PV Crytalox Solar Plc. (PVCS.L), in its Interim Management Statement, said that it expects wafer shipments in the first-half period to exceed production volumes and to be in the range 75-85MW, which is above the 61MW reported for the same period last year.
The company said PV market conditions remain very difficult but spot market price declines appear to have halted and there has been some modest recovery in prices across the value chain since the beginning of the year. Wafer prices, however, remain below industry production costs.
In view of the challenging environment the Group continues to operate in cash conservation mode with reduced wafer production volumes, a continued focus on cost control and inventory management, including trading of excess polysilicon as opportunities arise.
The company said that its board has reached a decision on the amount of cash to be returned to shareholders and agreed a level of 7.25p per share subject to finalisation of the process of the cash return.
As has been widely reported, the EU is expected to announce on 6 June that provisional anti-dumping duties averaging 47% are to be levied on solar products imported from China. Such a decision should benefit non-Chinese producers and contribute towards a more favourable market environment within the EU during the second half of the year.
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