Reuters: Regulatory News: UPDATE 2-Hanwha SolarOne to beat US tariffs with Q-Cells buy

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UPDATE 2-Hanwha SolarOne to beat US tariffs with Q-Cells buy Sep 11th 2012, 14:11 Tue Sep 11, 2012 10:11am EDT Sept 11 (Reuters) - Hanwha SolarOne Co Ltd said the acquisition of German solar group Q-Cells by its parent may help the solar panel maker sidestep recently-imposed import duties in the U.S. and potential tariffs in Europe. Creditors of insolvent Q-Cells, once the world's largest maker of solar cells, last month approved a sale of the company to Hanwha SolarOne's parent Hanwha group. After the deal, the company will have an annual cell production capacity of more than 2 gigawatt (GW) located in Europe, China and South East Asia. "The ability to source cells from multiple markets will become a distinct competitive advantage in the face of duties for Chinese manufactured cells in the U.S. and quite possibly Europe," a Hanwha SolarOne executive said on a conference call with analysts. The United States imposed punitive tariffs on solar panel imports from China earlier this year, following an anti-dumping complaint filed by a group of solar companies led by Germany's SolarWorld. Hanwha Solar, which faces a duty of about 31 percent in the United States, abandoned the market in the first quarter. The company can now re-enter United States with the help of Q-Cells, which has manufacturing sites in Germany and Malaysia. A similar complaint led the European Commission to launch an investigation last week into suspected dumping by Chinese solar products makers. The Q-Cells deal will also take Hanwha Group a step closer to its stated goal of becoming one of the top three solar cell manufacturers in the world, adding about 1 GW of cell production capacity. South Korea's explosives-to-financial services conglomerate Hanwha Group bought half of Solarfun Power Holdings Co last year and changed its name to Hanwha SolarOne. WEAK PRICES WEIGH Hanwha SolarOne posted a wider second-quarter loss on Tuesday and cut the low end of its outlook for full-year panel shipments as selling prices remained depressed. A glut in solar equipment supplies has led to a slump in prices over the last two years and pushed large players, including Q-Cells and U.S.-based Solyndra into bankruptcy. Panel prices have plunged 24 percent this year. Hanwha SolarOne said it expects to ship between 900 megawatt (MW) and 1 gigawatt (GW) this year compared to its earlier forecast of 1 GW. A number of solar products makers including Yingli Green Energy Holding Co, JA Solar Holdings Co Ltd and Trina Solar Ltd cut their shipment forecasts last month. Hanwha SolarOne expects current-quarter panel shipments to be comparable to the 230.7 MW shipped in the second quarter. The company expects its gross margin to continue to remain positive in the third quarter. Gross margin rose to 6.3 percent in the second quarter from negative 9.4 percent in the preceding quarter. Net loss attributable to shareholders widened to $42 million, or 50 cents per American Depositary Share (ADS), from $10.7 million, or 13 cents per ADS, a year earlier. Revenue fell 39 percent to $168.7 million. Hanwha SolarOne shares, which have plunged 65 percent in the last 12 months, were down 3 percent at $1.03 on Tuesday on the Nasdaq. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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