Solar company profits falling / gone !

Panel prices have fallen and fallen and oh yes fallen again - but with most of the worlds big solar companies losing money, how low can they go ??

First Solar fell into loss of US$ 449.4 million in the first quarter (Q1) of 2012, compared with a net profit of US$116m in the same period last year, as the company was hit by low prices for solar and restructuring costs.

Net sales were down 12% to US$467.1m.

“First Solar's performance in the quarter was impacted by an aggressive competitive environment resulting from persistent supply-demand imbalances in the market, as well as restructuring costs that will improve our operating efficiency and help position us for the future,” Mike Ahearn, Chairman of the Board, says.

“Looking forward, we are confident we have the right long-term strategy and the right platform to enable growth and value creation. We believe that by executing our strategic roadmaps and completing our restructuring program, we can achieve our targets of 2.6 to 3.0 GW of sales in sustainable markets, earning a return on invested capital of 13 to 17% by 2016.”