GT Solar Announces First Quarter Fiscal Year 2012 Results And Reiterates Full Fiscal Year Guidance

MERRIMACK, NH--August 4, 2011: GT Solar International, Inc. today reported results for its first quarter of fiscal year 2012, which ended July 2, 2011.

“We believe our efforts to diversify the company’s revenue base position us to weather cyclicality that we may encounter in the PV, polysilicon and LED industries. Meanwhile, our strong balance sheet and cash generation capabilities enable us to evaluate additional strategic opportunities to strengthen the company’s long-term growth prospects.”

First quarter revenue totaled $231.1 million, compared to $271.6 million last quarter and up 71% from the $135.2 million of revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2011. Revenue by business segment for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 was $23.9 million in polysilicon, $198.6 million in photovoltaic (PV), and $8.6 million in the sapphire segment, all of which was sapphire materials revenue.

Gross profit for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 totaled $113.4 million, or 49.1 percent of revenue, up from $116.9 million, or 43.0 percent of revenue in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 and $45.9 million, or 34.0 percent of revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2011.

Operating margin for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 was 34.0 percent of revenue, compared to 30.5 percent of revenue in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 and 20.0 percent in the first quarter of fiscal 2011.

The company had net income of $52.1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 compared to $51.9 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 and $16.5 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2011.

Earnings per share in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 on a fully-diluted basis were $0.41, versus $0.41 for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 and $0.11 for the first quarter of fiscal 2011.

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2012 were $473.4 million, up from $362.7 million at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 and compared to $276.4 million of cash and short term investments at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2011. In addition, the company had debt of $95.6 million at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2012, down from $120.3 million at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 and zero debt at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2011.

As of July 2, 2011, the company’s backlog was $2.3 billion, the highest level of quarter-ending backlog ever achieved by the company. This included $978.2 million in the polysilicon segment, $369.6 million in the PV segment and $952.5 million in the sapphire segment. Included in the total backlog was $395.7 million of deferred revenue.

Net new orders for the first quarter were $1.3 billion, which included $464.7 million in polysilicon, $95.2 million in PV and $776.8 million in sapphire.

Management Commentary

“We were pleased to deliver strong top and bottom line performance in the first quarter as well as record gross margin percentage, bookings, backlog and cash balance,” said Tom Gutierrez, president and chief executive officer. “These results stem from our continued leadership across all of our business segments driven by our focus on innovation, superior service, and excellent product performance.

“We believe our efforts to diversify the company’s revenue base position us to weather cyclicality that we may encounter in the PV, polysilicon and LED industries. Meanwhile, our strong balance sheet and cash generation capabilities enable us to evaluate additional strategic opportunities to strengthen the company’s long-term growth prospects.

“Bolstered by our $2.3 billion backlog position, we are confident in our ability to achieve our FY12 guidance and also believe that we have built a solid foundation for continued growth in FY13 and beyond.”