Canadian Solar rises, increases Q3 profit

The sun is shinning on shares of Canadian Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: CSIQ) following news before the start of trading that the solar cell maker posted a wider third-quarter profit.

Net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 was $0.5 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, compared with net income of $0.24 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, a year earlier. Five analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting a loss of $0.02 per share.

Canadian Solar, a Chinese company based out of the city of Suzhou but incorporated in Canada, saw its revenues increase a sizzling 448% to $97.4 million, from $17.8 million in the third quarter of 2006.

“Q3 was another strong quarter for us as we achieved revenues above our guidance for the second quarter in a row,” said chairman and CEO Dr. Shawn Qu in a statement. “As a result, we were able to increase our product shipments and improve our profit margins as forecast despite modest price increases in materials from some suppliers.”

The company also announced that it is working on increasing its solar cell manufacturing capacity 250% by the summer of 2008 and is constructing a factory for the production of solar wafers. Wafers are the primary component for the manufacturing of solar electric panels.

In additional, Canadian Solar is on schedule to open a solar module plant in the city of Changshu in January. The company does all of its manufacturing in China.

Looking ahead, Canadian Solar said it expects a brighter future. It’s increasing its 2007 net revenue guidance to between $285 million and $295 million, from a previous guidance of revenues between $255 million and $265 million. Wall Street was projecting revenues of $262.3 million.

At 12:36 p.m. ET, shares of Canadian Solar (CSIQ) had advanced $4.22, or 38%, to $15.46. The 52-week high of $16 was reached on Nov. 17, 2006, while the 52-week low of $6.50 was set on Aug. 16.

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