LDK Solar Co., Ltd. reported its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009. Net sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 were $281.9 million, compared to $228.3 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2009, and $541.8 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2008. For the third quarter of fiscal 2009, gross profit was $56.8 million, compared to negative $205.5 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2009, and $122.9 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2008.
Gross margin for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 was 20.1%, compared to negative 90.0% in the second quarter of fiscal 2009 and 22.7% in the third quarter of fiscal 2008.
Income from operations for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 was $37.1 million, compared to a loss of $235.0 million for the second quarter of 2009, and compared to income from operations of $107.8 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2008.
Operating margin for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 was 13.2% compared to negative 102.9% in the second quarter of fiscal 2009 and 19.9% in the third quarter of fiscal 2008.
Income tax expense for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 was $6.6 million, compared to income tax benefit of $29.5 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2009.
Net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 was $29.4 million, or $0.27 per diluted ADS, compared to a net loss of $216.9 million, or $2.03 per diluted ADS for the second quarter of fiscal 2009. LDK Solar ended the third quarter of 2009 with $67.8 million in cash and cash equivalents and $72.7 million in short-term pledged bank deposits.
"We were pleased to see wafer demand strengthen across multiple geographies during the quarter, rebounding from the lower levels seen earlier this year. Our financial results for the third quarter reflect the recent improvement in the operating environment for the solar industry," stated Xiaofeng Peng, Chairman and CEO of LDK Solar. "During the third quarter, we continued to take steps to further strengthen our business. In addition to reaching important milestones for ramping our polysilicon production, we made great strides to further diversify and grow our business and improve our operating flexibility by increasing our near-term financial resources, while we continued to closely manage costs.
"We are making significant progress in ramping our operations. Our 1,000 MT polysilicon plant is in full scale production and our wafer plant is running at full capacity. We completed the first production run and initiated production ramp-up of operations for the first 5,000 MT train of our 15,000 MT plant during the quarter. As part of our efforts to expand our financial resources, we recently completed the sale of a 15% ownership stake in 15,000 MT plant for approximately $219 million to Jiangxi International Trust and Investment Co., Ltd. This investment strengthens our financial position and increases our operating flexibility," continued Peng.
"During the third quarter, we made significant progress in diversifying our business. In China, the momentum in the local solar industry has continued to be encouraging. We have been awarded initial contracts to develop PV power projects in buildings, plants and integration systems, totaling up to 2 GW in various provinces. We will also co-operate with Best Solar on downstream PV projects, such as solar cell or module manufacturing, solar panel assembly or provision of certain solar utility services. As part of our ongoing efforts to expand our presence globally, we announced a partnership with Enfinity and the Balta Group for the largest rooftop solar energy installation project in Benelux, which will represent our first volume shipments of modules to Europe. We continue to be excited by the long-term growth opportunities in the solar industry," concluded Peng.
