PR – Akeena Solar, Inc. a leading designer and installer of solar power systems, today announced results for the first quarter of 2008.
“We delivered 95% revenue growth in the first quarter compared to the first quarter of 2007, as expected, on the strength of an increase in both residential and commercial projects. Many of these installations are with Andalay, our proprietary solar panel system. The rollout of Andalay is proceeding extremely well and customers continue to respond very positively to the systems’ reliability and performance benefits. In addition, Andalay is now reaching customers in Europe through our license arrangement with Suntech,” said Barry Cinnamon, president and chief executive officer of Akeena Solar.
“Although installations were at a record level this quarter and customer inquiries were also at a record high, bookings did not keep pace. Since the beginning of the second quarter we have seen signs that a looming recession and tightening credit are weighing on consumers’ decisions to invest in residential solar installations – even with the price of energy skyrocketing. In addition, the uncertainty surrounding the extension of the federal investment tax credit (ITC) is restricting the availability of financing for future commercial projects,” continued Cinnamon. “We now expect demand for the rest of the year to be weaker than we had originally envisioned and full year revenue to grow by 40% to 50% over last year.
“To responsibly manage the business while demand remains weak, we have taken actions to reduce costs across the board,” added Cinnamon. “We are taking steps to streamline the organization, reduce headcount and redeploy assets to higher performing locations. The full benefit of these reductions will be apparent in the third quarter. Moreover, the ongoing rollout of Andalay is continuing to yield productivity improvements.”
Concluded Cinnamon, “In the short term, the recession and ITC uncertainty will dampen investments in solar power; in the medium term, the escalating cost of energy will only serve to stimulate demand. In the meantime, we will continue to promote the benefits of solar power while applying strict cost discipline to managing our business.”
