JA Solar reports 3Q net loss, lower revenue

NEW YORK

JA Solar Holdings Co., a Chinese maker of solar power products, reported a third-quarter net loss on Tuesday, weighed by sharply lower revenue and higher operating costs.

The company posted a net loss of 376 million yuan ($59 million), or 2.28 yuan (36 cents) per share. That's down from earnings of 513.7 million yuan, or 3.14 yuan per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue fell 32 percent to 2.47 billion yuan ($388 million) from 3.62 billion yuan.

Analysts, on average, were expecting a loss of 2 cents per share on revenue of $393.6 million, according to a poll by FactSet.

"This continues to be a challenging period for the solar industry, but we are heartened that JA Solar has been able to retain customers and maintain strong market share in the third quarter," said CEO Peng Fang in a statement.

He added that the ongoing economic and industry volatility "continued to restrain demand" for its products during the quarter, though he added that overall product shipments of 445 megawatts met the low end of the company's guidance.

JA Solar's selling, general and administrative costs rose 24 percent to 152.6 million yuan ($23.9 million) from 123.6 million yuan a year earlier.

The company trimmed its full-year outlook for cell and module shipments to 1.6 gigawatts from 1.8 gigawatts.

The company's American Depositary shares climbed 11 cents, or 7.2 percent, to $1.63 in afternoon trading. The stock is trading close to the low end of its 52-week range of $1.40 to $8.57.