Monday, August 13, 2007

Olympics: China trying to put on a ''green'' Olympics

BEIJING, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese capital is adopting eco-friendly technologies in transportation, power supply, water and waste management to ensure a "green" Olympic Games, according to the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.

The city plans to use 100 hybrid-electric vehicles as public buses at all venues and several hundred electric vehicles will serve in the logistics departments of the Olympic Village and all stadiums while electric bicycles will be provided in the main Olympic area, according to the press release.

The project also covers Beijing's public transport system, setting a goal of having 80 percent of buses and 70 percent of taxis fueled by clean energy by 2008.

As part of the efforts, 14 electric buses have been running on one bus route for two years in Beijing as a pilot project while 1,300 buses fueled by compressed gas have been put into operation.

Of the two million square meters of buildings used for the Olympics, 26.9 percent will be powered by clean energy like solar energy, wind and geothermal power, the ministry said.

The seven main stadiums in Beijing will be equipped with solar generators with a total capacity of 480 kw while 90 percent of the lighting outside the stadiums and hot water supply in the Olympics Village will powered by solar energy.

Beijing will have its first wind power plant by the end of this year with a capacity of 50,000 kw, which will supply main stadiums.

All major Olympics venues are equipped with rainwater collectors and sewage recycling facilities to save water, the ministry said.

And 90 percent of the waste produced in the Olympic areas will be sent to waste plants for sorting and recycling, it said.

To realize these goals, the ministry, the Beijing municipal government and the Olympic organizers have spent 1.86 billion yuan(245 million U.S. dollars) in research and development of relevant technologies and facilities.

However, the city's environmental problems, particularly air quality, are still worrying many people a year before the Games.

JA Solar Reports Second Quarter 2007 Results

August 08, 2007: 07:00 AM EST

* Total revenues for 2Q07 of RMB 457.0 million (US$60.0 million) compared to revenues of RMB 96.1 million (US$12.6 million) for 2Q06
* 2Q07 net income of RMB 1.63 (US$0.21) per diluted ADS compared to RMB 0.67(US$0.09) per diluted ADS in 2Q06
* Total capacity has reached 175MW per annum

HEBEI, China, Aug. 8, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. ("JA Solar", "the Company") (Nasdaq:JASO) today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2007.

Second Quarter 2007 Results

Total revenues for the second quarter of 2007 were RMB 457.0 million (US$60.0 million), compared to revenues of RMB 96.1 million (US$12.6 million) for the second quarter of 2006, and RMB 335.1 million (US$44.0 million) in the first quarter of 2007. The second quarter of 2007 revenues included solar cells processing service revenue of RMB 26.2 million (US$3.4 million), compared to Nil in the second quarter of 2006 and RMB 0.1 million (US$0.02 million) in the first quarter of 2007.

Total gross profit for the second quarter of 2007 was RMB 110.1 million (US$14.5 million), including solar cells processing service profit of RMB 19.8 million (US$2.6 million). Total gross margin was 24.10% for the second quarter of 2007. Excluding solar cells processing service gross profit, our gross margin was 20.96% compared to 20.50% in the first quarter of 2007.

Net income available to ordinary shareholders for the second quarter of 2007 was RMB 75.7 million (US$9.9 million) compared to a net income available to ordinary shareholders of RMB 17.8 million (US$2.3 million) for the second quarter of 2006, and net income available to ordinary shareholders of RMB 58.3 million (US$7.7 million) for the first quarter of 2007.

For the second quarter of 2007 basic and diluted earnings per ADS were RMB 1.64 (US$0.22) and RMB 1.63 (US$0.21) respectively. Each ADS represents three of our ordinary shares.

The second quarter of 2007 expenses included share-based compensation expense of RMB 12.0 million (US$1.6 million), or RMB 0.26 (US$ 0.03) per diluted ADS.

Capital expenditures were RMB 47.4 million (US$6.2 million) in the second quarter of 2007, as compared to RMB 101.2 million (US$13.3 million) in the previous quarter and RMB 39.6 million (US$5.2 million) in the second quarter of 2006. Depreciation and amortization expenses in the second quarter of 2007 were RMB 6.3 million (US$0.8 million), as compared to RMB 5.2 million (US$0.7 million) in the previous quarter and RMB 2.1 million (US$0.3 million) in the second quarter of 2006.

As of June 30, 2007, JA Solar had cash and cash equivalents of RMB 1.6 billion (US$205.7 million) compared with RMB 1.8 billion (US$235.9 million) at the end of the first quarter of 2007. Short term debt decreased to RMB 150 million (US$19.7 million) at the end of the second quarter of 2007 from RMB 200 million (US$26.3 million) at the end of the first quarter of 2007.
Set out below is a summary of megawatts produced and shipped (including processing service): ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Three months ended
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Megawatts June 30, 2006 March 31, 2007 June 30, 2007
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Produced 3.0MW 17.6MW 22.6MW
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Shipped 3.1MW 14.4MW 24.0MW
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The conversion of Renminbi into U.S. dollars in this release, made solely for the convenience of the reader, is based on the noon buying rate in The City of New York for cable transfers of Renminbi as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as of June 29, 2007, which was RMB 7.6120 to US$1.0000. No representation is intended to imply that the Renminbi amounts could have been, or could be, converted, realized or settled into U.S. dollars at that rate on June 29, 2007, or at any other date. The percentages stated in this press release are calculated based on Renminbi.

Samuel Yang, JA Solar's Chief Executive Officer, said, "Our business momentum and track record of execution continued in the second quarter. Results came in at or above the high-end of our internal target for revenue, gross margin and net income. Four new production lines commenced production ahead of schedule. The JA Solar brand is becoming the standard for high-quality, high-performance monocrystalline solar cells. We remain focused on leveraging this differentiated position to further our customer diversification and global expansion efforts."

Herman Zhao, JA Solar's Chief Financial Officer, said, "Gross margin increased in the second quarter of 2007 from the first quarter of 2007 despite incurring routine costs. We now have a total of 175 MW of solar cell manufacturing capacity per annum. As we move into the second half of the year we will begin to solidify our capacity expansion plans for 2008 based on customer forecasts."

Company Raises 2007 Outlook

Based on current market conditions and customer forecasts, the Company is raising its production outlook for 2007 from approximately 100MW to 110MW. This would result in revenues for the full year of 2007 in the range of approximately RMB 2,284 million (US$300 million) to RMB 2,360 million (US$310 million), with a gross margin expected to be approximately 19.5%, compared to prior guidance for revenues in the range of RMB 2,128 million (US$280 million) to RMB 2,205 million (US$290 million), with a gross margin expected to be approximately 19.5%.

Samuel Yang, JA Solar's Chief Executive Officer, said, "We remain optimistic in our outlook for the second half of 2007. The increase in our guidance for the full year of 2007 reflects the strong demand globally for our high-quality, high-performance monocrystalline solar cells. We continue to diversify our customer base to take advantage of beneficial strategic relationships."

Investor Conference Call / Webcast Details

A conference call has been scheduled for 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 (in Hebei). This will be 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 8, in New York. During the call, time will be set aside for analysts and interested investors to ask questions of executive officers.

The call may be accessed by dialing +1-201-689-8560. A live webcast of the conference call will be available on the Company's website at www.jasolar.com. The playback will be available beginning two hours after the live call and will be accessible by dialing +1-201-612-7415. The account number to access the replay is 3055 and the passcode is 250008.

About JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd.

Based in Hebei, China, JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. is an emerging and fast-growing manufacturer of high-performance monocrystalline solar cells. The Company sells its products to solar module manufacturers who assemble and integrate its solar cells into modules and systems that convert sunlight into electricity. For more information, please visit http://www.jasolar.com.