Crystalox Solar sees tough 2012 ahead

Solar wafers supplier PV Crystalox Solar warned of tough times ahead but said it remained committed to the solar industry after experiencing a difficult 2011.

The company blames its woes on a dramatic increase in worldwide production capacity in the photo voltaic (PV) industry, driven by companies in China.

This had led to sharp falls in pricing across the PV value chain and drove wafer sales prices below production costs, it said.

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It added that there continued to be great uncertainty regarding short term market developments, with most industry forecasts predicting little if any growth in global PV demand in 2012.

This was due to growth in China being offset by a decline in the European market.

In 2011 group revenue decreased by 16.7% to €210.4m.

Pre-tax earnings came in at €4.5m but were hammered by exceptional items which took the company €67m into the red. This amounted to a loss per share of 15c.

Chairman, Maarten Henderson, said the long term outlook for solar installations remained positive.

"In the medium-term we expect that market conditions will return to levels that allow companies to operate profitably," he said.