German Renewables Mixed; Solar Strong, Wind Bumpy
Date: 14-Nov-08
Country: GERMANY
Author: Christoph Steitz and Anneli Palmen
REpower cut its 2009/2010 sales growth forecast on Thursday, citing a "certain risk of project shifts on the part of customers in the next business year".
Aleo Solar, another German solar module maker, reported quarterly earnings, also confirming its outlook for the fiscal years 2008 and 2009.
The upbeat news from the solar sector did not seem to dampen concerns that the credit crunch might also affect solar companies in the future.
"Although solar companies have hiked or maintained their outlooks, one has to be careful regarding too much optimism," said Commerzbank analyst Robert Schramm.
"Also, the increases in outlooks were much more cautious than they potentially could have been," he said.
Shares in Q-Cells and Phoenix Solar were, respectively, up 11.6 percent and 5.7 percent by 1529 GMT, placing them among the top gainers in Frankfurt's technology index, while Aleo Solar was up 5.1 percent.
REpower was down 3.42 percent, making it one of the biggest decliners on the TECDAX.
The company said an expected slow-down of the wind energy market in 2009 might be reflected in what it called a "stagnating or even slightly declining numbers of new installations."
It now expected sales growth in 2009/2010 to come in at 30 percent to 35 percent, down from a previous forecast of 40 percent to 50 percent.
SOLAR WINNERS
Q-Cells hiked its outlook for full-year sales and net profit to, respectively, 1.35 billion euros (US$1.69 billion) and 215 million euros, citing improved business at its US unit Q-Cells International.
"All in all today's newsflow is much better than the horror scenarios which were played by the market in the recent days," DZ Bank analyst Sven Kuerten wrote in a note, confirming its "Buy" rating on the stock.
UniCredit analyst Alexander Stiehler wrote that Phoenix Solar's nine-month results -- including a raised 2008 outlook for EBIT and sales -- were "impressive".
The company now expects sales of 380 million euros, up from a previous estimate of at least 370 million euros.
"The presented results clearly show the strong performance of Phoenix Solar in the booming Spanish market and other Southern European countries like Italy and Greece," he said.
However, he also said the company did not give a 2009 outlook, adding that Phoenix Solar -- being a downstream player -- is closer to end customers and could therefore feel the pinch of the market crisis.
On Wednesday, German peer Solon, which manufactures solar modules, reported nine-month figures, slashing its growth forecast for this year and next.
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Andrew Macdonald)
