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Nevada’s net-metering decision torched Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) “cousin” SolarCity ( SCTY ) late Monday, after the No. 1 residential solar installer cut 2016 installation guidance and reported a 150-megawatt dip in expected Q1 bookings. SolarCity also reported a wider-than-expected Q1 loss and was in the red, minus items, for the 13th consecutive quarter. Revenue, however, topped the expectations of 18 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, and SolarCity beat its own installation forecast. In after-hours trading following the earnings release, SolarCity stock crashed more than 15%, after rising 3.1% in Monday’s regular session, at 22.51. As of Monday’s close, shares are down 56% this year. For Q1, SolarCity reported $123 million in sales, up 82% vs. the year-earlier quarter, and smashing Wall Street expectations for $108.4 million. But losses per-share minus items deepened to $2.56 vs. consensus views for $2.31. Last year, SolarCity pledged to curb its annual 80% growth rate in order to turn around profits. During Q1, SolarCity installed 214 megawatts, up 40% year over year and beating its own guidance for 180 MW. For Q2, SolarCity expects 185 MW in installations, which would be down 2% vs. Q2 2015. SolarCity also guided to $2.70-$2.80 losses per share ex items, widening from $1.61 in the year-earlier quarter and missing the consensus for $2.13. For the year, SolarCity now expects 1 gigawatt to 1.1 GW in installations vs. earlier views for 1.25 GW, noting that Q1 bookings were about 150 MW lower than anticipated and are unlikely to be made this year. SolarCity said Nevada averaged about for 20 MW in quarterly installations. The company exited the state in December after Nevada regulators opted to cut net-metering payments to solar customers, which makes the economics of installing solar energy systems less attractive to users. Top rival Sunrun ( RUN ) also exited Nevada. Spooked by Nevada’s move, some potential customers have backed off booking solar installations, SolarCity said Monday. And the extension of the U.S. Investment Tax Credit (ITC), a key solar subsidy, beyond what had been a 2016 deadline — good in the long run — removed the urgency to get projects done right away. “Pending regulatory decisions in California, Massachusetts and New Hampshire (which have since been largely resolved) further delayed solar purchasing decisions,” SolarCity wrote in its earnings release. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is chairman of SolarCity, whose CEO is his cousin, Lyndon Rive. The two companies have a battery-technology partnership. Scalper1 News
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