LDK Solar Reports Financial Results for the Second Quarter 2007

August 01, 2007: 04:05 PM EST

XINYU CITY, China and SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- LDK Solar Co., Ltd. , a leading manufacturer of multicrystalline solar wafers, today reported its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2007.

All financial results are reported on a U.S. GAAP basis.

Second Quarter 2007 Financial Highlights:
-- Revenue of $99.1 million, up 716% from the year ago quarter
-- Gross profit of $34.9 million, up 1,265% from the year ago quarter
-- Net income of $28.7 million, or $0.29 per diluted ADS, up 2,083% from the year ago quarter
-- Increased annualized multicrystalline wafer production capacity from 215 MW to 300 MW, up 40% quarter-over-quarter

Net sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2007 were $99.1 million, up 35% sequentially from $73.4 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2007, and up 716% year-over-year from $12.1 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2006.

Gross profit for the second quarter of fiscal 2007 was $34.9 million, up 23% sequentially from $28.4 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2007, and up 1,265% year-over-year from $2.6 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2006. Gross margin for the second quarter of fiscal 2007 was 35.2%, compared with 38.7% in the first quarter of fiscal 2007 and 21.0% in the second quarter of fiscal 2006.

Net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2007 was $28.7 million, or $0.29 per diluted ADS, compared to net income of $24.5 million, or $0.27 per diluted ADS for the first quarter of fiscal 2007, and $1.3 million, or $0.02 per diluted ADS for the second quarter of fiscal 2006.

The Company ended the second quarter of fiscal 2007 with $250.6 million in cash and cash equivalents.

"We are pleased to report strong results for the second quarter, our first as a public company," stated Xiaofeng Peng, Chairman and CEO of LDK Solar. "Our results demonstrate our success in providing our customers, leading global solar cell and module manufacturers, with high-quality multicrystalline solar wafers at significant cost advantages. During the quarter, we executed our growth strategy on plan and continued the rapid expansion of our production capacity. In addition to ramping our production lines, we continued to make progress on our cost reduction efforts through further advancements of our production processes.

"We recently ordered additional DSS furnaces and wire saws to further expand our manufacturing capacity to 1,600 MW by the end of 2009. We also announced the purchase of polysilicon production equipment, enabling LDK to produce virgin silicon feedstock. By augmenting our strategy upstream, we believe we will enhance our cost efficiencies," concluded Mr. Peng.

Business Outlook

The following statements are based upon management's current expectations. These statements are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements.

For the third quarter of fiscal 2007, LDK estimates revenue is expected to be in the range of $115 to $125 million and fully diluted earnings per ADS of $0.29 to $0.32.

Conference Call Details

The LDK Second Quarter teleconference and webcast is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), on Wednesday, August 1, 2007. To listen to the live conference call, please dial 800-257-6607 (within U.S.) or 303-262-2006 (outside U.S.) at 4:50 p.m. ET on August 1, 2007. An audio replay of the call will be available to investors through August 6, 2007, by dialing 800-405-2236 (within U.S.) or 303-590-3000 (outside U.S.) and entering the passcode 11093873#.
A live webcast of the call will be available on the company's investor relations website at http://investor.ldksolar.com.

About LDK Solar

LDK Solar Co., Ltd. is a leading manufacturer of multicrystalline solar wafers, which are the principal raw material used to produce solar cells. LDK sells multicrystalline wafers globally to manufacturers of photovoltaic products, including solar cells and solar modules. In addition, the company provides wafer processing services to monocrystalline and multicrystalline solar cell and module manufacturers. LDK's headquarters and manufacturing facilities are located in Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Xinyu City, Jiangxi province in the People's Republic of China. The company's office in the United States is located in Sunnyvale, California.