Shareholders letter
Dear Shareholders,
Good morning.
While the markets have been in turmoil lately, it has been business as usual at Solar3D.
Our focus is on building a quality business, firm in the belief that value follows performance. Solar3D is coming off two solid quarters, and we are working on building further gains on top of that. During the second quarter, we achieved revenues of $11.0 million, an increase of 47% over last year, and a 94% sequential increase from the prior quarter. Our sales backlog also jumped 930% year-over-year to $22.7 million, and we anticipate that most of this backlog to be completed by the end of the year. Furthermore, 2015 sales have not stopped or slowed as we are experiencing record new sales in residential solar as well as several large and exciting new contracts in our commercial sales. As a result, we believe that we are on target to meet or exceed the guidance for $40 to 45 million as our full year revenues for 2015, independent of new acquisitions or large new commercial contracts to come.
Much of Solar3D’s growth was a result of accretive acquisitions, as well as organic growth achieved by the newly acquired subsidiaries. We possess a solid cash position and continue to strengthen our presence by pursuing strategic acquisitions that fuel growth through consolidation within a highly fragmented market. We are very confident that the traction gained by MD Energy and SUNworks will be further augmented by the recently announced acquisition of Elite Solar, a leader in solar energy in Northern California. Elite Solar is known for its commitment to excellence and strong leadership, especially within the agricultural and commercial industry, and has been operating profitably with a growth trajectory that anticipates revenues reaching $20 million this year.
California continues to lead the nation in solar energy production. For this reason, we are keeping our focus close to home. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), California has a $35 billion agricultural industry, making it the nation’s most productive agricultural state, and containing nine of the ten most productive counties in the U.S. As you know, our subsidiaries have continued to establish themselves as leading solar solutions providers to farmers throughout the region. The opportunity created by California’s agricultural market, coupled with this area of focus, is one reason we anticipate tremendous growth in the future.
As we have noted in the past, solar continues to garner mass adoption at an astounding rate. In fact, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association and GTM Research U.S. Solar Market Insight report, more than 51% of all new electric generating capacity in the U.S. came from solar in Q1 2015. As expected, California is leading this growth, adding 53% of national residential installations, while increasing 45% year-over-year in the non-residential market.
We at Solar3D are not the only ones to recognize this high-growth market as well as our recent progress, as we now have two investment banks covering our Company. Our covering analyst at Aegis initiated coverage in June with a BUY rating and target price of $6.00 and Cowen & Company recently initiated coverage, also with a BUY rating, and price target of $5.00.
We are excited by the future, and wanted to share this information with you to highlight our expectations and recent announcements. We thank you for your continued support.
Regards,
Jim Nelson
Chief Executive Officer, Solar3D, Inc.
About Solar3D, Inc.
Solar3D is a leading provider of solar power solutions and the developer of a proprietary high efficiency solar cell. The company’s SUNworks division focuses on the design, installation and management of solar power systems for commercial, agricultural and residential customers. SUNworks is one of the fastest growing solar systems providers in California and has delivered hundreds of 2.5 kilowatt to multi-megawatt commercial systems and has the capability of providing systems as large as 25 megawatts. Solar3D’s technology division is developing a patent-pending 3-dimensional solar cell technology to maximize the conversion of sunlight into electricity. The Solar3D Cell collects sunlight from a wide angle and lets light bounce around in 3-dimensional microstructures on the solar cell surface. The Company’s mission is to further the widespread adoption of solar power by deploying affordable, state-of-the-art systems and developing breakthrough new solar technologies.
To learn more about Solar3D, visit our website at www.solar3d.com .
Safe Harbor Statement
Matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "may," "intend," "expect" and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations of the Company and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These risks include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with: the impact of economic, competitive and other factors affecting the Company and its operations, markets, products, and prospects for sales, failure to commercialize our technology, failure of technology to perform as expected, failure to earn profit or revenue, higher costs than expected, persistent operating losses, ownership dilution, inability to repay debt, failure of acquired businesses to perform as expected, the impact on the national and local economies resulting from terrorist actions, and U.S. actions subsequently; and other factors detailed in reports filed by the Company.