Suntech Power Holdings (STP) is one of the world’s largest solar cell manufacturers. The company has grown rapidly in recent years and says it is now the largest producer of solar PV cells in the world, with an annual manufacturing capacity of 420 megawatts (MW=1 million watts) as of Sept. 30. It expects to more than double that, to 1 GW of capacity by the end of 2008, a fourfold increase since 2006.

Suntech, says S&P equity analyst Mike Jaffe, has locked in a large number of orders for the coming years. Jaffe expects Suntech’s revenue will more than double in 2007 to about $1.4 billion, and rise by another 50% in 2008 as manufacturing capacity expands. Profit margins should widen during that time also, he says, as Suntech starts to receive cheaper silicon wafers under a seven-year contract that begins in midyear.

Source (Businessweek)