First Solar reports q/q dip in sales, confirms 2023 forecast

• US thin-film photovoltaics (PV) maker First Solar Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) on Thursday reported a big quarter-on-quarter decrease in sales, while validating its full-year guidance.

The firm reserved USD 548 million (EUR 496m) in net sales for the first quarter of 2023, below USD 1 billion in the 4th quarter of 2022 although up from USD 367 million in the same quarter of 2022. It claimed the sequential decrease was generally because of a decrease in the volume of modules sold to 3rd parties.

During the duration, First Solar generated 2.5 GW and marketed 1.9 GW of solar modules. In the complete year, it expects to create between 11.5 GW as well as 12.2 GW and to market between 11.8 GW as well as 12.3 GW.

The company now has an overall reservations backlog of 71.6 GW that expands with 2029.

The quarter saw the manufacturer begin business production of Series 7 modules at its 3rd facility in Ohio, bringing its total installed nameplate capacity across all its Series 6 and also Series 7 facilities to about 13 GW.

In the first three months of 2023, First Solar swung right into a net revenue of USD 42.6 million from a bottom line of almost the same amount a year back.

The gross profit margin broadened to 20.4% from 3.1% in the first quarter of 2022, mostly mirroring a first acknowledgment of the innovative manufacturing production credit, proceeded module expense reductions and a year-on-year volume boost in module sales. These were in part balanced out by higher under-utilisation related to the preliminary ramp of the business's first Series 7 manufacturing facility in Ohio.

The company's declared annual guidance includes net sales of USD 3.4 billion to USD 3.6 billion and a gross margin of USD 1.2 billion-1.3 billion.