LDK Q4 distinction lags market; shares down

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(Reuters) - Chinese solar wafer builder LDK Solar reported an practiced fourth-quarter distinction next accord estimates, as lower-than-expected normal offered prices harm sum margins, promulgation the shares down 7 percent in pre-market trade.

Fourth-quarter sum margins slipped to 9.9 percent, compared with 20.1 percent in the third quarter.

On a discussion call with analysts, however, the association pronounced it had seen improvements in year-to-date normal offered prices.

Operating domain for the fourth entertain was a disastrous 1.1 percent, down from 13.2 percent in the third quarter.

For the fourth quarter, LDK reported a net loss of $7.3 million, or 7 cents per American repository share (ADS), compared with a net loss of $133.1 million, or $1.25 per ADS, last year.

Excluding items, the association warranted 3 cents per ADS, a entertain of analysts expectations of a distinction of twelve cents per ADS, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Sales fell twenty-seven percent to $304.6 million, but surfaced analysts" normal guess of $301.1 million.

The company, the world"s largest builder of polysilicon wafers, however, foresee sequentially higher first-quarter shipments.

"During the fourth quarter, we one after another to see strengthening wafer direct and alleviation in the handling sourroundings for the solar industry," LDK said.

It now expects first-quarter wafer shipments of in in between 370 megawatts (MW) to 400 MW, up from the 340.4 MW it shipped in the fourth quarter.

LDK additionally guided toward first-quarter income of in in between $310 million and $330 million, the mid-point of that is on top of analysts" accord estimates of $315.6 million.

The company, that has been relocating some-more in to production polysilicon, pronounced the 1,000 metric ton (MT) plant was producing nearby capacity.

Shares of the association were down about 7 percent at $6.57 in pre-market trade. They sealed at $7.05 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Adveith Nair in Bangalore; Editing by Savio D"Souza, Unnikrishnan Nair)

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