First Solar reports record sales in 4Q 2012, unveils 18.7% efficient solar PV cell

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First Solar Inc. has released financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2012, reporting record revenues of USD 1.08 billion at a 16% operating margin in the fourth quarter. First Solar has also unveiled an 18.7% efficient solar photovoltaic (PV) cell, a world record for cadmium telluride thin-film technology. Based on this new efficiency, the company will be updating its efficiency and cost reduction road maps. (...) The record has been verified by the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL, Golden, Colorado, US). First Solar notes that the cell was constructed on a glass substrate using processes and materials that are designed for commercial-scale manufacturing.
First Solar states that during 2012 it completed its restructuring efforts to orient the company towards “sustainable” markets which are not based on subsidies. As part of these changes, it expanded its geographical reach, with new subsidiaries in the Middle East, South Africa, Thailand and India in 2012 [and has] also acquired Solar Chile and the company's project pipeline. However, the majority of large projects the company is currently constructing are in the United States, including the 550 MW Topaz Project and the 290 MW Agua Caliente project.
The company's restructuring came at a cost of USD 469 million in 2012. Over the full year, First Solar achieved USD 3.37 billion in revenues, but an operating margin of -1.1% and a net loss of USD 96.3 million. However, the worst appears to be over, and First Solar expects to report only USD 10 million in expenses from this restructuring in 2013.