UPDATE: Trina Solar Posts Rise In Q3 Net Profit, Narrows Shipment Forecast

Trina Solar

reported a rise in its profit for the third quarter and narrowed its full-year shipment forecast. Trina posted quarterly net income of $10.6 million, versus net income of $9.9 million, in the year-ago period. On an earnings basis, Trina's earnings came in at $0.14 an American depository share, flat versus the year-ago period. Excluding foreign exchange impacts, the company earned $0.34 per ADS. Its revenue climbed 12.5% to $616.80 million. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.15 per ADS on revenue of $641 million. Trina Solar had a foreign currency exchange loss of $15.1 million in the quarter, versus a net gain of $8.0 million in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin widened to 16.7% in the third quarter, versus 15.2% in the year-ago quarter. During the quarter, Trina Solar shipped 1063.8 megawatts in solar modules, up from 774.6 megawatts in the year-ago period. As of September 30, 2014, Trina had $416.5 million in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, versus $562.7 million as of June 30, 2014. Trina Solar now expects full-year shipments of 3.61 to 3.66 gigawatts, versus its earlier outlook of 3.6 to 3.8 gigawatts. For the current quarter, the company projects to ship 1045 to 1095 megawatts of solar modules. "Both our module and downstream project businesses delivered good results in the third quarter of 2014, demonstrating our commitment to consistent revenue and profit growth for our core businesses," said Mr. Jifan Gao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Trina Solar. "Despite foreign exchange fluctuations and weaker demand in Europe, we continue to meet or exceed our financial and performance targets.” Trina Solar shares gained 4.10% to close at $10.93 on Friday.