Trina Solar Limited Goes Red

Updated

Trina Solar Limited (NYS: TSL) reported earnings on May 23. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Trina Solar Limited whiffed on both revenue and earnings per share.

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


Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
Trina Solar Limited booked revenue of $349.9 million. The 20 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for a top line of $389.7 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 36% lower than the prior-year quarter's $550.9 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
EPS came in at -$0.42. The 21 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted -$0.30 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.42 for Q1 compared to $0.50 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 5.8%, 2,170 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -11.4%, 2,670 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -8.5%, 1,720 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $409.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.25.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.77 billion. The average EPS estimate is -$0.75.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,071 members rating the stock outperform and 205 members rating it underperform. Among 231 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 148 give Trina Solar Limited a green thumbs-up, and 83 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Trina Solar Limited is hold, with an average price target of $8.91.

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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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