JA Solar Turns 3Q Profit On Record Shipments

NEW YORK (AP) — JA Solar Holdings Co. said Tuesday it turned a profit in the most recent quarter, helped by a pick up in demand for solar cells raised shipments to record levels.

The China-based maker of solar cells shipped 177 megawatts of solar cells in the third quarter — the highest quarterly shipments in the company's history — up 78.8 percent over levels from the same period last year.

"We also gained significant market share during the quarter and made further progress diversifying our customer base," said Baofang Jin, CEO.

Earnings for the three months ended Sept. 30 rose to 106.8 million renminbi ($15.7 million), or 0.66 renminbi (10 cents) per American Depository Share, compared with a loss of 142.8 million Renminbi, or 2.47 renminbi per ADS, during the same period last year. The loss in the 2008 quarter was driven by hefty nonrecurring losses tied to Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy filing.

Analysts expected a profit of 3 cents per share, according to a Thomson Reuters survey.

Revenue declined 38 percent to 1.32 billion renminbi ($193.3 million) from 2.12 billion renminbi last year. Analysts forecast revenue of $136.2 million.