First Solar Announces 1Q 2019 Financial Results

First Solar, Inc. announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019. Net sales for the first quarter were $532 million, a decrease of $159 million from the prior quarter, primarily due to lower systems project revenue in the US and Japan.
 
The company reported a first quarter loss per share of $(0.64), compared to earnings per share of $0.49 in the fourth quarter of 2018.
 
Cash, restricted cash and marketable securities at the end of the first quarter decreased to $2.3 billion from $2.7 billion at the end of the prior quarter, primarily as a result of ongoing capital investments in Series 6 manufacturing capacity, factory ramp activities and the timing of cash receipts from certain systems project sales.
 
“During the first quarter of 2019 we continued to realize advancements in Series 6 throughput and efficiency and we are particularly pleased with the start-up and ongoing ramp of our second facility in Vietnam,” said Mark Widmar, CEO of First Solar. “Series 6 demand remains robust, and we are encouraged by the strong year-to-date bookings which are on track to exceed our targeted annual bookings-to-shipments ratio.”