Canadian Solar Reports Mixed Q1 Earnings, Improved Gross Margin

Canadian Solar Inc CSIQ reported first-quarter FY21 net revenue growth of 32% year-on-year to $1.09 billion, versus company guidance of $1 billion - $1.1 billion, beating the analyst consensus of $1.05 billion.
Higher project sales in Japan and the U.S., a higher module average selling price (ASP), partially offset by lower module shipments, drove the 5% sequential revenue growth.
Total module shipments rose 42% Y/Y Q/Q to 3,139 MW. Of the total, 267 MW was shipped to the company's own utility-scale solar power projects.
Gross margin of 17.9% was at the higher end of the company guidance of 16%-18% and Q4 FY20 margin of 13.6%. Increased contribution from high margin project sales and higher module ASP, partially offset by higher manufacturing costs, drove the margin expansion.
Net income rose 228.6% Q/Q to $23 million, translating to EPS of $0.36, missing the analyst consensus of $0.41.
Canadian Solar generated $83 million in operating cash flow and held $1.52 billion in cash and equivalents.
Canadian Solar doubled its total storage project development pipeline, Chair and CEO Dr. Shawn Qu said.
Guidance: Canadian Solar sees a Q2 revenue outlook of $1.4 billion - $1.5 billion, compared to the analyst consensus of $1.37 billion, and FY21 revenue guidance of $5.6 billion - $6 billion compared to the analyst consensus of $5.64 billion.
Price action: CSIQ shares traded lower by 1.79% at $36.30 in the premarket session on the last check Thursday.

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