Solarfun: Still No Fun, as Q4 Disappoints, CFO Exits

The lack of fun continues for Solarfun (SOLF).

The company this morning reported a rough fourth quarter. Revenues were $164.6 million, a bit shy of the Street consensus, up 13.7 percent from a year ago, but down 11.9 percent from Q3. Solarfun lost $61.4 million in the quarter, or $1.14 per ADS, including $47.8 million in inventory write-downs to reflect both falling prices and “unsalable products that could not be sold in the current market environment.”

Gross margin in the quarter was -33.7 percent. SOLF had $60.2 million in cash at quarter end, with total bank borrowings of $190.4 million.

In a statement, CEO Harold Hoskens said that funding for solar projects remained tight in the quarter, with excess inventories in many markets. He said that seasonal factors exacerbated softer demand. “The industry is in a transition from a polysilicon supply-driven environment to a demand-driven environment,” he said, “and currently demand has been affected by the global economic situation. We see that module prices have declined at the same time as the cost of polysilicon, with the cost of polysilicon falling somewhat faster than module prices.”

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