A Gloom Outlook for JA Solar Holdings Co, Shares Plunge 15%

JA Solar Holdings Co

Shares of solar manufacturer JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ:$JASO) plunged 114.7% as of morning trading on Wednesday, November 15th. This came after the release of the company’s 3Q17 report, and as of 1:05 pm EST, shares were still trading 13.9% lower on the day.

Shipments of solar modules and cells were 1.64 GW with external shipments rising 30.6% year over year. Revenue was up 4.3% from a year ago to $652.6 million, and gross margin fell 4.3% to 11.8%. As a result of such declining margins, net income fell from $6.6 million a year ago to just $6.3 million, or $0.13 per share.

Despite revenue topping Wall Street expectations of $609.8 million, JA Solar’s bottom line fell short of the $0.19 that analysts were expecting. This means when revenue tops expectations but net income falls short, the problem lies within the margins and operating costs of a business.

Many expected the third quarter to be a cycle of perfect operating conditions for JA solar, with a high demand for solar panels and strong pricing. Instead, JA did not see such profitability. The company incurred $780 million in debt. Solar panel prices also aren’t expected to rise, and demand for the sector is expected to decrease further in 2018.

Featured Image: twitter

About the author: Jennifer is a University of Western Ontario graduate with a degree in International Business. She strives to excel as a content creator in the digital sphere, working with clients in the Finance and Tech industry to leverage clickable taglines, images, and articles in driving traffic. When not writing, Jennifer enjoys photography, copywriting, and video production.