SunPower Profit Tops Wall St.

Date: 30-Jan-09

Country: US

Author: Matt Daily

NEW YORK - SunPower Corp posted a better-than-expected fourth quarter profit, sending its shares up 12 percent after-hours, and it said it would shift resources to take advantage of a government stimulus plan expected to fund renewable energy sources.

President Barack Obama's administration has proposed spending billions of dollars to increase solar power resources and other clean energy systems to make the United States less dependent on fossil fuel.

SunPower makes photovoltaic solar equipment, which turns sunlight into electricity.

"People are paying a premium for technology that's improving," Chief Executive Tom Werner said on a conference call with analysts.

The San Jose company and other leading manufacturers of solar power equipment, have said they expect solar power to be competitive with traditional forms of power generation, such as natural gas, in the next two to three years.

But credit market conditions have made it difficult to get financing for new projects, which has caused shares in solar companies to decline and worries that the industry's annual growth rate of about 50 percent would falter.

Financing problems have prompted SunPower to lower its revenue forecast for 2009 to between $1.6 billion to $2.0 billion from its previous target of $2.0 billion to $2.1 billion.

Werner said SunPower was moving to "repackage" large solar power installations into smaller pieces to win financing, and was also seeking help from some large power producers.

Fourth quarter net income climbed to $29.5 million, or 35 cents per share, from $4.9 million, or 6 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Operating earnings were 70 cents per share, topping the 58 cents that analysts had on average forecast, according to Reuters Estimates.

Revenue rose 79 percent to $401 million.

SunPower expected 2009 earnings per share between $2.20 to $2.80. Analysts surveyed by Reuters Estimates have forecast 2009 earnings of $2.65 per share

Shares in the company jumped 12 percent to $32.23 in after-hours trade.

(Editing by Bernard Orr)