Sunpower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR)

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) today announced a new program with Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA Merrill) that will provide financing to support approximately $220 million of residential solar leaseprojects. The program will assist thousands of homeowners in financing solar power systems through SunPower solar leases, joining approximately 20,000 Americans currently enrolled in the program.

"The SunPower Lease program allows customers to have best-in-class, high efficiency solar on their rooftops with highly competitive terms. This, coupled with our unprecedented level of energy assurance, results in more value to the homeowner and increased retained value to SunPower," said the company's CFO, Chuck Boynton. "More than 20,000 customers are already experiencing our lease program, and our partnership with Bank of America Merrill Lynch will continue to grow this popular financing option."

BofA Merrill and SunPower have worked together since 2009, when BofA Merrill began financing large solar projects SunPower designed and constructed for public agencies in California, including Yolo County and Mendocino Community College.

"We are pleased to again team with SunPower to further the availability of renewable energy," said Todd Karas, head of Renewable Energy Finance at BofA Merrill. "With this investment in residential solar systems, we are expanding our portfolio of solar installations with SunPower beyond commercial and government entities to now include installations in individual homes. This is consistent with our firm's overall 10-year, $50 billion environmental business initiative to help address climate change, reduce demands on natural resources and advance lower-carbon economic solutions."

SAN JOSE, Calif. and TOKYO, Dec. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR), a leading solar technology and energy services provider, today announced that it has signed multiple supply agreements with Ecomax Japan Inc. to purchase SunPower Corporation's high efficiency E20/327 solar panels totaling 20-megawatts (MW). In 2014, Ecomax plans to install the solar panels at several locations in Central and Northern Japan.

Acting as EPC (engineering, procurement and construction), Ecomax will construct multiple mega solar power plants in Gunma, totaling 13 MW for its customer, Farmdo, a company dedicated to assisting farmers and supporting agriculture in Japan. With the remaining 7 MW, Ecomax will build and operate solar installations and plans to sell the energy to local utility companies. It will also own 3 MW as an IPP (Independent Power Producer).

"We are pleased to partner with SunPower Corporation to install its high efficiency E20/327 solar panels, the most reliable on the market today," said Tadanaga Komori, President for Ecomax Japan Inc. "Our environmentally conscious customers such as Farmdo will benefit from clean energy generated by these solar systems."

Ecomax has signed an extension to the existing solar panel purchase agreement with SunPower Corporation and will continue to buy the E20/327 solar panels for its future installations.

"SunPower Corporation is pleased to partner with Ecomax, extending our presence in Japan's mega solar power plant and commercial rooftop generation markets," said Howard Wenger, SunPower Corporation president, regions. "Our high efficiency solar panels and systems are a strong fit for Japan given the country's buildable land constraints and high grid interconnection costs."

Fourth Quarter 2010 Results:

• Revenue is $937 million vs. $547.9 million for the same quarter last year.
• Net income is up $152 million vs. $8.5 million last year.
• Non-GAAP EPS up $1.36 vs. $0.47 last year

"SunPower's outstanding results in the fourth quarter and 2010 reflect strong execution of our strategy as we achieved annual revenue growth of 46% and materially exceeded the high end of our non-GAAP annual earnings per share guidance given at our Analyst Conference in November," said Tom Werner, SunPower CEO.  "Operationally, we successfully integrated our acquisition of SunRay Renewable Ventures which significantly contributed to recognizing revenue on more than 100 megawatts (MW) of power plants in Europe in 2010.  We also increased our global dealer network to 1,500 partners and are on our way to 2,000 partners this year.  In addition, we commenced operations of our Fab 3 Malaysian joint venture and we are on track to produce more than a third of our solar cells at Fab 3 this year.  Due to the success of our accelerated cost reduction roadmap, we are on plan to achieve our efficiency-adjusted panel cost goal of $1.08 per watt in the fourth quarter of 2011. Given our strong 2010 performance, robust downstream demand and strong visibility, we are confident in our ability to deliver on our improved 2011 plan."

"Our strong operating performance in the fourth quarter, coupled with our successful financing and sale of power plants globally, resulted in ending cash of more than $900 million in 2010," said Dennis Arriola, SunPower CFO. "We enter 2011 with a strong balance sheet, ample liquidity and a continued focus on improving our cash flow from operations and working capital management.  Given the strong visibility of our 2011 revenue plan and our confidence in achieving our goals, we have hedged more than 65% of our expected European business at a rate of 1 euro to $1.34 U.S. dollars. As a result of the continued growth in our backlog of business, we have increased our revenue and earnings per share guidance for the first quarter and for full year 2011 from the forecast we provided at our Analyst Conference in November."

"Overall, we recorded solid second-quarter results in a demand driven market, consistent with our operating plan. In all of our markets, we are encouraged by the improving industry trends we are seeing in both end demand and financing and we are well positioned for further growth in the second half of the year and 2010. Our manufacturing costs are competitive today and we are ahead of plan to achieve our cost reduction goals. Customers continue to choose SunPower due to our superior roof top and power plant experience, industry leading performance of our solar panels and tracking technology, and our ability to drive attractive project returns for our customers."

"Our current pipeline and backlog gives us confidence that we will be able to meet our second half 2009 guidance. This confidence stems from a number of large systems we expect to have financed in the third quarter, as well as the positive trends we are seeing in the commercial and residential segments," said Dennis Arriola, SunPower's CFO.

Sunpower Corp adjusted its previously issued 2009 full year guidance.

FULL YEAR 2009 Guidance December ^a

	Full Year 2009 Guidance	Full Year 2008 Reported	Period Change
GAAP Revenue	$1.35 to $1.70 billion	$1.4 billion	-3.6% to 21.4%
GAAP EPS	$0.45 to $0.90	$1.09	-58.7% to -17.4%
Non-GAAP EPS b	$1.15 to $1.60	$2.28	-49.6% to -29.8%

Source: See Release, July 23, 2009

^a The above forecasts reflect the Company's current and preliminary views and are therefore subject to change. Please refer to the Company's Safe Harbor Statement (usually in press releases) for the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.

^b Non-GAAP EPS figures generally exclude certain non-operating gains and losses as well as certain non-cash items. Non-GAAP information should not be viewed in isolation or as a substitute for reported, or GAAP information . For a more complete explanation of the company's definition of non-GAAP please refer to its financial press releases. The GeoTeam® non-GAAP figures may, from time to time, differ from company supplied figures.

'The first quarter of 2009 was the most challenging quarter we've seen since SunPower went public in 2005,' said Tom Werner, SunPower's CEO. 'Our quarterly performance was impacted by seasonality, the continuing effects of the credit crisis and difficult economic conditions. Despite these headwinds we were able to deliver strong gross margins in our Components business and positive non-GAAP net income Looking forward, we see positive trends emerging in a number of market segments, including the rooftop, distributed power plant and utility markets that give us confidence that we are well positioned for growth in the second half of 2009, 2010 and beyond.

The company has reduced its previously reported financial information.

FULL YEAR 2009 Guidance December ^a

	Full Year 2009 Guidance	Full Year 2008 Reported	Period Change
GAAP Revenue	$1.3 to $1.7 billion	$1.4 billion	-7.1% to 21.4%
GAAP EPS b	$0.25 to $0.75	$1.09	-77.1% to -31.2%
Non-GAAP EPS b	$1.25 to $1.75	$2.28	-45.2% to -23.5%

Source: See Release, April 23, 2009

^a The above forecasts reflect the Company's current and preliminary views and are therefore subject to change. Please refer to the Company's Safe Harbor Statement (usually in press releases) for the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.

^b Non-GAAP EPS figures generally exclude certain non-operating gains and losses as well as certain non-cash items. Non-GAAP information should not be viewed in isolation or as a substitute for reported, or GAAP information . For a more complete explanation of the company's definition of non-GAAP please refer to its financial press releases. The GeoTeam® non-GAAP figures may, from time to time, differ from company supplied figures.

Guidance Report:

2009 Revenue Guidance	2008 Revenue	Implied Revenue Growth	2009 EPS Guidance	2008 EPS	Implied EPS Growth
$1.6 billion to $2.0 billion	1.4 billion	14% to 43%	$2.20 to $2.80	$2.28	-3.5% to 22.8%

EPS Figures exclude non-operational gains and losses

"The long-term solar industry fundamentals remain very positive and the company's 2009 sales pipeline is made up of identifiable customers and projects," said Dennis Arriola, SunPower's chief financial officer. "Given the continuing weak credit environment, our ability to meet the high-end of the revenue and earnings-per-share ranges will be dependent on improved access to the project financing markets. We expect our first-half of 2009 performance to be materially affected by seasonal factors and the continuing impact of the credit crisis."

Source: PR Newswire (January 29, 2009)