US-based First Solar has upgraded its 2011 financial guidance and is now predicting net sales in the range of $2.8bn to $2.9bn, compared to the original forecast of $3bn to $3.3bn.
It cited continued delays of certain projects in First Solar's systems business due to weather conditions and other factors. Not included in the revision are charges that are expected to be occurred in relation to initiatives to implement operating cost reductions and improve efficiency, the majority of which First Solar expects to incur in the current quarter.
For 2012, the company is now expecting net sales to be in the range of $3.7bn to $4bn.
Mike Ahearn, chairman and interim CEO of First Solar, said, 'Our diverse business model and robust project pipeline will help First Solar generate a significant amount of cash in 2012 while improving operational efficiencies, but we are recalibrating our business to focus on building and serving sustainable markets rather than pursuing subsidised markets. By channeling our core strength in utility-scale PV systems to markets with immediate need for mass-scale renewable energy our goal is to earn substantially all of our new revenues from sustainable markets by the end of 2014.'
At the start of last month, the company commenced work on one of the first utility-scale solar projects in Australia, a 10MW development in the west of the country.