Chinese solar module maker Trina Solar Ltd. on Wednesday reported a loss for its fiscal first quarter as prices for modules fell.
The company posted a loss of $29.8 million, or 42 cents per American depository share, for the quarter that ended March 31. That's compared with a profit of $47.7 million, or 63 cents per ADS, in the same quarter last year.
Trina Solar said its shipments remained strong and costs were down for the period, but that proved to be insufficient to offset lower market prices for modules. Its revenue fell nearly 20 percent to $349.9 million.
Analysts were expecting Trina Solar to post a loss of 28 cents per share on revenue of $399.1 million, according to a survey by FactSet.
Trina Solar said that it is speeding up its development of new products and services to overcome tough market conditions in the near future.
The company shipped 380 megawatts of solar modules during the quarter, and it expects to ship between 500 and 520 mw of modules in the second quarter, with full-year module shipments forecast in a range of 2 to 2.1 gigawatts.
In afternoon trading, the company's shares rose 11 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $5.44, rebounding after setting a 52-week low of $5.01 earlier. Shares had traded in a 52-week range of $5.20 to $23.64.
