SunPower, First Solar post loss ahead of spinoff of some plants
(Adds background, CEO comments; shares)
By Manya Venkatesh and Darshana Sankararaman
April 30 (Reuters) - Solar panel makers SunPower Corp and First Solar Inc reported a quarterly loss, compared with a year-earlier profit, as they sold fewer power plants ahead of a spinoff of some of their assets into a joint public entity.
The companies' shares fell about 5 percent in extended trading on Thursday.
SunPower and First Solar said in February that they would spin off some of their power plants into a limited partnership called 8point3 Energy Partners LP.
The companies have filed with U.S. regulators for an initial public offering of 8point3 Energy.
Several other solar companies, including SunEdison Inc and NRG Energy Inc, have also bundled their solar assets and spun them off.
SunPower, majority owned by French energy giant Total SA , said it expected to deploy 315-350 megawatts (MW) in the second quarter.
SunPower said earlier this month that it would partner with Apple Inc to build two solar power projects in China's Sichuan province with total capacity of 40 MW.
China raised in March its 2015 target for solar power installations by 20 percent to 17.8 gigawatts.
"We've already built 60 megawatts of projects so far in China and we have a very large pipeline of projects for the rest of this year and the next couple of years," SunPower Chief Executive Tom Werner told Reuters on Thursday.
SunPower reported a net loss of $9.6 million, or 7 cents per shares, attributable to shareholders for the first quarter, while First Solar posted a loss of $62.3 million, or 62 cents per share.
SunPower's revenue fell 36.3 percent to $440.9 million and First Solar's revenue plunged 50.6 percent to $469.2 million.
First Solar forecast a second-quarter profit of 45-55 cents per share and net sales of $750 million-$850 million.
SunPower's shares were trading at $30.15 after the bell, while First Solar's stock was trading at $57.05.
(Editing by Kirti Pandey)
