Canadian Solar Mixed Message On Expectations

Canadian Solar (CSIQ) reported results which they said met their expectations. As a matter of fact Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar, commented: "Our results for the first quarter were in line with our expectations, Because large quantities of red ink were involved I decided to review the previous earnings release and see if these expectations had been communicated to the investor.

The pertinent quote from the March 17 ,2009 press release would be

“2009 Outlook and Developments
-- Full year 2009 net revenue guidance of $600 to $800 million on
shipments of 300 to 350 MW.
-- Approximately 262 MW of projected 2009 module sales (74 - 87% of
guidance) secured by contracts. Approximately 120 MW of the current
contracts are for e-Modules.”

There was no guidance about losses. There was no guidance about huge drops in sales and revenues. They could not cross the $50 million mark for Q1 sales but expect a minimum of $600 million for the year. They need to explain how that marketing feat will be performed.