DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. (YGE) said it expects to report a surprise drop in shipments for the first quarter from the fourth quarter because of subsidy policy changes in Italy, joining other companies in the solar-energy sector that have warned of disappointing results in recent days.
The Italian government announced in early March that it planned to reduce feed-in tariffs for solar power systems and disclosed the final policy early this month, a move that has weighed on companies across the sector. At the same time, severe winter weather conditions in Germany also had a negative effect on market demand in the period, Yingli said.
The company said shipments in the period likely decreased by a low teen percentage from the fourth quarter, compared with the previous estimate for a mid-single-digit increase. Gross margin is projected at 27% to 27.5%, down from the earlier estimate of 30% to 31%.
Yingli said it expects to deliver certain of the delayed orders in the second quarter and estimates that shipments in that period will increase by more than 30% from the first quarter.
Shares of the company, which expects to report results May 20, slipped 2.2% to $11.11 in premarket trading; they are up 15% so far this year.
