Q-Cells revenue down by 20% in 2011; Market uncertainty blamed
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- Category: Solar
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27 Mar 2012
- Published on Tuesday, 27 March 2012 19:32
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A tough market environment and a severe price decline were cited by industry-leading German photovoltaic company Q-Cells as reasons for a drop in its sales for fiscal year 2011.
The company published their unaudited annual results for the year this week, revealing that they achieved sales of 1.023 billion euros ($1.366 billion). While this puts them above their 1-billion-euro sales target for the year, the figure is 20 percent lower compared with 2010 sales which was at 1.354 billion euros.
Q-Cells ended the year with a loss of 845.8 million euros compared with 2010 when they earned a net profit of 18.9 million euros.
According to Q-Cells chief executive Dr. Nedim Cen, prolonged uncertainty concerning subsidy rules in Italy, the world's second-largest photovoltaics market, had a detrimental effect on demand worldwide.
Meanwhile, an expected industry boom, following an increase in interest in renewables in Germany and elsewhere due to concerns over the safety of nuclear power triggered by the accident at Fukushima, failed to materialize.
These factors, plus an excess in production capacities and the rise in Asian PV companies' capabilities, led to a decline in prices of 40 to 60 percent. This in turn had a negative impact on Q-Cells' results. – EcoSeed Staff
