Satcon Technology Corporation® (NASDAQ CM:SATC), a leading provider of utility scale power conversion solutions for the renewable energy market, today announced its results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012.
Revenue for the first quarter of 2012 was $24.3 million, compared with revenue of $36.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, reflecting the anticipated seasonal slowdown in installations during the winter months. During the quarter, the company shipped 98 MWs of its industry-leading PowerGate® Plus, Prism® Platform, and Equinox® solutions. North America continued to be the company’s strongest performing region in Q1, representing 96% of total revenue and megawatts shipped.
Gross margin for the quarter was 1%, compared with -64% in the fourth quarter of 2011. The company’s gross margin performance was impacted by seasonally lower sales volumes and the closing of its Canadian manufacturing facility, where Satcon transferred its manufacturing to contract manufacturers in China and Canada.
Bookings for the first quarter were approximately $45.6 million, including $3.1 million in service and extended warranty, an increase of approximately 134% from the fourth quarter of 2011 and 29% from the first quarter of 2011. In addition, the first quarter of 2012 was the company’s most successful bookings period in four quarters, with a book-to-bill ratio of 1.9:1.
“During the first quarter, we made significant progress on our strategic initiative and operating plan,” said Steve Rhoades, Satcon’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We improved our operational efficiency by reducing costs of our central inverter and MV platform product lines, and moved to a variable, contract manufacturing model with the closure of our Canada facility. We also strengthened our balance sheet and further reduced our working capital, while paying down a significant portion of our short- and long-term debt. These actions have strengthened our cash flow position and have provided sufficient liquidity to meet our obligations and pursue our long-term growth strategy.”
“We expect Q2 revenue to be between $24 million and $28 million, and gross margin to be in the mid- to high-teens,” concluded Rhoades.
Conference Call Reminder
The company will hold a conference call to review its financial results and business highlights today, May 9, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. ET. During the conference call, the company may answer questions concerning business and financial developments and trends, and other business and financial matters. The company’s responses to these questions, as well as other matters discussed during the conference call, may contain or constitute information that has not been previously disclosed.
The conference call will be webcast live over the Internet and can be accessed on the Investor Relations section of the company’s website at //investor.satcon.com. The conference call also can be accessed by dialing (877) 407-8289 (U.S. and Canada) or (201) 689-8341 (International). Interested parties that are unable to listen to the live call may access an archived version of the webcast on Satcon’s website.
