Solar in Canada

[Tackler]

Globe says director buys Carmanah's consumer solar unit

2008-01-03 03:35 MT - In the News

The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Carmanah Technologies is unloading its weak performing solar home power business to director David Egles for $1.5-million. The Globe's Richard Blackwell writes that Mr. Egles quit the Carmanah board to run the division as a private business. Mr. Egles joined Carmanah in 2005 when Carmanah bought his solar company Soltek Powersource. Soltek made solar systems to generate electricity for homes and businesses. The move added a large new enterprise to Carmanah's existing operations which specialized in solar-powered lighting and LED-illuminated signage. A soaring Canadian dollar and a surplus of high-cost inventory have hurt Carmanah's earnings. Carmanah said in November it wanted to sell some of its operations to focus on more profitable generic lines. The home solar power business was one of the units to go on the block. Carmanah plans to sell its designed solar lighting for transit systems. Mr. Egles will pay $500,000 in cash to Carmanah and return $1-million in shares to the company. Haywood Securities analyst Ralph Garcea targets Carmanah at $1.50. It closed Wednesday at $1.20. He rates the firm "sector perform."