GINTECH - weiterer taiwanesischer Zellhersteller - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

[meinolf67]

Bitte um Entschuldigung, dass ich erneut Motech "hijacke".

Gintch wird seit einiger Zit in Taiwan gehandelt, aber hier ist nichts zu finden.

Damit interessante News nicht untergehen, werde ich sie hier posten.

[meinolf67]

Gintech October sales hit record; contract material supply to reach 70%


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Nuying Huang, Taipei; Esther Lam, DIGITIMES [Friday 9 November 2007]

While seeing its monthly sales meet street expectations, Gintech Energy highlighted its high material procurement ratio from the contract market and reiterated that its silicon wafer supply from MEMC Electronic Materials is stable.

Gintech saw its October sales rise 28.6% on month to NT$740 million (US$22.8 million), marking the highest sequential sales growth among its Taiwan rivals which include E-ton Solar Tech.

Gintech noted that its supply from the contract market should reach 70% in the fourth quarter and that supply from major silicon wafer supplier MEMC is stable. More supply from the contract market implies a better profitability at Gintech. The company said long-term contracts guarantee the company with a gross margin of over 20%.

Although profitability from mid- and short-term contracts can hardly compare with long-term ones, Gintech said quotes from these suppliers are still more competitive than spot quotes.

The solar-cell maker updated that its total annual capacity has reached 160 peak megawatt (MWp) at its two fabs at Kuanyin (northern Taiwan) and Chunan (Hsinchu) and that capacity expansion is on track to hit 210MWp in December 2007.

Gintech: September 2007 - October 2007 revenues (NT$m)

Month


Sales


M/M


Y/Y


YTD


Y/Y

Oct-07


740


28.6%


502.1%


4,993




Sep-07


575


5.5%


420.5%


4,253




Source: TSE, compiled by Digitimes, Nov 2007.

[meinolf67]

und noch ein Hersteller aus Taiwan:

Big Sun Energy solar cell sales growing fast


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Nuying Huang, Taipei; Rodney Chan, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 7 November 2007]

Taiwan-based Big Sun Energy Technology's sales have been growing fast since starting volume production of solar cells in August, with current utilization rate reaching 50%, according to the company.

Big Sun's August sales for solar cells were a mere NT$650,000 (US$20,000), but solar cell revenues soared to NT$37 million in September, and then more than doubled to NT$78.94 million in October, the company revealed, adding total October revenues (including incomes from other segments) topped NT$80.07 million.

The company, which currently has an annual solar cell capacity of 30MWp, expects to run at full capacity by the end of the year.

The company said it has reached a conversion rate of 16.5% for monocrystalline silicon solar cells, and 15.5% for polysilicon ones. Overall yield has reached 96%, the company added.

Big Sun has plans to add two more solar cell lines, with equipment installation slated for the first quarter of 2008, and volume production for the third quarter of 2008. Big Sun's total capacity will then reach 90MWp, the company said.

[meinolf67]

Neo Solar Power sees record gross margin from solar cell production

Latest news
Nuying Huang, Taipei; Esther Lam, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 13 November 2007]

Besides posting quarterly sales grew by seven straight quarters, Neo Solar Power is attracting attention as its gross margin for in-house solar cell production has outgrown the industry average.

Having operations started in the first quarter of 2006, Neo Solar said its quarterly sales hit a record high for the past seven consecutive quarters. The solar cell maker recorded sales of NT$1.03 billion (US$31.8 million) in the third quarter of 2007, representing a sequential growth of 15.6%. Sales through October were NT$2.75 billion.

As of October, the company's gross margin averaged 16.4%, with the gross margin for its in-house solar cells being at about 20%. As Neo Solar already has sufficient material for production in 2008, the company projects further enhancement in profitability.

Reviewing profitability status among leading solar cell makers in Taiwan, most saw their gross margin dampened by high material costs, as evident in the decline in the gross margins of E-ton Solar Tech and Motech Industries. E-ton saw its gross margin drop below 12% and Motech only recorded a gross margin of 17.5% in the third quarter.

Neo Solar guides that capacity for late 2008 will be 210 peak megawatt (MWp), following the operation of four new production lines at a new plant.

[meinolf67]

Gintech wurde vor kurzem in den PPVX aufgenommen. Aleo flog raus.

Jetzt geht wieder die Suche nach Zahlen und einer Kaufmöglichkeit los...


Weiß vielleicht schon jemand was?

[Hoerschwelle]

[meinolf67]

Gintech lowers 2008 solar cell shipment forecast

Latest news
Nuying Huang, Taipei; Rodney Chan, DIGITIMES [Thursday 22 November 2007]

Taiwan-based solar cell maker Gintech Energy has revised down its guidance for 2008, forecasting that its total output for next year will be 220 MWp instead of the previous forecast of 250MWp.

Last month, the company said its 2008 output would be 250MWp as it revealed part of the terms in the latest amendment to a 10-year solar wafer supply contract it signed with MEMC Materials. The amendment promises increased solar wafer supply from MEMC.

Gintech stressed that its 2008 shipments should still be able to reach 250MWp, judging from the long-term contracts the company already has. But the comparatively conservative figure of the latest forecast is meant to assure the market that the company can achieve 100% of its goal for next year, Gintech said.

Gintech said the 2008 forecast is based on 80% of the materials it will receive next year from long-term supply contracts, with the rest calculated on a spot price basis. While the margins for the fourth quarter of 2007 will reach 17%, the margins for the first to fourth quarters of next year will be 12%, 12.78%, 14.88% and 16.9%, respectively, with the full-year average expected at 14.65%.

Revenues for 2008 will total NT$20.33 billion (US$627.91 million), with a net income of NT$2.27 billion, according to the forecast.

[meinolf67]

Gintech denies alliance for Spain power-plant project
EXPANSION: The newly listed company said the project was under consideration, but rebutted reports that it had teamed up with BES Engineering and Solaria Energy
By Jessie Ho
STAFF REPORTER
Wednesday, Nov 07, 2007, Page 12

Solar cell maker Gintech Energy Corp (昱晶能源) said yesterday that it was considering building a solar power plant in Europe as part of its development strategy.

However, the company denied a report in the Chinese-language Economic Daily News that it had teamed up with BES Engineering Corp (中華工程), a major builder of industrial parks for the government, and Solaria Energy and Environmental SA, the second-largest solar panel maker in Spain, to jointly bid for a solar power-plant project in Spain.

Citing unnamed company officials, the report said that under the alliance, Gintech would supply photovoltaic cell products, while Solaria would assemble the cells and BES construct the plant.

"Bidding for the solar power plant is one of the strategies under consideration," Gintech said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.

"However, we have not formed an alliance with any contractor so far," the company said.

Demand for solar power plants is strong and Gintech, aided by sufficient supply from US silicon wafer producer MEMC Electronic Materials Inc, is a popular supplier for the plants, the report said.

The market for solar power is estimated to hit US$5.2 trillion after 2012, when costs of generating electricity through solar power will have dropped significantly from current levels, the report said, citing anonymous officials at Gintech.

Founded in August 2005 with light-emitting-diode manufacturer Everlight Electronics Co (億光電子) and Taiwan Styrene Monomer Corp (台苯) as major shareholders, Gintech is emerging as a strong player in the solar cell manufacturing industry.

Gintech has an annual capacity of 60 megawatts and is expected to add another 480 megawatts after its plant at the Hsinchu Science Park is completed by the end of the year.

The company debuted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange last Friday and outpaced its peers to become the highest-priced solar cell stock in the local market.

Shares of Gintech slid 1.23 percent to close at NT$400 (US$12.35) yesterday, while those of its larger rival, Motech Industries Inc (茂迪), were unchanged at NT$335, and E-ton Solar Tech Co's (益通光能) edged down 1.62 percent to NT$364.

[meinolf67]

Gintech IPO approved


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Nuying Huang, Taipei; Esther Lam, DIGITIMES [Thursday 4 October 2007]

Gintech Energy will soon be able to finalize its listing on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) as its initial public offering (IPO) application has been approved by the Financial Supervisory Commission of Taiwan.

The Commission approved Gintech's IPO application on October 3. The solar cell maker will set a concrete listing date after finalizing its rights issue in early November. Gaintech will be one of the first solar cell makers to be listed on the main board.

Backed by a 10-year polysilicon deal with MEMC Materials, Gintech should have its utilization rate reach 110%, according to estimates by industry players. Gintech projects that its monthly sales may hit NT$1 billion (US$30.59 million) during year-end of 2007 along with new capacity becoming available.

Gintech updated that it should house a total capacity of 210 peak megawatt (MWp) in 2007, 260MWp in the first quarter of 2008 and 460MWp in the third quarter of 2008. Actual output for 2007 will be 62MWp and that for next year is still under estimated.

Gintech rival Green Energy Technology also gained its IPO approval on the same day.

[meinolf67]

Gintech Energy Corp., a Taiwanese solar-cell startup, is reported to have won a four-year contract to supply over NT$10 billion (US$303 million at US$1:NT$33) worth of cells to Swedish solar-module maker Sweden AB and have begun shipping the goods.

Wires reported that Sweden AB had signed a contract to buy 114 megawatts of solar cells from the
Taiwanese solar-cell supplier by 2010. The deal is estimated to cost NT$11.4 billion (US$345 million) based on the estimated NT$100 million (US$30 million) for per megawatt of cells.

In response to the media reports, Gintech executives have refused to comment and simply said the company has received hefty orders since it demonstrated its cell at a Milan solar-energy show late last month.

Gintech is mostly held by LED maker Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd. The solar-cell company is scheduled to be listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange by the end of this year, likely becoming the island's first solar-cell maker to floating shares on the market. Most of its rivals are still on the OTC market.

Throughout the first eight months, the solar-cell maker had revenue of NT$3.6 billion (US$109 million), compared with NT$40 million (US$1.2 million) it had in the same period of last year.

In the first quarter this year, the company had gross margin of 25%. However, the margin slumped to only 7% or so in the second quarter. Gintech executives ascribed the recession mostly to surged cost on materials. But they expected the company's earnings to rise in the second half of the year due to declined materials costs.

The company plans to boost annual output capacity to 260 megawatts by the end of this year from current 60 megawatts. The company projects revenue goal for this year at NT$4.7 billion (US$142 million), with pretax earnings estimated at NT$550 million (US$16.6 million).

According to the government-backed Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), in 2005 alone Taiwan had 15 solar-energy manufacturers generating total revenues of NT$7 billion (US$212 million). Last year, eight new entrants joined them, helping boost the revenues to NT$21.2 billion (US$642 million). So far this year, the Taiwan industry has received 18 newcomers, expecting revenues to reach NT$40 billion (US$1.2 billion).

[meinolf67]

AP
Canadian Solar in Gintech Supply Deal
Monday November 26, 10:46 am ET
Canadian Solar in Annual Solar Cell Supply Deal With Gintech Energy Worth About $60M in 2008

NEW YORK (AP) -- Solar products maker Canadian Solar Inc. said Monday that it signed an annual solar cell supply contract with Taiwan-based Gintech Energy Corp. that will be worth about $60 million in 2008.

Under the deal, Gintech will ship between 17 megawatts and 22 megawatts to Canadian solar starting in 2008. The contract includes fixed pricing and set delivery times, Canadian Solar said.

Canadian Solar shares 65 cents, or 4.2 percent, to $16.12 in morning trading.

[meinolf67]

Canadian Solar Signs Annual Solar Cell Supply Pact with Taiwan's Gintech Energy
Tuesday, December 04, 2007; Posted: 12:57 AM

Dublin, Dec 03, 2007 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) -- ERGY | charts | news | PowerRating -- Canadian Solar announced it signed an annual solar cell supply contract with long-term supplier Gintech Energy Corp. of Taiwan.

Total shipments to CSI under the contract amount are between 17MW to 22MW with fixed pricing and delivery schedules in 2008. The shipment will start in January 2008.

Scott Kuo, Chairman of Gintech commented, "Gintech is committed to delivering solar cells of the highest quality at competitive prices to serve our clients. Our goal is to become the best and specialized solar cell producer with solid and diversified customer relationship. Our continued relationship with CSI, one of the leading solar manufacturing companies, brings us closer to this goal."

Dr. Shawn Qu, CEO of CSI, said, "We were able to secure this new contract on competitive terms due to our strong relationship with Gintech, which has been a valued partner of CSI since 2004. At fixed pricing with scheduled delivery times, the contract provides added visibility into our supply channel to support our 2008 business plan. This is another example of our ability to achieve win-win relationships with companies across the solar value chain. The continuation of our collaboration with Gintech is in line with our long-term supply strategy, which includes direct purchasing from a selected number of long-term strategic cell suppliers in addition to our internal solar cell production."

Gintech is a solar cell manufacturer based in Taiwan. Gintech's equipment, facilities and cost-effective production line focus only on solar cell manufacturing

[meinolf67]

LONDON (SHARECAST) - Glass and plastics group Romag Holdings found friends Wednesday after reporting a 44% increase in full year pre-tax profit, driven by strong sales of its electricity-generating glass, PowerGlaz .

Profit before tax for the 12 months to 30 September jumped to £2.76m from £1.92m the year before on sales up 6% to £17.4m.

The group said the growth in sales of PowerGlaz dominated 2007, with the installation of a second production line in July helping sales jump 40% year on year. It is now accounts for over 40% of total business.

Since the year end, Romag has entered into a further cell supply agreement with Gintech Energy Corp, in addition to supply arrangements currently in place with E-Ton Solar and BP Solar.

“While our traditional products of security, transport and architectural glass remain a key element to the business, we foresee future growth to be predominantly driven by the PowerGlaz range,” said chairman John Kennair.

“The installation of our second PowerGlaz production line has allowed us to expand our customer base and we anticipate further strong sales growth looking forward,” added the group.

Two further production lines have been ordered that will increase capacity from 12 megawatts (MW) to 28MW per year.

The dividend of 0.75p per share brings the total payout for the year to 1.15p per share, up 15% on 2006.

[meinolf67]

New Gintech chairman likely to strengthen ties with petrolchemical sector

Latest news
Nuying Huang, Taipei; Esther Lam, DIGITIMES [Thursday 27 December 2007]

Gintech Energy is likely to strengthen ties with the petrochemical industry as it has appointed CT Kuo, the ex-chairman of Chinese Petroleum Corporation (CPC) as its new chairman. Industry watchers generally interpret this appointment as a possible direction towards improving the efficiency of the company's solar-energy business.

Responding to speculation about possible vertical integration, Gintech indicated that it does not rule out the possibility of tapping into the production of solar modules and other end products.

Gintech held its shareholder meeting on December 25. After the meeting, the company announced that CT Kuo, the ex-chairman at CPC and present chairman of a CPC subsidiary which operates oil refinery plants in Yunlin, Taiwan. CPC, together with fellow industry players and venture capital companies, jointly established the subsidiary in January 2006.

Industry players from the solar sector in Taiwan commented that Kuo's appointment is not surprising as he is one of the key founders of Gintech and has borne key roles in the company's operation. Kuo played an active role in exploring and planning the solar business when he was still the chairman at CPC, the industry players said.

Citing previous rumors concerning speculated investments that CPC may make in polysilicon, some industry sources added in saying that Kuo is actually the one who submitted the proposal. Other industry sources noted that it is very likely that Gintech will aggressively tap into the solar power plant segment, a segment that requires a considerable amount of solar cells.

Gintech is expected to establish an own-brand solar cell business and forge alliances with solar electricity system providers to bid for government projects in the future. A similar strategy is expected to be employed in Taiwan also.

[meinolf67]

Solar cell ASP to see single-digit rise in 1Q08


Latest news
Nuying Huang, Taipei; Esther Lam, DIGITIMES [Thursday 3 January 2008]

The average selling price (ASP) of solar cells are expected rise by a single-digit in the first quarter of 2008 due to a persistent shortage of polysilicon.

High material costs from a shortage of polysilicon is the primary reason for the increase. Industry players hinted at a possible price adjustment in the fourth quarter of 2007. In light of the high material costs and the persistent demand growth from solar system makers, they added that solar module houses should generally accept the price adjustment.

Currently the per watt ASP of solar cells is US$3, but solar cells priced in this range have to deliver a certain power conversion efficiency, the industry players noted. Multi-crystalline and mono-crystalline solar cells have to deliver a power conversion efficiency of over 15% and 15.75%, respectively, to price over US$3 per watt, they added.

Gintech Energy said the per watt solar cell ASP trend is stronger than expected. The company originally expected a per watt ASP to be US$2.87 in early 2008 but saw the price hit the US$3 range currently. It added in saying that customers who have long-term contracts with the company, generally accept the adjusted price.

Given that E-Ton Solar Tech has its solar cell ASPs above the industry average, the company is said to only adjust its ASP for select customers, which include some who have long-term contracts with the the company.

Neo Solar Power said it would rather extend the duration of contracts with customers instead of adjusting ASPs. Therefore, the company will only have a mild ASP adjustment in the quarter.

Leading solar cell maker Motech Industries admitted seeing rising material costs, but noted that cell ASP adjustment is still subject to further consideration. The company will adjust price in accordance with the nature of the business of its customers.

For solar cells that do not meet expected power conversion standards, makers are selling them at a 20% discount, the industry players remarked. Some that only deliver a power conversion rate of 14% are selling at a per watt price of around US$2.50 and those delivering a conversion rate under 12% are selling at US$2 per watt.

[meinolf67]

Gintech plans aggressive solar cell expansion on sufficient material supply

Nuying Huang, Taipei; Esther Lam, DIGITIMES [Monday 7 January 2008]

Backed by sufficient polysilicon supply from long-term contracts, Gintech Energy detailed its aggressive solar cell expansion plan during a recent event held by the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE).

Gintech company general manager Guo-Rong (Ellick) Liao highlighted that material sufficiency in 2008 and 2009 is 91% and 102%, respectively. The company plans to house a total capacity of 660 peak megawatt (MWp) at its Guanyin and Hsinchu, Taiwan production facilities in 2008. The capacity is set to rise to 860MWp in 2009 when the company secures land for its third production site, Liao detailed.

Given that the company sees its material supply from the contract market growing and that prices of some solar cell products are increasing, Gintech said its financial performance in 2008 should be better than expected. Gross margin should also see progressive growth this year , the company highlighted.

Besides delivering an optimistic business outlook, Gintech is also progressing in terms of solar cell yields and power conversion rate. Company executives were cited by a Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) report as saying that yields should grow by one percentage point to 96.47% in 2008, and that power conversion rate should grow by 0.2 percentage point to 15.6% during year-end.

[meinolf67]

Gintech and Neo Solar receive PV cell orders from top India module makers


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Nuying Huang, Taipei; Rodney Chan, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 16 January 2008]

Taiwan-based photovoltaic (PV) cell suppliers Gintech Energy and Neo Solar power have received orders from India's top solar module makers, with the orders amounting to 10MWp each, according to industry sources.

The sources claimed that Gintech and Neo Solar have received orders from a different clients, but both clients are among India's top-three solar modules makers. The orders translate into annual sales of NT$1 billion (US$30.98 million) for each of the two Taiwan suppliers, the sources estimate.

Currently Tata BT, Titan and Solar Semiconductor are considered the top-three solar module makers in India, the sources added.

The government in India is speeding up the development of renewable energy. India's minister of state for new and renewable energy Vilas Muttemwar recently told The Economic Times that the government would surpass its target of producing 14,000MW of renewable energy in five years.

[meinolf67]

Gintech reiterates no solar cell oversupply concern, says paper

Jan 29, 2008

Responding to concern by investors about a potential oversupply of solar cells amid a growing number of companies in the industry, Gintech Energy company chairman CT Kuo reiterated that the industry trend indicates that there is substantial demand for solar cells, according to a Chinese-language Apple Daily report.

Citing the goal of the European Union
(EU) to increase the proportion of reusable energy to overall energy sources to 20% in 2020, Kuo indicated that 20% of the renewable sources will be from solar energy, translating to a required volume of 240 gigawatt (GW) of solar cells through 2020. He reiterated that Gintech observed an influx of orders with employees needing to take shifts in order to meet demand.

[meinolf67]

Gintech to build second 600MWp solar cell plant


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Nuying Huang, Taipei; Rodney Chan, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 30 January 2008]

Gintech Energy plans to start constructing a second 600MWp plant in 2008, with the Taiwan-based solar cell maker aiming at a total output of 560MWp in 2009, according to company chairman CT Kuo.

Gintech is already building a plant in Chunan, in Taiwan's northern Miaoli County that can house a capacity of 600MWp, and by the end of the first quarter, a capacity of 200MWp will come online at the plant, Kuo said.

The company is also looking for land to build a new plant that can also house a capacity of 600MWp, with construction expected to start in the second half of the year, the chairman said.

In 2007, Gintech's total capacity was 210MWp, to be raised to 560MWp in 2008 and 860MWp in 2009, Kuo said. Actual output was 60MWp in 2007, and will reach 280MWp in 2008, and 560MWp in 2009, he added.

Gintech would be posing a challenge to Taiwan's number-one solar cell maker Motech Industries, industry sources commented. Motech had a total output of 180MWp in 2007, with a goal to reach 280MWp in 2008, according to the sources.

The sources claimed Gintech will double its 2008 capital expenditure (capex) to NT$10 billion (US$310 million) compared to last year for its capacity expansion. The second 600MWp plant is likely to be located in Kuanyin, in the northern Taiwan county of Taoyuan.

Kuo said Gintech's competitiveness comes from its long-term contract with MEMC for solar wafer supply amid an industry-wide material shortage. If material shortages can be eased in 2010, Gintech will still have a competitive edge due to its economy of scale that will have already been built up, he remarked.

Gintech expects to raise its polysilicon solar cell conversion efficiency to 15.8% by the end of 2008 from the current 15.6%, he added.

[meinolf67]

Motech and Gintech report record solar cell sales in January


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Nuying Huang, Taipei; Rodney Chan, DIGITIMES [Monday 4 February 2008]

Taiwan-based solar cell makers Motech Industries and Gintech Energy have both reported record revenues for January, with industry observers indicating that the company's strong sales are a positive sign for the outlook of the photovoltaic (PV) market.

Motech sales for last month totaled NT$1.59 billion (US$49.5 million), up 2.8% on month and 25.8% on year to set a new company record for the eighth consecutive month.

For the whole of 2007, Motech posted sales of NT$15.58 billion, rising 92.3% compared to 2006. Its output for last year totaled 167MWp on a capacity of 240MWp. Its output goal for 2008 is 280MWp, with capacity rising to 580MWp, according to the company.

Motech has recently bought a plot of land in southern Taiwan for the construction of a new solar cell plant, according to industry sources.

Gintech's January sales rose 9.3% on month and 650% on year to NT$1.11 billion, a record for the relative newcomer to the PV industry. Gintech plans to increase its capacity to 560MWp in 2008 from 210MWp in 2007, with a total output goal of 280MWp for this year.

Gintech has budgeted NT$10 billion for its 2008 capital expenditure (capex) to expand capacity.

Industry observers indicated that the outlook for the PV market remains strong as the importance of green energy has been underscored by rising oil prices and environmental concerns.

[meinolf67]

DelSolar secures 133 million euro silicon wafer supply


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Nuying Huang, Taipei; Esther Lam, DIGITIMES [Thursday 14 February 2008]

DelSolar has inked a deal for silicon wafer supply worth 133 million euro (US$194 million) from an Europe-based supplier. The agreement will run between 2009 to 2015, according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE).

The Delta Electronics-subsidiary said the orders will help stabilize the company's materials supply and fuel sales growth. The contract will be effective from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2015. Although the company did not reveal details of the supplier, industry sources said REC Solar, Wacker and Solarworld are some of the possible suppliers, given that most Taiwan-based solar cell makers land their materials from them.

DelSolar plans for an annual capacity of 100MWp in 2008. Since the company is relatively cautious over its material supply, its expansion pace lags behind rivals including E-Ton Solar, Motech Industries and Gintech Energy, industry players noted.

As the solar industry generally expect 2009 and 2010 to mark a new page for material sufficiency as many upstream material suppliers are to have their fresh capacity come onboard during the period, companies making preparations to look for materials beyond 2009, the industry players observed.

Among the major solar cell makers in Taiwan, Motech has secured a 10-year long, NT$1.84 billion (US$577.2 million) contract with Wacker from 2009. Meanwhile, Green Energy Technology will have a new batch of materials come into availability in 2009.

[meinolf67]

Saturday, February 23, 2008
Moth eyes may revolutionize

Picture of the structure of a moth eye. Credit: Peng Jiang

One of the difficulties with solar power is that solar cells are notoriously inefficient. Some of that inefficiency, says Peng Jiang, is due to the fact that silicon is reflective. Jiang, an assistant professor at the University of Florida, tells PhysOrg.com that there are “disadvantages to the anti-reflective coating currently used in solar cells.”

With a new process that looks to the structure of moth eyes for inspiration, Jiang hopes to address these disadvantages, improving the cost-efficiency of solar cells. “You want more of the sunlight absorbed, rather than reflected,” he says. Jiang and his collaborators, Chih-Hung Sun at the University of Florida, and Bin Jiang at Portland State University, share the results of their work in Applied Physics Letters: “Broadband moth-eye antireflection coatings on silicon.”
Silicon wafer with anti-reflection array, model after a moth eye. Credit: Peng Jiang“Right now,” Jiang explains, “the bluish anti-reflective coating you see on solar cells is not very efficient beyond a narrow range.” He says that the wavelengths of light from the sun range from between 400 nm and 1400 nm. “Once you get below about 500 nm, and above 800 nm, reflection starts increasing.” Jiang points out that the optimal efficiency for the current technology works with wavelengths of around 600 nm. Looking at the way moth eyes are structured gave Jiang and his co-authors an idea. “Moth eyes are not very reflective,” he points out. “We found our inspiration in nature, trying to mimic the natural nanostructure.” Moth eyes have orderly bumps on their corneas. Jiang refers to these bumps as “nipples.” The nipples are in an array that creates a situation in which almost no reflection exists. While it was most likely an evolutionary defense against nocturnal predators, it can be adapted for use in solar cells, creating a situation in which most of the light from the sun is absorbed and efficiently utilized instead of reflected uselessly. Jiang says that a method of spin coating is used to create the effect. Nanoparticles in a liquid suspension are placed on a silicon wafer, similar to those used in solar cells. As the wafer is spun, the force created distributes the nanoparticles in the liquid. A sort of mask is created that can be used as a template. Etching is used to transfer the nanoparticle structure onto the silicon wafer beneath. “It is self-assembling,” Jiang says of the nanoparticle arrangement. “All of the particles are the same size. It’s like when you put glass beads in a box and then shake it. All of the beads arrange themselves into an array pattern.” In addition to being technologically easy, the process is also inexpensive. “In addition to the inefficiency, these are the two main disadvantages of the current solar cell anti-reflective coating,” Jiang explains. “It is difficult to make, and it is an expensive process.”

Jiang points out that this process creates less than two percent reflection. This is a vast improvement over the 35 to 40 percent reflection rate seen without the anti-reflection coating layers. “This simple, cheaper process is also much more efficient.” The next step, Jiang says, is manufacturing. “We think it is ready now,” he says. “We are close to a start-up company that could use this process to make solar cells.” And he also hopes to improve upon the design. “Right now, this is done with single crystalline silicon wafers. We hope to extend the technology to work on multi-crystalline silicon, which is where solar cell technology is moving in the future.” “I don’t see much trouble with it though,” he continues. “Because of the simplicity of the process, there should be no reason it shouldn’t work. There should be no limitation to expansion.”

[meinolf67]

Gintech 4Q07 gross margins expected to continue rising


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Nuying Huang, Taipei; Greg Wu, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 19 March 2008]

Industry sources indicated that Gintech Energy's fourth quarter 2007 gross margins will continue their upward momentum, hitting a range of 16.3-16.55%, as the Taiwan-based solar cell maker has secured long-term material supply contracts since the third quarter of 2007, making the company less prone than many of its competitors to be affected by fluctuating silicon wafer prices in the spot market.

A Gintech executive declined to reveal the company's gross margin figure for the fourth quarter, but did state that fourth-quarter gross margins were up considerably.

The company reported gross margins of 7% in the second quarter of 2007 and 13.5% in the third quarter of 2007.

The company's total solar cell output goal for 2008 is 280MWp, with a material supply of 200MWp coming from long-term contract partners MEMC Materials, China-based LDK Solar, and SolarWorld.

[meinolf67]

Gintech secures bank loan; preps rights issue


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Nuying Huang, Taipei; Esther Lam, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 1 April 2008]

In order to fund its planned expansion for solar cell production as well as corresponding polysilicon procurement, Gintech Energy announced it will fund its planned capital expenditure (capex) through a bank loan and rights issue.

Gintech's board of directors approved the fund raising plan on March 31. The company also announced that its capex is set at NT$10 billion (US$32.9 million) for 2008. The scheduled capex will be funded by a NT$4.75 billion bank loan and a rights issue of 30 million common shares and global depository receipts (GDRs).

Gintech updated that annual capacity is set to grow from 210 peak megawatt (MWp) in 2007 to 560MWp in 2008, with output to increase from 180MWp to 280MWp. The company also approved a dividend of NT$3 per share during the shareholders meeting.

[meinolf67]

Bloomberg

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Gintech Energy Corp., Taiwan's second-biggest solar-cell maker by market value, rose to the highest in more than two months in Taipei trading after earnings surged.

Gintech advanced as much as 6.9 percent to NT$272.5, the highest since Jan. 21 and the maximum gain allowed by the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The stock closed at NT$267, while the benchmark TAIEX index rose 0.9 percent.

Taipei-based Gintech, whose products turn sunlight into electricity, more than tripled first-quarter pretax profit to NT$462 million (US$15 million), the company said in an exchange filing yesterday. Earnings have increased as governments in countries including Germany subsidize solar power use to cut greenhouse gas emissions, blamed for rising temperatures.

The profit was better than Citigroup Inc.'s estimate, George Chang, a Taipei-based analyst for the U.S. bank, said in a report today. "Gintech remains our top pick within the Taiwan solar supply chain," said Chang, who raised his target price for the stock to NT$330 from NT$300.

[meinolf67]

Gintech to construct one solar cell plant per year through 2015


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Nuying Huang, Taipei; Esther Lam, DIGITIMES [Friday 11 April 2008]

In light of the substantial potential for solar cell business, Gintech Energy has said it aims to be the top-three solar cell maker in three years, and plans to construct one solar cell plant each year through to 2015.

Company chairman CT Kuo explained Gintech's rapid expansion targets to the buoyant demand for solar cells, stressing that it will actually be hard to fully meet it all. He estimated that Gintech's capacity will account for 8.4% of the global solar cell capacity in 2008, which is likely to be the sixth-highest among vendors this year.

In order to maintain its market share, the company plans to construct one solar cell plant each year through to 2015. Guo-Rong (Ellick) Liao, Gintech general manager, added in saying that the company aims to be the third-largest solar cell maker, after Q-Cells and Suntech Solar, in three years on a capacity of one billion watts.

Gintech's first solar plant has an installed a capacity of 150MWp with another 50MWp of capacity set to be completed soon. This plant has a designed capacity of 600MWp. For the second plant, Gintech will install four new production lines soon, each delivering a capacity of 210MWp. Ground breaking at the second plant is slated for the fourth quarter of 2008 with installation of the first line scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2009.

Regarding polysilicon sufficiency, Gintech said it will not accept long-term contracts that require high deposits from 2008, adding that it has been approached by a growing number of material suppliers. The company will be 100% material sufficient in 2008 and 2009.

Company executives updated that Gintech will start arranging a bank loan soon. As for the previously announced issuance of global depository receipts (GDRs), the executives said that target investors have already been set. The fund raising plan is expected to complete in the first half of 2008.

[meinolf67]

14.05.2008 13:49
ReneSola Announces Six-Year 525 MW Solar Wafer Supply Agreement with Gintech Energy Corporation

JIASHAN, China, May 14 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ReneSola Ltd (News) ("ReneSola" or the "Company") (AIM: SOLA.L), a leading Chinese manufacturer of solar wafers, today announced that it has signed a six-year 525 megawatt ("MW") wafer supply agreement with Gintech Energy Corporation (News) ("Gintech").

Under the terms of the agreement, ReneSola will supply Gintech with 525 MW of solar wafers over a six-year period commencing in mid-2008. Gintech is a leading manufacturer of solar cells and is publicly traded on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

"The recent wafer supply agreement with Gintech further demonstrates our commitment to expanding ReneSola's reach within key markets and strengthens our base of long-term customers," said Mr. Xianshou Li, ReneSola's chief executive officer. "Gintech's fast growth and well-known manufacturing capabilities will contribute to a diversified customer base as we increase our wafer production output."

[meinolf67]

Gintech adds new solar wafer supplier
By Kevin Chen
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, May 16, 2008, Page 12

Solar cell maker Gintech Energy Corp (昱晶能源) yesterday saw its share price outperform its local peers in Taipei trading following an announcement on Wednesday that it had signed a contract with ReneSola Singapore Pte Ltd to secure its solar wafer supply.

The contract would give Gintech a stable supply of up to 5.25 million megawatts of solar wafers over the next six years, the company said in a filing to the stock exchange.

The contract will take effect in July and run through June 2014, Gintech said in the filing. The company did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

The recently announced deal is the third of its kind that Gintech has signed in the past one year to secure its polysilicon wafer supply. The competition to secure wafer supply among solar cell makers has intensified in the past few years, after governments and utility regulators around the world began to promote the use of alternative energy to replace fossil fuels.

In August last year, Gintech secured ample material supply from MEMC Electronic Materials Inc, before it signed another contract with Chinese supplier LDK Solar Co (江西賽維) earlier this year.

Gintech is expected to boost its annual solar cell production capacity to 560 megawatts by the end of this year and to approximately 1 gigawatt by the end of 2010, after completing its equipment installation at its second plant at Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區) in August next year, the company said last month.
This story has been viewed 227 times.

[meinolf67]

Gintech to construct one solar cell plant per year through 2015


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Nuying Huang, Taipei; Esther Lam, DIGITIMES [Friday 11 April 2008]

In light of the substantial potential for solar cell business, Gintech Energy has said it aims to be the top-three solar cell maker in three years, and plans to construct one solar cell plant each year through to 2015.

Company chairman CT Kuo explained Gintech's rapid expansion targets to the buoyant demand for solar cells, stressing that it will actually be hard to fully meet it all. He estimated that Gintech's capacity will account for 8.4% of the global solar cell capacity in 2008, which is likely to be the sixth-highest among vendors this year.

In order to maintain its market share, the company plans to construct one solar cell plant each year through to 2015. Guo-Rong (Ellick) Liao, Gintech general manager, added in saying that the company aims to be the third-largest solar cell maker, after Q-Cells and Suntech Solar, in three years on a capacity of one billion watts.

Gintech's first solar plant has an installed a capacity of 150MWp with another 50MWp of capacity set to be completed soon. This plant has a designed capacity of 600MWp. For the second plant, Gintech will install four new production lines soon, each delivering a capacity of 210MWp. Ground breaking at the second plant is slated for the fourth quarter of 2008 with installation of the first line scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2009.

Regarding polysilicon sufficiency, Gintech said it will not accept long-term contracts that require high deposits from 2008, adding that it has been approached by a growing number of material suppliers. The company will be 100% material sufficient in 2008 and 2009.

Company executives updated that Gintech will start arranging a bank loan soon. As for the previously announced issuance of global depository receipts (GDRs), the executives said that target investors have already been set. The fund raising plan is expected to complete in the first half of 2008.

Gintech: Capacity and output plans, 2008-2011 (MWp)



Capacity


Output

2008


560


280

2009


870


620

2010


1,000


1,290

2011


1,350


1,500

Source: Company, compiled by Digitimes, April 2008

[meinolf67]

http://www.digitimes.com/bits_chips/a20080411PD212.html

[meinolf67]

Gintech raises solar cell capacity goal for 2008


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Nuying Huang, Taipei; Rodney Chan, DIGITIMES [Friday 6 June 2008]

Taiwan-based solar cell maker Gintech Energy has raised its 2008 capacity goal 17.8% to 660MWp from the original 560MWp, and it also plans to kick off construction of a new plant in August this year, according to company sources.

The 660MWp capacity goal will be fulfilled by its Fab 1 (60MWp) in Taoyuan, and Fab 2 (600MWp) in Chunan, both in northern Taiwan, the sources said. But output for 2008 will stick to the original goal of 220MWp, judging from the material supply, the sources added.

Gintech on June 6 secured a syndicated bank loan of NT$4.85 billion (US$159.26 million) for the purchase of equipment and materials.

Gintech will break ground for its Fab 3 in Chunan in August, which will house a capacity of 840MWp, the sources said, adding Fab 3 will become the largest solar cell plant in Taiwan. Equipment installation is expected to start in the third quarter of 2009, and if everything goes smoothly, Gintech will boast a total capacity of 1GWp by the end of 2009 to become a top-three solar cell maker worldwide, the sources said.

Gintech has set an output goal of 600MWp for 2009, but as capacity is increasing fast, the goal may be adjusted upward, depending on material supply, the sources said. Gintech has already secured material sources for an output of 435MWp for 2009, the sources disclosed.

[meinolf67]

Gintech inks solar wafer contract with Nexolon


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Nuying Huang, Taipei; Esther Lam, DIGITIMES [Thursday 12 June 2008]

Gintech Energy announced that it has signed a 6-inch solar wafer contract with the Korea-based Nexolon through 2014.

Under the contract terms, Nexolon will supply Gintech an equivalent solar wafer capacity of 415 peak megawatt (MWp). By adding the new material supply, Gintech has thus revised up its solar cell capacity from 560MWp to 660MWp accordingly.

Gintech will also start construction of a third plant at Hsinchu in the third quarter of 2008, with this fab expected to house a capacity of 840MWp. Construction is expected to take one year.

Nexolon supplies both mono- and multi-crystalline wafers in South Korea. Its capacity is expected to reach 150MWp in 2008 and hit 400MWp in 2009. The company also has business ties with Mosel Vitelic. Industry sources remarked that Nexolon has close ties with polysilicon supplier DC Chemical as well.

In related news, Gintech's global depository receipt (GDR) application has been put on hold as the company did not provide sufficient information to the Financial Supervisory Commission. Company general manager Ellick Liao said it would provide supplementary information to the authority and that its GDR issue plan would not be affected much.

[meinolf67]

OSLO, June 12 (Reuters) - Norwegian solar energy group Renewable Energy Corp (REC.OL: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday it has agreed a long-term deal to supply silicon wafers for Taiwan's Gintech (3514.TW: Quote, Profile, Research) worth more than $600 million.

"The agreement, which runs until 2015, is structured as a take-and-pay contract with pre-determined prices and volumes for the entire contract period," REC said in a statement. (Reporting by Wojciech Moskwa)

[meinolf67]

Gintech affiliate officially starts solar wafer shipments this month

Nuying Huang, Taipei; Esther Lam, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 15 July 2008]

Eversol, a Taiwan-based solar wafer supplier affiliate company of Gintech Energy, will have shipments to its parent company officially begin in July.

Gintech previously announced that it secured a batch of solar wafers without revealing details about supplier, volume amounts or the duration of the contract. Eversol, the 9%-own affiliate of Gintech, is now said to be the supplier of this batch of solar wafers, with shipments to its affiliate to officially begin in July, according to industry sources.

Established in September 2007, Eversol currently has an annual solar ingot capacity of 100 peak megawatt (MWp). The amount is set to double by the end of this year and further increase to 300MWp in the first quarter of 2009. Eversol has adopted furnaces from GT Solar as has rivals Green Energy Technology and Sino-American Silicon Products (SAS). The furnace can grow ingots up to 450kg in size. The sources remarked that a distribution agent of GT Solar is also a key investor in the company.

Gintech noted that it has secured via contracts materials through 2010 for production of 700MWp. Given that the material market may be subject to radical changes beyond 2010, the company is assessing whether it requires more materials. The company aims to deliver a total of 1.5 billion watts of capacity in 2011.

In related news, the sources indicated that Eversol is likely to list on the emerging stock market in the second half of 2008.

[meinolf67]

Gintech Energy Mulls to Venture Into Solar Power Sector
2008/07/18
Taipei, July 18, 2008 (CENS)--Gintech Energy Corp., a leading Taiwanese maker of solar cells, plans to invest in solar power generation after acquiring know-how to build such plant from South Korean manufacturers.

Once the plan is realized, Gintech will become Taiwan`s first listed solar-cell maker to venture into solar-power plant sector.

Industry watchers pointed out that solar-power generation is a very lucrative business at a time when global warming has become an urgent issue. Also, building solar power plant would help boost the company`s shipment of solar cells.

Gintech executives estimate net income from a solar-power plant at over 10% based on South Korean government`s subsidizing the country`s solar-power plants an equivalent of NT$20 for each watt generated, assuring 10 years of such procurement.

The power-plant project is the company`s next major step toward building its integrated capability in solar-energy sector after signing a contract in 2005 to buy NT$100 billion (US$3.3 billion at US$1:NT$30) worth of crystalline silicon from MEMC of the Untied States.

Gintech executives pointed out that the company has already proven the quality of its solar cells at overseas solar power plants, and its planned factory would steadily demand its solar cells, adding that the company would kick start its power-plant project by first learning from being a partner on management teams of overseas power plants. Such partnerships may be available in industrially advanced nations like the United States, Germany, Spain, South Korea and Japan, where building solar-power plants is on the rise.

Industry watchers pointed out that a solar-power plant requires comparatively low capital investment and management as compared with nuclear-power and thermal-power plants, making it a suitable investment for a mid-size enterprise. They noted that Gintech had gleaned crucial know-how on solar-energy plant construction from its own factory in Chunan in northern Taiwan, which it spent only half a year to complete.

[meinolf67]

Válido a partir do início de 2009 e por cinco anos
A Martifer Solar fechou contrato com a companhia Tailandesa Gintech para o fornecimento de células solares para a sua produção de módulos garantindo o fornecimento de 100 MW de células policristalinas a partir de Janeiro de 2009 e durante os próximos 5 anos.

A empresa garante, com este contrato, o fabrico contínuo dos módulos solares fotovoltaicos que vai passar a produzir, a partir do próximo mês de Outubro, na sua nova Fábrica em Oliveira de Frades, explica a empresa portuguesa em comunicado.

Com a fábrica da Martifer Solar o Grupor Martifer entra no reduzido núcleo de produtores de painéis solares fotovoltaicos. A nova Fábrica terá uma capacidade de produção inicial de 50 MW ampliável aos 100 MW no segundo ano de funcionamento.

O acordo fechado com Gintech «é fruto da capacidade de negociação e adaptação da Martifer Solar que desta forma conseguiu assegurar a sua total capacidade de produção de módulo solares fotovoltaicos. Estes factores reforçam a confiança e a segurança do cliente: ao garantir a capacidade de produção da fábrica a Martifer Solar está também a assegurar a disponibilidade de módulos para os projectos que desenvolver», conclui.

[meinolf67]

wär ja schön...:


Gintech surprises with GDR roadshow
By Anette Jönsson | 19 September 2008

The solar cell manufacturer could raise about $150 million based on current prices, but bookbuilding will start only if early feedback is positive.

The management of Taiwanese solar cell manufacturer Gintech Energy Corp has embarked on a roadshow with the aim of selling global depositary receipts corresponding to 20% of its existing share capital. Based on yesterday’s share price, the company could raise about $150 million.

[meinolf67]

GINTECH


The Results Announcement of the Income Statement for the Nine Months Ended2008-10-24
Subject: The Results Announcement of the Income Statement for the Nine Months Ended
September 30, 2008 and 2007(Reviewed, Not Audited)
Summary：
(1)GINTECH posted the financial Report for the Nine Months Ended September 30,
2008 and 2007 as follows:
(Amount in Thousands of NTD, except Earnings Per Share & Growth Rate)
2008 2007 Growth Rate of YOY
Gross Profit 12,243,000 4,253,000 187.87%
Gross Margin 19.1% 9.39% 103.19%
Income before income tax 1,900,000 183,671 932.61%
EPS before income tax 12.74 1.98 543.43%
EPS before income tax of Q3 4.98 1.32 277.27%

(2)GINTECH Energy Corporation resulted in a growth rate of 43.72% in Income before
Income Tax of NTD 190million compared to the earlier announcement of estimated
Income before Income Tax for the Nine months ended September 30, 2008.
Note: All data and information on this page is provided for informational purpose only, and which is not audited or reviewed by any accountant or independent expert.
For more details, please refer to our official financial reports.

[meinolf67]

18.11.2008 09:22
Taiwan's Gintech delays construction of solar plant

HSINCHU, Taiwan, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Gintech Energy (News) said on Tuesday it would delay construction of a solar plant by one year due to slowing demand caused by the global economic downturn.

The company will now begin construction of the T$12 billion ($361.1 million) solar cell plant in October 2009, President Ellick Liao told Reuters on the sidelines of a media tour of one of the company's factories.

(Reporting by Baker Li; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner) ($1=33.23 Taiwan Dollar) Keywords: GINTECH/

([e-mail]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]; [phone])

[meinolf67]

Hersteller drängen LDK Solar zu Preissenkungen
Donnerstag, 04.12.2008 10:06

TAIPEI - Der chinesische Hersteller von Solar-Wafern, LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK, WKN: A0MSNX), sieht sich unter Druck, nachdem taiwansche Kunden das Unternehmen zu Preissenkungen drängen.

So soll bereits ein Kunde aus Taiwan, die Gintech Energy, bei LDK Solar nach Preissenkungen nachgefragt haben, berichtet DigiTimes. Taiwans Hersteller wollen LDK offenbar zu weiteren Preiszugeständnissen drängen, nachdem die Preise am Spot-Markt zuletzt gefallen sind.

Die Kooperation mit taiwanschen Kunden ist für LDK Solar besonders kritisch, da diese Klientel für rund 50 Prozent der Wafer-Auslieferungen bei LDK verantwortlich zeichnet, heißt es aus der Industrie. Ob LDK dem drängen seiner taiwanschen Kundschaft nachkommen wird, steht aber noch nicht fest. Marktbeobachter gehen davon aus, dass LDK zu Preiszugeständnissen bereit sei, um seine Kooperation mit taiwanschen Solarzellenherstellern zu festigen.

[meinolf67]

Solar cell maker Gintech sees November revenues down over 65% on month while Wafer Works hits another record


Latest news
Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Monday 8 December 2008]

Solar cell maker Gintech Energy has reported revenues for November 2008 were down by 65.38% from the record level of NT$2.141 billion (US$63.9 million) posted in October. Meanwhile, solar wafer maker Wafer Works generated record revenues for the 33rd consecutive month at NT$544.3 million, according to the two companies.

Gintech had orders worth more than NT$2 billion for shipments scheduled for November 2008, but adopted a policy of accepting payment in cash or letters of credit only, in order to avoid payment risks, company president and COO Ellick Liao explained. Consequently, only NT$741.3 million of the total order value was realized as shipments, Liao pointed out. In addition, Gintech has reduced inventory levels to 15 days on average and now requires payment for accounts receivable within seven days.

Green Energy Tech, another Taiwan-based maker of solar-grade crystalline silicon wafers, and solar cell maker E-Ton Solar Tech also recently announced their performance figures for November.

Taiwan-based solar energy players: Revenues, November 2008

Company


Amount (NT$m)


M/M


Y/Y


YTD (NT$b)


Y/Y

Gintech


741.3


(65.38%)


(10.07%)


15.126


160.03%

Wafer Works


544.3


0.29%


15.97%


5.646


17.21%

GET


608.1


(27.96%)


0.99%


8.128


82.92%

E-Ton


1,306.9


(12.94%)


97.65%


13.036


155.41%

Source: Companies, compiled by Digitimes, December 2008

[meinolf67]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 36.164.740 von meinolf67 am 08.12.08 11:13:52

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20081208PD201.html

[meinolf67]

hätte ich nicht erwartet!:

January 21, 2009 9:50 AM EST

Citi downgrades MEMC Electronic Materials Inc (NYSE: WFR) from Buy to Hold. Price target lowered from $30 to $15.

Citi analyst says, "While the share price has fallen significantly, we can no longer justify our Buy here given three key fundamental developments. 1) WFR’s biggest solar contracts are being challenged and, based on our checks, now appear to have material risk in terms of pricing and, to a lesser degree, volume. With ~20% price concessions already offered to Gintech (albeit only temporarily), this puts revenue visibility in question until the dust settles. 2) The EPS run rate coming off CQ1:09 looks more like ~$1.00 versus the Street’s (and our former) F2009 of ~$2.00 making valuation less certain. 3) We see WFR losing money in semis in CQ1:09 and building significant amounts of inventory that could take 3-4Qs to fully unwind. While semi weakness is largely known, it is equally tough to see a Buy catalyst until the dust settles around these issues, particularly solar contracts."

MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. is engaged in the design, manufacture and sale of silicon wafers. The Company provides wafers in sizes ranging from 100 millimeters (four inch) to 300 millimeters (12 inch).

[meinolf67]

Solar cell maker Gintech sees staggering growth in 2008


Latest news
DIGITIMES WiMAX portal

Advertisement
Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Friday 6 February 2009]

Gintech Energy, a Taiwan-based maker of crystalline silicon solar cells, on February 5 released its 2008 financial report, with net profits jumping 291.92% annually to NT$1.91 billion (US$56.73 million).

Gintech 2008 financial performance

Item


Amount


Growth from 2007

Revenues (NT$ billion)


15.828


131.76%

Gross margin


16.88%


4.89 percentage points

Pre-tax profit (NT$ billion)


1.899


284.66%

Net profit (NT$ billion)


1.909


291.92%

Net EPS (NT$)


12.79


157.86%

Source: company, compiled by Digitimes, February 2009

[meinolf67]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 36.525.504 von meinolf67 am 06.02.09 10:26:26

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20090206PD200.html

[meinolf67]

Solar cell maker Gintech amends wafer contracts with MEMC


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Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 19 February 2009]

Gintech Energy, a Taiwan-based maker of crystalline silicon solar cells, has announced the amendment to two contracts it signed with US-based MEMC Electronic Materials in 2006 and 2007 for supply of solar-grade crystalline silicon wafers, with contract prices downward adjusted and total supply volume upward adjusted specifically for the year of 2009 to make the 2009 total shipment value the same as specified in the original contract.

Gintech and MEMC signed a 10-year supply contract worth NT$100 billion (about US$3.05 billion) in 2006 and another 10-year contract with total value of NT$25 billion in 2007, according to Gintech.

MEMC also amended a 10-year US$6 billion supply contract signed in 2006 with Suntech Power, a China-based maker of crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules, in the same model, according to industry sources in Taiwan. Because MEMC's shipments to Gintech and Suntech will increase in total volume in 2009, MEMC may increase outsourced production of solar-grade crystalline silicon wafers by its two Taiwan-based partners, Sino-American Silicon Products and Green Energy Technology, the sources pointed out.

[meinolf67]

Gintech to Ship 'World's Most Efficient' Polycrystalline Si Solar Cell
Feb 20, 2009 14:25
Hiroaki Kitahara, technical writer


The polycrystalline silicon solar cell with an average conversion efficiency of 16.4% or higher (courtesy of Gintech)


The monocrystalline silicon solar cell with an average conversion efficiency of 17.1% or higher (courtesy of Gintech)


The color cells under development (courtesy of Gintech)

Gintech Energy Corp, a Taiwan-based solar cell manufacturer, will start shipping the "Douro," a polycrystalline silicon solar cell with a conversion efficiency of 16.6%, in March 2009.

It is the world's highest efficiency for polycrystalline silicon solar cells manufactured with existing structures, materials and processes, according to the company. However, the current conversion efficiency of the cell is "16.4% or more" on average.

"We will realize an average conversion efficiency of 16.6% or more by the time we start shipping the product," said Harry H.H. Kuo, product manager and technical manager of Gintech.

The company will aim for an average conversion efficiency of 17.5% for the future.

Almost same pricing

Gintech has not introduced any special process to raise the conversion efficiency of the cell to be shipped in March. Using the same manufacturing process as before, the company could maintain the high yield. As a result, it can ship the new solar cell at almost the same price as that of its previous product with a one-point lower conversion efficiency.

Gintech will switch all of its solar cells to the new type in one year from the first shipment in March. In addition, it plans to boost the current yield of 97% to 97.7% or higher.

The new cell measures 156 x 156mm, and the substrate is 180 to 200μm thick. The conversion efficiency was measured at Fraunhofer ISE (Instituts fur Solare Energiesysteme). Gintech is currently selling its cells in 42 categories with conversion efficiencies from 15 to 17%.

Monocrystalline Si cells, color cells

In addition to the polycrystalline silicon cell, Gintech enhanced the conversion efficiency of its monocrystalline silicon solar cell to 17.1% or higher on average by improving the manufacturing process.

Furthermore, the company developed color cells that look green, purple, gray or silver by adjusting the surface layers of cells. Their conversion efficiency is equal to that of the company's standard cells, about 16% at maximum. These cells are targeted at BIPV (building integrated photovoltaics) applications.

[R-BgO]

Gintech subsidiary to market own-brand PV modules


Latest news
Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 12 March 2009]

Gintech Energy, a Taiwan-based maker of crystalline silicon solar cells, has established a subsidiary, Apos Energy Corporation, specifically for marketing crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) modules under Apos's own brand, according to industry sources. Apos has started operation, with the US being the main market initially, the sources added.

In order to avoid conflict of interest with Gintech's clients which assemble solar cells into PV modules, Apos will outsource production of modules and focus its operation on own-brand marketing through cooperation with Gintech, the sources pointed out. Gintech has partnered with suppliers of PV systems in the US and Japan for marketing there, the sources indicated.

[R-BgO]

Ergon Solair Italia, PV sales and distribution company, announces that it
has signed an important distribution agreement with one a top
Taiwanese producers of mono and polycrystalline cells, Gintech Energy
Corporation.
Gintech exports more than 95% of its products to overseas markets and
has established a worldwide reputation for consistently supplying
superior quality cells.
The presence of Gintech cells in the Italian market, already strong, will
be further strengthened as a result of the cooperation of the two
companies which represents an innovative formula in the PV industry
that brings Gintech to have a domestic sales window on the Italian PV
scene, located in central Italy .

[R-BgO]

Gintech aims to raise US$49.7m
By Kevin Chen
STAFF REPORTER
Thursday, Mar 19, 2009, Page 11

Solar cell maker Gintech Energy Corp (昱晶能源) will seek to raise as much as US$49.7 million by issuing 28.24 million units of global depositary receipts (GDRs) — each of which represents one Gintech common share — at an average price of US$1.76 a share.

In a stock exchange filing yesterday, Gintech said it would use the proceeds from the GDR sale to repay bank loans and cut interest payment costs.

PRICING

With the pricing of each GDR equivalent to NT$60.51 for each common share (based on the exchange rate of NT$34.416 against the US dollar at the close of Taipei trading on Monday), the new shares are being sold at a 17.8 percent discount from the closing price of Gintech stock in Taiwan yesterday, when the company’s shares fell 1.47 percent to end at NT$73.6.

Gintech, whose headquarters are in Taipei’s Neihu Technology Park (內湖科技園區), began an overseas road show to market its planned GDR issuance in September last year.

COMPETITIVENESS

At the time, the company reportedly aimed to raise between US$160 million and US$170 million from the issue of 30 million GDRs and wanted to use two-thirds of the proceeds for raw material procurement and the rest for loan repayment. It delayed the issue in the face of the volatility in global equity markets.

While the GDR issuance is likely to dilute share value and earnings per share, “the capital enhancement effort would help increase the company’s competitiveness, lower its operational risk and thus benefit existing shareholders” in the long run, Gintech spokesman and chief financial officer Martin Kuo (郭彥辰) said in the stock exchange filing.

NO FOREIGN EXCHANGES

In contrast with market speculation, Gintech will not list the GDRs on any foreign stock exchange. The issue will be settled in Euroclear, Clearstream International and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp, with the Bank of New York Mellon as the custodian bank, the company said.

Gintech has a solar cell production capacity of 660,000 kilowatts a year in Taiwan. Targeting European markets, especially Germany and Spain, the company also looks to enter the Japanese market on a contract-making ­basis, the Nikkei Shimbun business daily said in a report last month.

The company’s shares have gained 0.5 percent since the ­beginning of the year, compared with a 9.9 percent increase for the benchmark TAIEX index over the same period.

While sentiment for solar cell makers has improved recently as raw materials prices edged down, Gintech was rated “underweight” at HSBC Holdings PLC, which cited margin risk because of the firm’s higher exposure to long-term wafer supply contracts and therefore a lack of flexibility on sourcing raw materials.

HSBC offered a target price of NT$50 for Gintech, which represented a 32.1 percent downside from yesterday’s close, according to a HSBC client note issed on Tuesday.

[R-BgO]

Das hier dürften die Umsatzzahlen von 3-2008 bis 2-2009 sein:

http://www.gintechenergy.com/invest_content.php?ta=1

Der Einbruch ist sehr gut zu erkennen.

[R-BgO]

New rules enable Gintech to complete GDR sale
By Anette Jönsson | 19 March 2009

Six months after the roadshow, the Taiwanese solar cell manufacturer finally raises some equity capital, but the sharp drop in its share price and a 19% discount means it has to settle for one-third of the initial target.

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Gintech Energy Corp on Tuesday raised $53 million from the sale of global depositary receipts, becoming the first Asian issuer to sell GDRs this year and the first to make use of new Taiwanese regulations allowing equity follow-ons to be priced at a wider discount than 10%.

The Taiwanese solar cell manufacturer did an international roadshow in September last year, but the market collapse following the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy made it impossible to launch a deal at the time and the company had been waiting to issue ever since.

A window finally opened up a few weeks ago when the Taiwanese regulator changed its rules to allow the maximum discount on follow-ons to be set as wide as 20%, thus increasing the likelihood that companies will be able to find buyers in the current volatile environment. Like before, the discount can be calculated either based on the latest closing price or based on a volume-weighted average price over the past one, three or five days, giving the issuer a bit of extra leeway.

Sources say it would have been impossible for Gintech to sell shares to an international audience at a discount of just 10% as sentiment towards the solar power sector remains quite poor. The drop in oil prices has led to a decline in demand for solar energy which in turn has resulted in falling selling prices throughout the value chain and Gintech, which relies heavily on long-term contracts for its raw material polysilicon and silicon wafers, has been among the worst hit in terms of margin compression -- even though most industry watchers agree that it is fundamentally a good company. Ironically, this very practice of securing wafer supplies for the long-term has previously been lauded by analysts as one of Gintech's most attractive features and the key reason why it has been able to grow so quickly since it began volume production in 2006.

At a close to 20% discount versus Wednesday's close in the Taiwan market, the company was, however, able to complement the orders from investors who are genuinely interested in the company for the long term with some hedge fund buying to ensure a sufficient take-up of the deal.

The company offered the same number of GDRs that it had planned to sell in September, namely 300 million (each equivalent to one common share), but with the share price having slumped significantly since then, Tuesday's sale was able to raise only about one-third of the money targeted when it did the roadshow. However, sources say the company wanted to go ahead in any case since it needed the money to pay down debt.

The GDRs, which together accounted for 20% of the existing share capital, were priced at $1.76 apiece, which corresponds to NT$60.51, or a 19% discount versus Tuesday's closing price of NT$74.70. While it may have been necessary to get the deal out the door after it has been parked on the sidelines for so long, the discount is definitely very wide, especially for a deal that is barely above $50 million and accounts for only five or six days worth of trading volumes. One cannot help but suspect that some investors may have decided to exploit the relaxed rules and push for the maximum discount in order to make a quick profit.

About 20 investors were said to have participated in the trade. Most of the demand came from Asia-based investors, about one-third from the US and a small amount from Europe. Sources say the deal did attract orders from some long-only investors, including a few alternative energy specialist funds, who had met the company during the September roadshow, but about half of the demand - both in terms of volumes and number of investors - was taken up by hedge funds.

One observer noted that some long-only funds may have been prevented from participating, under their statutes, since the GDRs will not be listed. While the idea of doing a GDR in the first place would have been to increase the international shareholder base, the fact that the counter won't be listed suggests that there is an expectation that most of the paper will be converted into more liquid Taiwan shares anyway - and once that happens it will be easy to sell them.

In addition to the shares targeted at international investors, a portion of the deal was allocated to existing domestic shareholders and employees of the company - a new requirement put in place by the regulators as part of the widening of the maximum discount. The intention is to make sure that domestic investors, many of whom are retail investors, don't automatically get hit by a dilution of up to 20%, but at least have the choice to participate. Under the new rules they have the right to subscribe for however many shares are needed to lift their holdings by the same percentage as the increase in the overall share capital. In the case of Gintech, this meant they could subscribe for an amount equal to 20% of their existing holdings.

The sources say the actual subscription from these investors was a lot larger that their entitlements and in terms of final allocation, about 2% of the deal went to existing shareholders and another 5.9% to employees.

Interestingly, it was Goldman Sachs who led the GDR sale yesterday and not Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS, who took Gintech on the road in September. People familiar with the situation say the two banks were still in the picture when the discount rules were relaxed, but didn't feel comfortable doing the trade since they were concerned the smaller deal size wouldn't be sufficient to ensure that the company would not be in breech of certain covenants on its outstanding loans in six months' time.

That concern would stem from the fact Gintech was actually in breech, particularly of a requirement that its net debt to equity ratio was not to fall below 100% in 2008, and had to seek waivers from the lenders that they wouldn't call the loans before the next "check-up" date.

A source close to the deal says the $53 million raised would go primarily to pay down debt, and added that the company has also renegotiated some of the loan covenants and obtained some concessions from the banks, including a deferral of principal payments that will allow it to preserve a bit more cash. Altogether, Gintech's net debt to equity ratio will fall to 93% as a result of the deal from about 120% at present. The next check-up date will be at the end of August, the same source says.

The company has also supposedly renegotiated the price on some of its long-term wafer supply contracts, which will result in it being able to delay part of its earlier agreed pre-payments. However, according to analysts, the renegotiation of a 10-year contract with its main supplier, MEMC, which is also a shareholder in the company, has resulted not in a smaller outlay overall, but in the company getting more wafers for the same price - i.e. the per unit price will be lower, but the amount of cash going out the door is the same. MEMC is expected to provide about 50% of the company's total supply of wafers in 2009.

Another concern related to the smaller deal size is the fact that it will bring in virtually no new funds to expand capacity. And that is a worry since the main way for solar cell manufacturers to grow is to expand their capacity and sell more. Gintech in January decided to halt plans to build a third fabrication plant and maintain its capacity at the current 660MW, with an output of about 350MW-400MW. One recent analyst report said the company is instead expected to expand its exiting Fab 2 in the second half of this year, if demand for its products returns.

Gintech's share price gained in early trading yesterday, but finished the session 1.5% lower at NT$73.60 - a strong outcome by any means after it just diluted its share capital by 20%. However, the GDRs won't be eligible for sale until the trade settles tomorrow and it will take at least until mid-next week before any of them will have been converted into common shares that can be sold in the Taiwan market.

[R-BgO]

Solar cell maker Gintech blames China customs delay for March revenue drop


Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Monday 6 April 2009]


Gintech Energy, a Taiwan-based crystalline silicon solar cell maker, has reported revenues of NT$772.2 million (US$22.8 million) for March 2009, dropping by 36.38% on month and by 38.82% on year.

The decrease in revenues was mainly because of delay by China customs in handling shipments to a client, Gintech said, adding the revenues from the delayed shipments are expected to be recorded in April.

Gintech's revenues of NT$3.147 billion for January-March 2009 dropped by 10.28% on year.

[R-BgO]

vielleicht bald auch in Dtld. hndelbar:

NEW YORK, April 8 NY-MellonBank-Gintech


NEW YORK, April 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK), the global leader in asset management and securities servicing, has been selected by Gintech Energy Corporation ("Gintech") as the depositary bank for its global depositary receipt (GDR) program, which became effective on March 19, 2009. Each Gintech GDR represents one common share. The common shares are listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, under the stock code "3514." Gintech GDRs and common shares have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the U.S. (absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements).



Gintech Energy Corporation designs, manufactures and markets high-performance solar cells used to convert sunlight into electricity. The company is a main provider to solar module manufacturers that assemble and integrate the cells within solar modules and systems. Gintech's solar cells are used worldwide in products providing reliable and environmentally-friendly electric power, including in Germany, Spain, The People's Republic of China, South Korea, Italy, U.S. and Japan.



"We are delighted to be appointed by Gintech to act as depositary bank for its GDR program and to also be the first depositary bank to launch a DR offering from Asia this year," said Michael Cole-Fontayn, chief executive officer of The Bank of New York Mellon's Depositary Receipt Division. "We hope that our partnership with Gintech will stimulate capital-raising opportunities for other issuers, and we look forward to taking on that challenge."



The Bank of New York Mellon acts as depositary for more than 1,300 sponsored American and global depositary receipt programs, working in partnership with leading companies from 64 countries. With an unrivalled commitment to helping securities issuers succeed in the world's rapidly evolving financial markets, the Company delivers the industry's most comprehensive suite of integrated depositary receipt, corporate trust and stock transfer services. Additional information is available at www.bnymellon.com/dr.

[R-BgO]

Gintech denies MEMC poly-Si supply termination rumor

Latest news
Nuying Huang; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 6 May 2009]

Gintech Energy, in response to a report going around the bourse that the company will terminate existing solar-grade polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) supply contracts with US-based MEMC Electronic Materials, on May 5 emphasized this is absolutely a rumor.

With MEMC being a shareholder of Gintech, both sides have established long-term and good cooperation, the Taiwan-based solar cell maker emphasized. The request by Germany-based photovoltaic system provider Conergy AG for renegotiation of supply contracts with MEMC has nothing to do with Gintech, Gintech said.

[R-BgO]

TOKYO, May 22, 2009 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) -- ERGY | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Taiwanese firm Gintech Energy Corp. (TAIEX:3514) plans to ramp up supplies of solar cells to major manufacturers in Japan and China on an OEM basis, President Ellick K.J. Liao said Thursday.

Liao was in Japan to attend the 15th International Conference on the Future of Asia, hosted by Nikkei Inc.

He said that Gintech's operations are sluggish in Europe, its main market, but also that the company plans to continue to boost output by leveraging its low production costs. Shipments for 2009 will be 40-80 per cent higher than the 2008 figure, Liao predicted.

The firm has provided its products on an OEM basis through spot transactions through last year, but OEM arrangements will likely account for roughly 40 per cent of the firm's total solar cell sales this year, according to Liao. He added that the company has begun supplying some of its products to major Chinese and Japanese manufacturers.

Gintech plans to increase its annual output capacity by about 30 per cent to 660,000kw by 2010. The use of OEM arrangements is expected to allow it to maintain growth and keep factory operating rates high amid the economic downturn.

[R-BgO]

im Mai größter Hersteller in Taiwan:

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20090610PD202.html

[R-BgO]

aber mit Verlust:
Taiwan solar cell maker Gintech expects continued losses in 2Q09


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Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 11 June 2009]

Gintech Energy, a Taiwan-based maker of crystalline silicon solar cells, expects its business operation for the second quarter of 2009 to continue suffering loss as seen in the preceding quarter, according to company president & CEO Ellick Liao at the company's 2009 shareholder meeting on June 10.

Gintech recorded a net operating loss of NT$328.0 million (US$9.9 million) and net loss of NT$359.5 million for the first quarter of 2009. While revenues for this quarter are expected to increase considerably from last quarter, larger drops in product prices than in material costs will have resulted in sales coming in at a loss, Liao pointed out. However, Gintech stands a chance of returning to profits on an operational level in the third quarter of 2009, Liao indicated.

With a capital expenditure budget of NT$1.6 billion, Gintech plans to expand its annual solar cell production capacity from 510MWp (megawatt-peak) currently to 660MWp along with 50MWp in solar cell module capacity in the first quarter of 2010, Liao pointed out. The solar cell output in 2009 is forecast at 250-300MWp, Liao noted.

[R-BgO]

Market surge bodes well for GDR issues

* Publication Date：06/22/2009
* Source： Economic Daily News

Taiwan’s enterprises will issue global depository receipts worth between US$1 billion and US$2 billion this year, said Ronald Song, head of Global Banking Taiwan at Deutsche Bank.

The peak of GDR issues could fall in the third or fourth quarter if the fundraising tool proves to have lower associated costs than other types of fundraising. Stock price hikes could help reduce these costs as local companies seek to lure foreign and mainland Chinese investment. Interest in GDRs has even spread to financial and old-economy firms, which have not held sales of such products in years.

The surge in the local bourse this year has increased investor interest in equities while reducing the cost of GDR issues, as GDRs can be converted into local shares following the initial lock-up period. Meanwhile, GDRs can meet some companies’ need for foreign currency funds while lowering exchange-rate risk and costs.

Closer relations between Taipei and Beijing have sparked corporate interest in attracting foreign and mainland investment, banking industry insiders said. Pending the relaxation of related regulations, local companies will be able to bring in foreign and mainland Chinese shareholders through GDR issues.

Last year’s financial tsunami doused Taiwanese firms’ interest in issuing GDRs. Investment bankers said companies have shown increasing interest in issuing GDRs this year given the improved fundraising climate. Six local firms have already identified underwriters for such issues, while technology firms Gintech Energy Corp. and Wistron Corp. have held successful GDR sales this year. The 2-percent discount in Wistron’s issue price further bolstered market confidence in such sales.

Gintech raised US$53 million through the sale of GDRs and Wistron US$224 million. Among the companies that have indicated interest in selling GDRs, Tatung Co. has already announced plans to issue US$300 million, Prime View International Co. Ltd. US$215 million, Farglory Group US$200 million and KGI Securities Co. Ltd. NT$10 billion (US$304 million). These sales alone will bring GDR issues above the US$1 billion mark.

Should the possible US$500 million issue by Shin Kong Financial Holdings Co. Ltd. and US$400 million sale by Inotera Memories Inc.—along with issues by Fubon Financial Holding Co. Ltd. and Chinatrust Finanical Holding Co. Ltd.—go through, total funds raised through GDRs this year could reach US$2 billion.

Corporate boards of directors may not go through with GDR issues even if they secure shareholders’ approval for such moves, however. This has been the case for Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd., which has not issued GDRs despite shareholders’ having greenlighted the project at annual shareholder meetings for years.

[R-BgO]

http://www.gintechenergy.com/invest_content.php?ta=1

Es sieht so aus, als ob sie kumuliert per Ende Juni jetzt bei minus 20,45% liegen.

[R-BgO]

Gintech sees highest August revenues among Taiwan-based solar cell makers


Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Friday 11 September 2009]

Gintech Energy on September 10 reported self-estimated revenues of NT$1.246 billion (US$37.9 million) for August, the highest among Taiwan-based makers of crystalline silicon solar cells.

The August revenues increased by 4.77% on month but decreased by 19.4% on year, while the company's January-August revenues slipped 18.88% on year to NT$8.494 billion.

[R-BgO]

Taiwan-made poly-Si solar cells reach mainstream conversion rate of 15.75%

Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Monday 14 September 2009]

Major Taiwan-based polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) solar cell makers have attained a mainstream energy conversion rate of 15.75% and competitors failing to reach the level may have to lower prices to stay in the business, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

The global market of solar cells has turned from a seller's market in 2008 to a buyer's market currently, and cost control is thus crucial to competitiveness, said Ellick Liao, president of Taiwan solar cell maker Gintech Energy.

Based on an average spot market price of US$70/kg for poly-Si, prices for a 6-inch solar-grade poly-Si wafer are US$3.3-3.5, Liao noted. If a maker produces a 3.87-watt solar cell at an energy conversion rate of 15.9% from such a wafer, it can have a net margin of 10% based on current sales prices of US$1.3-1.4/watt for poly-Si solar cells, he analyzed.

Operational scale is also important, and makers with monthly output below 30MWp (megawatt-peak) will find it difficult to control costs, he added.

Gintech has reached an average energy conversion rate of 15.9% for poly-Si solar cells, and is expanding its annual capacity of poly-Si and monocrystalline silicon solar cells from a total of 510MWp to 560MWp in October 2009 and further to 660MWp in the first quarter of 2010, Liao noted.

[R-BgO]

Solar cell maker Gintech to amend wafer supply contract with MEMC

Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Friday 18 September 2009]

Taiwan-based solar cell maker Gintech Energy on September 17 announced it will amend a supply contract of solar-grade crystalline silicon wafers with MEMC Electronic Materials, with prices to be regularly renegotiated every quarter based on the changes in the spot market, and supply to account for 60-65% of Gintech's quarterly demand.

The price renegotiation may not follow the quarterly schedule in the case of fast fluctuations in the spot market, Gintech said. Gintech's board of directors on September 17 authorized the company chairman to sign the revised contract with MEMC soon.

The revisions will also extend the business relation between the two sides from silicon wafer supply to strategic alliance. Gintech will help MEMC seek a partner in Taiwan for outsourced afer production, and Gintech will reserve up to one-third of its total capacity to make solar cells for MEMC, the company said.

MEMC may invest in or form some kind of strategic partnership with the maker for the outsourced wafer production, Gintech said.

According to industry sources in Taiwan, a potential partner for outsourced wafer production is Eversol Corporation, Gintech's subsidiary with annual ingot capacity of 150MWp (megawatt-peak) and wafer capacity of 200MWp. Currently, China-based Glory Silicon Energy (Zhenjiang) is a major outsourced producer of solar-grade wafers for MEMC, the sources pointed out.

[R-BgO]

Gintech Energy raises additional funds to improve financial structure

Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 5 November 2009]

Taiwan-based solar cell maker Gintech Energy has raised an additional capital of NT$2.763 billion (US$85.4 million) through the release of 65 million new shares at NT$42.50 per share, according to a company announcement on November 4. The new funds will be used to improve the company's financial structure, it said.

[R-BgO]

http://digitimes.com/print/a20091015PD201.html

[R-BgO]

50,7MW allein im Oktober!!!


http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20091110PD202.html

[R-BgO]

Gintech to double solar cell capacity to 1GW in 2011
04 December 2009 | By Mark Osborne | News > Design-BuildSolar, Cell Processing

Citing an expected solar industry growth of 30% or more next year, Taiwan-based Gintech Energy is planning to expand its c-Si solar cell manufacturing capacity to 1GW by 2011. Gintech has a capacity of 560MW, according to a Bloomberg story that cited an interview with Gintech’s Chairman, Wenent Pan.

Gintech expects to invest US$170 million to nearly double its manufacturing capacity. The company is to push for more business from module manufacturers in Europe, USA and Japan.

Gintech also recently announced the launch of its Phoenix series multi-c-Si cells in multiple colours, designed to meet requirements for the BIPV market.

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 38.515.304 von R-BgO am 05.12.09 16:19:12

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aDVa9HvY…

[R-BgO]

Solar cell maker Gintech to sell Eversol stake to MEMC

Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 9 December 2009]

Taiwan-based solar cell maker Gintech Energy will sell its stake of about 8% in fellow solar wafer maker Eversol Corporation to US-based MEMC Electronic Materials, its main supplier of solar wafers, according to Gintech.

Gintech's representative on Eversol's board of directors already resigned on December 8 to pave the way for MEMC to take over the stake, the solar cell maker said.

The takeover is a string attached to an amendment to a supply contract between Gintech and MEMC in September 2009, with the solar cell maker agreeing to sell the Eversol shares at the original acquisition price of about NT$15 (US$0.47) per unit, industry sources said.

Eversol's share price on Taiwan's emerging stock market closed at NT$50.91 on December 8, meaning that MEMC would book a large capital gain from the deal, the sources added.

MEMC is expected to outsource part of its solar wafer production to Eversol after becoming a shareholder, the sources said.

[R-BgO]

Gintech to expand solar cell capacity to top 1GWp in 2011

Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 24 December 2009]

Gintech Energy, a Taiwan-based maker of crystalline silicon solar cells, will expand its total annual production capacity from 600MW currently to 1.01GWp in 2011 with total investment of NT$5.71 billion (US$177 million), according to the company.

Gintech currently has two factories in northern Taiwan, one with an annual capacity of 60MWp and the other with that of 540MWp, the company indicated. Gintech is expanding the annual production capacity at the larger factory to 660MWp with an investment of NT$750 million and will additionally invest NT$360 million to further increase annual capacity to 750MWp in 2010, the company pointed out.

In addition, Gintech will invest NT$4.6 billion to set up a third factory next to the existing larger factory in 2010, with operations to kick off in 2011, the company indicated. The new factory will have an initial annual production capacity of 200MWp, bringing Gintech's total capacity to 1.01GWp in 2011, the company noted. The new factory will be able to house several production lines with a maximum total annual capacity of 1.2GWp, Gintech pointed out.

[R-BgO]

SAS and Gintech post mixed results for December

Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 7 January 2010]

Taiwan-based solar wafer maker Sino-American Silicon Products (SAS) and solar cell maker Gintech Energy on January 6 reported their respective unaudited revenues for December 2009, with the former hittig a record and the latter seeing a sequential decrease.

SAS is expanding its annual capacity, adding 100MWp in first-quarter 2010 and another 100MWp in the next quarter, according to the company.

Gintech is also expanding its capacity to attain an annual total of 810MWp with target output of 660MW in 2010, the company indicated. Japan is Ginteck's largest overseas market currently, followed by Germany, China, the US, South Korea and India, the company said.

SAS, Gintech: Unaudited revenues, December 2009 (NT$ b)



Dec 2009


M/M


Y/Y


2009


Y/Y

SAS


1.157 (US$35.8m)


12.85%


31.48%


10.367


10.51%

Gintech


1.873


(7.28%)


75.57%


15.721


(2.91%)

[R-BgO]

Gintech president to transfer to subsidiary Eversol


Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Friday 29 January 2010]

Gintech Energy, a Taiwan-based maker of crystalline silicon solar cells, on January 28 announced the resignation of its president Ellick Liao. Liao indicated that he will assume the position of president of Eversol Corporation, Gintech's solar-grade crystalline silicon wafer subsidiary, in March 2010.

Taiwan solar cell makers will expand their annual capacities by a total of 2GWp in 2010, but local solar-grade wafer makers' current total capacity is less than 2GWp in equivalent, Liao indicated. In light of the short supply, Liao said that he will expand Eversol's production capacity by as much as possible.

Eversol currently has an annual capacity of 150MWp crystalline silicon ingots and a slicing capacity of 200MWp wafers, Liao pointed out.

[R-BgO]

Solar cell maker Gintech sees improved operations

Nuying Huang, Hsinchu; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 2 February 2010]

Solar cell maker Gintech Energy has improved its operations through reducing reliance on long-term contracts for polycrystalline silicon material supply and lowering its debt ratio from as high as 170% to 75% currently, according company chairman Wenent Pan. As a result of the improved operations, Gintech saw net profit of NT$1.098 billion (US$33.4 million) for the fourth quarter of 2009, Pan indicated.

Gintech has been running at full capacity for a while and is expanding its capacity in anticipation of a 30-50% growth in global demand for solar cells in 2010, Pan said. Gintech's annual capacity will increase from 640MWp at the end of 2009 to 720MWp in June, 810MWp in September 2010, and to over 1GWp in 2011, Pan added.

Gintech currently has 50 clients, 10 more than the number in 2009, Pan indicated, adding the top-10 clients currently account for 60% of Gintech's total sales.

Gintech on February 1 released unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter of 2009.

Gintech: Unaudited financial results, 4Q09 and 2009

Item
4Q09
2009
Revenues (NT$b)
5.736
15.711
Gross margin
22.28%
3.49%
Net profit (NT$m)
1,098
72
Net earnings per share (NT$)
4.3
0.28
Source: Company, compiled by Digitimes, February 2010

[R-BgO]

Gintech ranks 10th globally in 2009 solar cell production

Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 1 April 2010]

Taiwan-based solar cell maker Gintech Energy ranked 10th in terms of 2009 output among all makers of solar cells or thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules around the world, according to market research firms Photon International and Solarbuzz. Gintech rolled out 368MWp solar cells in 2009 compared to 360MWp produced by Taiwan-based competitor Motech Industries.

[R-BgO]

April 22 (Bloomberg) -- Gintech Energy Corp., Taiwan’s second-biggest solar-cell maker, expects to withstand the local dollar’s gains because of rising demand for renewable energy.

The Taiwan currency may reach NT$30 per dollar “in the worst case scenario,” should China’s yuan appreciate by between 3 percent and 5 percent before the end of the year, Andrew Shih, deputy director at the company’s financial division, said in an interview in Taipei yesterday. “Gintech will be OK.”

Taiwan’s dollar has appreciated about 2 percent against its U.S. counterpart this year, partly because of speculation China will allow its currency to advance, spurring fund inflows to Asia. It traded at NT$31.396 at 10:20 a.m., according to Taipei Forex Inc. The mainland is the island’s biggest export market.

Germany is among markets where demand for solar power is boosting Gintech’s sales, helping the company weather Taiwan dollar appreciation that reduces the value of overseas earnings in local-currency terms. The solar-cell maker’s income is mostly in U.S. dollars, euros and yen, according to Shih.

Gintech posted net income of NT$1.04 billion ($33.2 million), in the three months through March 31, on sales of NT$5.59 billion, the company said in a stock exchange filing April 14, citing unaudited figures. It reported a loss of NT$360 million a year earlier.

The Miaoli, northern Taiwan-based company’s shipments may double this year from 368 megawatts in 2009, Shih said. The recovery in the global economy is boosting funding for solar power projects, helping lift Gintech’s sales, he said.

Fund Raising

“We have orders exceeding our capacity,” he said. The company aims to boost its annual production capacity to more than 900 megawatts this year, from 720 megawatts currently, he said. One megawatt is enough to power 800 U.S. homes.

Gintech may raise $200 million through borrowing or equities this year to help fund the expansion, Shih said, without giving details.

Gintech has risen 3.3 percent in Taipei trading this year, outperforming the 3.4 percent decline in the benchmark Taiex index.

To help mitigate the effects of gains in the Taiwan dollar, Gintech may consider measures such as taking out loans in U.S. dollars and sales of currency forwards, Shih said.

Forwards are agreements to buy and sell assets at current prices for future delivery.

Taiwan Dollar Forecasts

Taiwan’s dollar may appreciate 4.6 percent to NT$30 against its U.S. counterpart by the first quarter next year, according to the median of 17 analyst forecasts compiled by Bloomberg.

Motech is the island’s biggest solar-cell maker by market value. The world’s largest include Japan’s Sharp Corp. and Q- Cell SE of Germany.

Global sales of solar power panels will jump 94 percent this year as developers rush to install systems before governments cut back on incentives, according to industry publisher Isuppli.

Solar installations may climb to 13,600 megawatts this year, up from 7,000 megawatts in 2009, with Germany remaining the world’s largest market, Henning Wicht, an analyst at El Segundo, California-based Isuppli, said April 20.

To contact the reporter on the story: Yu-huay Sun in Taipei [e-mail]
Last Updated: April 21, 2010 22:55 EDT

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Gintech posts record monthly revenues in April


Nuying Huang, Taipei; Willie Teng, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 5 May 2010]

Solar cell maker Gintech Energy posted a monthly record of NT$2.3 billion (about US$73 million) in revenues in April 2010, up 18% from March and 162% on year, according to the company. Its April solar cell shipments of 67MWp were a monthly record as well.

Though Japan accounted for merely a third of the Taiwan-based company's 2009 orders, the proportion will rise to 50% in 2010 to prevent over reliance on demand from Europe, the company said, adding that the US will claim a 10% share this year.

Cumulative revenues from January through April totaled NT$7.9 billion, rising 96% on year, the company said. Market watchers project its first-half EPS could top NT$7.

In related news, executives from Gintech have confirmed the land purchase in the Chunan Science Park, in northern Taiwan. According to industry sources, Gintech will use the land to build a new solar cell facility with ground breaking scheduled for July.

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Gintech obtains NT$6.5 billion loan


Nuying Huang, Taipei; Willie Teng, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 3 August 2010]

Gintech Energy, a maker of crystalline silicon solar cells, on August 2 signed a 5-year syndicated loan, the largest syndicated loan to date in Taiwan's solar sector, with 11 banks for NT$6.5 billion (US$202 million) to continue capacity expansion, according to the company.

With the syndicated loan, Gintech is now sitting on NT$10 billion in cash reserve, which will allow the company to execute its plan to ramp capacity up to 2-2.2GWp over the next three to four years.

Gintech will first increase capacity to 930MWp in the third quarter, which should raise its global capacity ranking to seventh, and further expansion to 1.4-1.7GWp is expected for 2011, said company chairman Wenant Pan.

Pan indicated that orders will continue to be in excess of capacity for the rest of 2010. EPS in the first half of 2010 alone should exceed NT$6 versus the NT$8 previously projected for the full year.

Market watchers are bullish on Gintech's second-half profitability largely on successful price negotiation with poly-Si supplier MEMC, which reportedly has agreed to provide materials at prices similar to that of the second quarter.

Poly-Si prices are currently on the rise, with some Chinese suppliers having already hiked quotes to more than US$60/kg from US$50-55/kg in the first half.

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Gintech Energy forecasts high net income

HIGH DEMAND: Strong orders have driven production at solar cell factories on the back of new European subsidies, such as in Germany, the largest solar panel market

By Lisa Wang
STAFF REPORTER
Thursday, Sep 16, 2010, Page 12
Gintech Energy Corp (昱晶能源), one of the nation’s biggest solar cell makers, expects net income to remain at a high level this quarter on the back of sustained demand, a company executive said yesterday.

Strong demand has helped most solar companies’ factories run at full capacity and lifted prices over the past two quarters as solar-cell system installations increased before new but lower subsidies from last year for the solar photovoltaics system in Germany — the world’s biggest solar panel market — and other European countries, took effect in the middle of this year.

THIRD QUARTER KEY

“We believe the third quarter will be a very good quarter for us ... Net profits will be no less than the previous two quarters,” company president Wenwhe Pan (潘文輝) said.

“We are on the road to making total net profits that equal our share capital in the first three quarters,” he said.

Based on Pan’s forecast, Gintech is likely to post more than NT$1 billion (US$31.45 million) in net income this quarter after deducting the NT$1.04 billion and NT$999 million it earned in the first and second quarters from the company’s NT$3.19 billion in share capital.

SHIPMENTS TO RISE

Shipments would rise 11 percent to about 225 megawatts (MW) in the current quarter, from last quarter’s 202MW, Pan said.

Gross margin would be flat from last quarter’s 19.3 percent, he said.

“However, November will be a turning point,” Pan said.

Demand is expected to weaken, as people tend not to install solar panel systems during the Christmas holiday season because of cooler weather, Pan said.

The weakness is expected to worsen in the first quarter of next year as aggressive capacity expansion from its global peers could cause oversupply and price decline, he said.

“The first quarter will be a very challenging period [for the industry],” Pan said. “However, we are okay with orders in the fourth and first quarter of next year.”

Gintech planned to cut price to secure orders beginning in December, Pan said.

“I won’t be surprised by about a cut of 5 to 10 percent [compared with the third quarter],” he said.

SLOWING GROWTH

The overall solar cell industry is expected to experience a slower growth next year, Gintech chairman Wenent Pan (潘文炎) said.

The market would grow 21 percent to 17 gigawatts (GW), from 14GW this year, he projected.

This year, the market could balloon 92 percent from last year’s 7.3GW, he said.

For Gintech, shipments are expected to more than double to 800MW this year and to rise a further 50 percent to 1.2GW next year, the chairman said.

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Gintech to focus on solar cell product, cautious about vertical integration, says company chairman


Nuying Huang, Taipei; Willie Teng, DIGITIMES [Thursday 16 September 2010]

Solar cell maker Gintech Energy will continue to focus on solar cells as its main business, and although players from both sides of the Taiwan Strait have been active in vertical integration, it will remain cautious when making moves up and down the supply chain, company chairman Wenant Pan said during a shareholders meeting on September 15, 2010.

In addition to solar cell operations, the Taiwan-based company also has 50MWp of solar module capacity and began shipments in August. Gintech pointed out that the reason for entering module manufacturing is to provide a real-world testing platform for its solar cells, and the foray downstream was made mainly on customer requests.

However, Gintech will not blindly integrate vertically just because its competitors are, according to Pan, adding that solar cells are the company's focus and that is where its core advantage lies. In the future, Gintech will likely integrate via strategic alliances and will not enter all levels of the supply chain by itself, he indicated.

Currently, no Taiwan-based solar companies have been successful in vertical integration, and some of their investments have actually backfired and seriously impacted their original businesses, Pan noted.

Gintech was the world's tenth-largest solar cell supplier in 2009, and its ranking should rise to the seventh spot 2010 with a 6% market share. The company currently has a solar cell capacity of 930MWp and will ramp up by another 480MWp in the first two quarters of 2011. Total capacity is estimated to reach 1.65GWp in 2011 and 2.37GWp for 2012.

First-half debt ratio dropped to 26% from 31% in 2009, and the company now has NT$16 billion (US$503.69 million) in cash. Capital expenditure in 2010 and 2011 is projected to total NT$1.65 billion and NT$5.35 billion respectively.

Gintech shipped 372MWp in the first half of 2010, and its full-year shipment forecast has been raised to over 800MWp, and 1.2GWp is projected for 2011. Third-quarter monthly shipments should top 75MWp on average and price will remain at a high level into the fourth quarter. The turning point in demand could be around the Thanksgiving holidays since seasonal weather changes and people taking vacations could lower desire to install solar systems. The first quarter of 2011 will be a challenge for the PV market.

The company remains bullish in the long run, citing data indicating that solar energy only accounted for 22GWp or 0.1% of global electricity generated in 2009.

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Gintech expecting solar cell shipments to double this year
By Yu-huay Sun / STAFF REPORTER

Gintech Energy Corp (昱晶), Taiwan’s biggest solar cell maker by sales, expects shipments this year to more than double as global demand for renewable energy surges.

Shipments of cells used in panels that turn sunlight into electricity will probably rise to 800 megawatts this year from 368 megawatts last year, Becky Yu (俞華), a spokeswoman at the Miaoli-based company, said at a forum in Taipei yesterday.

One megawatt can power about 800 US homes.

Global sales of solar panels will almost double this year as developers seek to install systems and benefit from government incentives, according to market researcher iSuppli.

Panel installations may rise 20 percent a year globally as declining costs spur demand, Yu said.

“There’s an abnormal surge this year in installations,” Yu said. “There won’t be an oversupply, as the market for solar power is huge.”

Gintech’s annual capacity may rise to 1.65 gigawatts next year, from a projected 930 megawatts by the end of this year, Yu said.

The company expects capacity to reach 2.2 gigawatts in 2013, Gintech chairman Wenent Pan (潘文炎) said in July.

The solar cell maker started shipping modules last month from a plant in northern Taiwan, Yu said.

The 50 megawatt-a-year facility can be used to “verify the performance” of Gintech’s solar cells, she said.

Prices of solar power systems could fall by 5 to 10 percent a year as technology advances and global production increases, Yu said.

Gintech shares fell 0.8 percent to close at NT$89.90 yesterday, underperforming the TAIEX, which dropped 0.03 percent.

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Auria aims to raise NT$10 billion via ESM listing, Gintech reaches 930MWp capacity ahead of schedule


Nuying Huang, Taipei; Willie Teng, DIGITIMES [Friday 22 October 2010]

Thin-film photovoltaic (PV) module maker Auria Solar turned profitable in the third quarter of 2010, and plans to raise NT$10 billion (US$324.51 million) via listing on Taiwan's Emerging Stock Market (ESM) at the end of the year, according to company chairman Tsai Chin-Yao, noting that public offering is ongoing.

Auria will bring module capacity from 60MWp currently to 200MWp by the end of 2011, Tsai said. When capacity reaches 200MWp, production cost will drop to US$1/W and down to US$0.5/W with 500MWp in capacity, Tsai indicated, adding that thin-film module cost is approaching levels competitive with mainstream crystalline silicon solutions. Auria's thin-film PV modules currently provide an average 10% conversion rate, and the company is looking to improve to 11% in 2011.

Auria reported more than NT$1 billion in revenues from January through September. Current monthly revenues are around NT$200 million.

In related news, solar cell maker Gintech Energy posted NT$7.73 billion in third-quarter revenues, up 11% sequentially. Revenues from January through September increased 103% from a year ago to NT$20.27 billion. The company is projecting to ship 800MWp for 2010, representing a 118% increase from 2009.

Gintech has also ramped up manufacturing capacity to 930MWp in October ahead of schedule.

Since the Japanese market currently constitutes 30% of Gintech's shipments, and thanks to a weakening US dollar and the Japanese yen rising at a stronger pace than the NT dollar, Gintech saw a modest profit from currency exchange rates. Gintech's net income for the first three quarters in 2010 could exceed NT$10, according market watchers.

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Gintech to ship 1.2GWp worth of solar cells in 2011
Nuying Huang, Taipei; Willie Teng, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 18 January 2011]


Solar cell maker Gintech Energy expects 2011 capacity to reach 1.5GWp and could ramp up further depending on market conditions, according to company chairman Wenant Pan, who added that solar cell production will total 1.2GWp this year up 50% from 2010. The company has developed an order screening process for 2011, and currently sees 1.4GWp in orders for the year.

Gintech currently has NT$18 billion (US$) in cash holding and 2011 capex will be NT$5 billion. Hence, the company has no fund raising plans at the moment.

Gintech will look to integrate vertically in the future, Pan said. The company reportedly has plans to establish a system-end joint venture with real estate developer CTCI to secure market presence downstream and order source.

Pan still believes demand will increase by 20% in 2011. The system end will rebound after winter and Germany's next subsidy cut in mid-2011 could stimulate demand in the first half, he said.

Though the 2011 solar cell market will not be as strong as in 2010, Gintech's performance will be above average due to economy of scale and stronger procurement leverage. The company is still running at full capacity for the first quarter.

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Gintech breaks ground for solar wafer plant


Nuying Huang, Taipei; Willie Teng, DIGITIMES [Monday 7 March 2011]

Solar cell maker Gintech Energy on March 7 broke ground for its solar wafer plant in Miaoli, Taiwan. The plant is under Gintech's solar wafer subsidiary, which also include Taiwan Fertilizer and CTCI Corporation as main investors.

The subsidiary will begin equipment installation in May and June with production scheduled for July 2011. Its capacity will total 330MWp in 2011

Gintech will retain management rights to both solar cell and wafer businesses, and for upstream materials, the company will position itself through investments. As for solar modules, it is evaluating whether it is more advantageous to set up facilities in Taiwan or China. Gintech also has plan to partner with CTCI in solar systems.