US photovoltaic (PV) company First Solar announced net sales of $533m in the second quarter of 2011, a decrease of $34.5m from the first quarter and $55m compared with the same period in 2010. The company attributed the decrease in revenue to lower average selling prices and policy uncertainties in Europe.
Net sales for the first half of the year were $1.1bn, down slightly from $1.16bn in the first half of 2010. The company spent $64m on research and development in the first six months of the year, an increase of nearly $20m from last year. Operating expenses were up $30m in the second quarter at $130m and were $261m for the first half, up from $194m in the fist six months of 2010.
Rob Gillette, CEO of First Solar, said, 'First Solar continued to execute in the quarter despite a challenging European market, and our 2011 outlook remains solid due to our differentiated and resilient business model. We expect stronger performance in the second half of 2011 as we build projects from our systems pipeline, develop promising new markets, execute our cost reduction roadmaps and continue to improve module efficiencies.'
Several other solar companies have also recently announced sales decreases in their quarterly reviews and last month SunPower lowered its revenue expectations as did German manufacturer Solon