System
Today First Solar (FSLR) gapped up after reporting some good numbers last night. Revenues were better than expected, although part of this advance comes from a shifting-effect of revenue recognition between quarters. FSLR raised its earnings guidance for the current year, but reduced its sales expectations.
Especially impressive was the reduction of production costs down 8 cents to $0.59 per watt compared with the last quarter. Gross margins were 28.8% and compare favorably to many other big names in the solar industry, e.g., Sunpower (SPWR) with a gross margin of only 19.1%.
In the long run, a further reduction of production costs along with improvements of the electrical efficiency of the solar cells seems to be also on track.
