JA Solar Holdings Goes Negative

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

JA Solar Holdings (NAS: JASO) reported earnings yesterday. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), JA Solar Holdings crushed expectations on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue shrank significantly and GAAP earnings per share contracted to a loss.

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
JA Solar Holdings tallied revenue of $309.1 million. The 10 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $242.7 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 47% lower than the prior-year quarter's $584.9 million.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at -$0.11. The 10 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted -$0.10 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS were -$0.39 for Q4 against $0.69 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 0.5%, 1,870 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -9.5%, 2,480 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -22.1%, 4,240 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $239.9 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.16.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.36 billion. The average EPS estimate is -$0.35.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,643 members out of 1,741 rating the stock outperform, and 98 members rating it underperform. Among 258 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 236 give JA Solar Holdings a green thumbs-up, and 22 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on JA Solar Holdings is underperform, with an average price target of $2.28.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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