GT Solar International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOLR), a provider of specialized equipment and technology for the solar power industry, reported a 59% drop in quarterly profit, despite a slight increase in revenue.
The company had net income of $11.8 million in the quarter ending March 28, 2009, versus $28.5 million for the same quarter a year ago. Earnings per share in the quarter were $0.08, versus $0.20 for the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter totaled $138.5 million, compared with $132.2 million a year ago. Revenue included $137.3 million in the PV segment and $1.2 million in the polysilicon segment.
Operating margin for the quarter was 15%, compared to 31% a year ago.
At quarter’s end, the company said its backlog was $1.18 billion, with $341 million in the PV segment and $836 million in the polysilicon segment.
Tom Zarrella, president and CEO, said: "Against the backdrop of the macroeconomic downturn, we saw slower spending by customers in our PV equipment business in the second half of our fiscal year, a trend that is continuing in fiscal 2010. In our polysilicon business, we expect to ship a significant portion of our reactor-based backlog over the next few months and recognize revenue later in fiscal year 2010. We are encouraged that many of our polysilicon customers continue to execute their projects in anticipation of the promising long-term future growth of solar."
Reuters reported that the company the company’s shares fell as much as 15% in trading Tuesday.
For the fiscal year ending April 2010, the company said it expects earnings of between $0.45 and $0.60 a share from revenue of between $450 million and $550 million
GT Solar debuted on the Nasdaq last July at $16.50, raising about $500 million, but shares quickly fell, reach of a low of $0.88 in November, before recovering.
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