue at GT Solar has increased over the years.
2007 - $60 Mln
2008 - $244 Mln
2009 - $541 Mln
2010 - $544 Mln
For fiscal 2011, the company expects revenue to range between $775 million and $850 million. Wall Street analysts are looking for revenue of $834.39 million.
Earnings
In 2007, the company incurred a loss of $18.35 million or $0.13 per share. However, in the successive years, the company has been reporting uneven profits.
2008 - $36 Mln/$0.25
2009 - $87.97 Mln/$0.61
2010 - $87.25 Mln/$0.60
For the second quarter of fiscal year 2011, which ended October 2, 2010, the company's net income rose 350% to $42.8 million, or $0.28 per share, while revenue grew 120% to $229.3 million from the comparable year-ago quarter.
As of October 2, 2010, the company's backlog was $1.16 billion, with $544.6 million in the polysilicon segment, $601.1 million in the PV segment and $13.0 million in sapphire materials. Included in the total backlog was $296.8 million of deferred revenue.
Last month, GT Solar received an order worth $47.3 million for its current generation SDR400 CVD reactors from OCI Company Ltd., a South Korean polysilicon producer. The order was included in GT Solar's backlog for its fiscal 2011 third quarter, which ended on January 1.
Earlier this month, the company was awarded a contract valued at $37.5 million by Korea-based PV manufacturer Nexolon Company, Ltd. for the new DSS650 multicrystalline ingot growth systems. The contract will be included in GT Solar's backlog for the fiscal 2011 fourth quarter, which ends on April 2.
On January 20, GT Solar received yet another order worth $33.3 million for sapphire crystallization furnaces from OCI Company Ltd. This order will also be included in the fiscal 2011 fourth quarter backlog.
The company has a pristine balance sheet, with $244.6 million in cash and cash equivalents, and no debt.
GT Solar is scheduled to report its Q3, 2011 results on February 2 after the close of market.
SOLR touched a new 52-week high of $11.84 on January 21 before closing the day's trading at $11.68. The stock trades at 13 times the past four quarters' earnings and at just 9 times next year's earnings, sporting a PEG ratio (Price/Earnings To Growth ratio) of 0.20.
Other stocks in In The Spotlight series
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com