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First Solar 10-Q 2009 UNITED
STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
Form
10-Q
Commission
file number: 001-33156
First
Solar, Inc.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
350
West Washington Street, Suite 600
Tempe,
Arizona 85281
(Address
of principal executive offices, including zip code)
(602)
414-9300
(Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be
filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the
preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required
to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for
the past 90 days. Yes R No £
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on
its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be
submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding
12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit
and post such files). Yes R No £
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See
the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller
reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes £ No
R
As of
October 23, 2009 there were 85,107,744 shares of the registrant’s common stock,
par value $0.001, outstanding.
FIRST
SOLAR, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
FORM
10-Q FOR THE QUARTERLY PERIOD ENDED SEPTEMBER 26, 2009
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
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2
PART
I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item
1. Unaudited Condensed
Consolidated Financial Statements
FIRST
SOLAR, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In
thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
See
accompanying notes to these condensed consolidated financial
statements.
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3
FIRST
SOLAR, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In
thousands, except share data)
(Unaudited)
See
accompanying notes to these condensed consolidated financial
statements.
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4
FIRST
SOLAR, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In
thousands)
(Unaudited)
See
accompanying notes to these condensed consolidated financial
statements.
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5
FIRST
SOLAR, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited)
Nine
Months ended September 26, 2009
Note 1. Basis of
Presentation>
The
accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of First
Solar, Inc. and its subsidiaries have been prepared in accordance with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S.
GAAP”) for interim financial information and pursuant to the instructions to
Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X of the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Accordingly, these interim financial statements do not include all
of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for annual financial
statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting only of
normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair statement have
been included. Operating results for the nine months ended September 26, 2009
are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year
ending December 26, 2009, or for any other period. The balance sheet at December
27, 2008 presented in these financial statements has been derived from the
audited consolidated financial statements at that date, but does not include all
of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial
statements. These financial statements and accompanying notes should be read in
conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended
December 27, 2008 included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
We report
our results of operations using a 52 or 53 week fiscal year, which ends on the
Saturday on or before December 31. Our fiscal quarters end on the Saturday
closest to the end of the applicable calendar quarter. Fiscal 2009 will end on
December 26, 2009 and will consist of 52 weeks.
Unless
expressly stated or the context otherwise requires, the terms “we,” “our,” “us”
and “First Solar” refer to First Solar, Inc. and its subsidiaries.
These
condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes should be
read in conjunction with our annual consolidated financial statements and notes
thereto for the year ended December 27, 2008 included in our Annual Report on
Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Our significant
accounting policies reflect the adoption of Financial Accounting Standards Board
(FASB) Accounting Standards Codification Topic (ASC) 805, Business Combinations, in the
second quarter of fiscal 2009.
During
the third quarter of fiscal 2009, we adopted the provisions of ASC 976, Accounting for Sales of Real
Estate for certain solar power projects.
In June
2009, the FASB issued SFAS 166, Accounting for Transfers of
Financial Assets- an amendment of SFAS 140. This standard eliminates the
concept of a “qualifying special-purpose entity,” changes the requirements for
derecognizing financial assets and requires additional disclosures in order to
enhance information to users of financial statements by providing greater
transparency about transfers of financial assets, including securitization
transactions, and an entity’s continuing involvement in and exposure to the
risks related to transferred financial assets. SFAS 166 is effective for fiscal
years ended after November 15, 2009. We do not expect that the adoption of SFAS
166 will have a material impact on our financial position, results of operations
or cash flows.
In June
2009, the FASB issued SFAS 167, Amendments to FASB Interpretation
No. 46(R). This standard changes the consolidation analysis for variable
interest entities. SFAS 167 is effective for fiscal years ending after November
15, 2009. We do not expect that the adoption of SFAS 167 will have a material
impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash
flows.
In
September 2009, the FASB issued FASB Accounting Standards Codification Update
(ASU) 2009-05, Measuring
Liabilities at Fair Value. The fair value measurement of a liability
assumes transfer to a market participant on the measurement date, not a
settlement of the liability with the counterparty. ASU 2009-05 describes various
valuation methods that can be applied to estimating the fair values of
liabilities, requires the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of
unobservable valuation inputs. ASU 2009-05 is effective for the fourth quarter
of 2009. We do not expect that the adoption of ASU 2009-05 will have a material
impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash
flows.
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6
In
September 2009, the FASB issued ASU 2009-06, Implementation Guidance on
Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes and Disclosure Amendments for
Nonpublic Entities. ASU 2009-06 provides guidance on how to account for
uncertainty in income taxes, especially for tax payments made by an entity
attributable to the entity or attributable to the owners. In addition, ASU
2009-06 clarifies management’s determination of the taxable status of an entity
and amends certain disclosure requirements. ASU 2009-06 is effective for the
third quarter of 2009. The adoption of ASU 2009-06 had no impact on our
financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
In
October 2009, the FASB issued ASU 2009-13, Multiple-Deliverable Revenue
Arrangements. ASU 2009-13 revises certain accounting for revenue
arrangements with multiple deliverables, in particular when vendor specific
objective evidence or third party evidence for deliverables in an arrangement
cannot be determined, a best estimate of the selling price is required to
separate deliverables and to allocate the arrangement consideration. ASU 2009-13
is effective for the first quarter of 2011, with early adoption permitted. We do
not expect that the adoption of ASU 2009-13 will have a material impact on our
financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Note
4. Acquisition
On
April 3, 2009, we completed the acquisition of the solar power project
development business (the Project Business) of OptiSolar Inc. (OptiSolar).
Pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the Merger Agreement) dated March
2, 2009, by and among First Solar, Inc., First Solar Acquisition Corp. (Merger
Sub), OptiSolar and OptiSolar Holdings LLC (OptiSolar Holdings), Merger Sub
merged with and into OptiSolar, with OptiSolar surviving as a wholly-owned
subsidiary of First Solar, Inc. (the Merger). Pursuant to the Merger, all the
outstanding shares of common stock of OptiSolar held by OptiSolar Holdings were
exchanged for 2,972,420 shares of First Solar common stock, par value $0.001 per
share (the Merger Shares), of which 732,789 shares were issued and deposited
with an escrow agent to support certain indemnification obligations of OptiSolar
Holdings. Also, 355,096 shares were holdback shares as further described below
under “Contingent Consideration” (the “Holdback Shares”). As of September 26,
2009, 2,951,256 Merger Shares had been issued. The period during which claims
for indemnification from the escrow fund may be initiated commenced on April 3,
2009 and will end on April 3, 2011.
Purchase
Price Consideration
The total
consideration for this acquisition based on the closing price of our common
stock on April 3, 2009 of $134.38 per share was $399.4 million.
Contingent
Consideration
Pursuant
to the Merger Agreement, of the 2,972,420 Merger Shares, as of April 3, 2009,
355,096 shares were Holdback Shares that were issuable to OptiSolar Holdings
upon satisfaction of conditions relating to certain then-existing liabilities of
OptiSolar. As of September 26, 2009, 333,932 Holdback Shares had been issued to
OptiSolar Holdings, with 331,523 Holdback Shares issued during the three months
ended September 26, 2009. The estimated fair value of this contingent
consideration was $2.8 million at September 26, 2009 (relating to 21,164
Holdback Shares remaining to be issued as of such date) and $47.7 million on
April 3, 2009 (relating to 355,096 Holdback Shares to be issued as of such
date), and has been classified separately within stockholders’ equity on our
balance sheet.
Purchase
Price Allocation
We
accounted for this acquisition using the acquisition method in accordance with
ASC 805. Accordingly, we allocated the purchase price to the acquired assets and
liabilities based on their estimated fair values at the acquisition date of
April 3, 2009, as summarized in the following table (in thousands):
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7
The fair
value of net tangible assets acquired on April 3, 2009 consisted of the
following (in thousands):
Goodwill
We
recorded the excess of the acquisition date fair value of consideration
transferred over the estimated fair value of the net tangible assets and
intangible assets acquired as goodwill. We adjusted goodwill downward during the
third quarter of 2009 by $11.0 million as additional information relating to
deferred tax assets became available. We have allocated $248.8 million and $1.4
million of this goodwill to our components reporting segment and our systems
segment (reported under “Other” in our disclosure of segment operating results),
respectively. This goodwill is not deductible for tax purposes.
Acquired project
assets
Management
engaged a third-party valuation firm to assist in the determination of the fair
value of the acquired project development business. In our determination of the
fair value of the project assets acquired, we considered among other factors,
three generally accepted valuation approaches: the income approach, market
approach and cost approach. We selected the approaches that are most indicative
of fair value of the assets acquired. We used the income approach to calculate
the fair value of the acquired projects assets based on estimates and
assumptions of future performance of these projects assets provided by
OptiSolar’s and our management. We used the market approach to determine the
fair value of the land acquired with those assets.
Pro Forma Information
The acquired OptiSolar
business has been engaged in the development and construction of solar power
projects. The costs related to these activities are largely capitalized, and not
charged against earnings until the respective solar power project is sold to a
customer, constructed for a customer or we determine that the project is not
commercially viable; as of September 26, 2009, we had not yet reached the point
of sale for any of the projects in the portfolio we acquired from OptiSolar.
Therefore, if the OptiSolar acquisition had been completed on December 28, 2008
(the beginning of our fiscal year 2009) our total revenue, net income, and basic
and diluted earnings per common share would have not materially changed from the
amounts that we have previously reported.
Note 5. Goodwill and
Intangible Assets>
Goodwill
On
November 30, 2007, we acquired 100% of the outstanding membership interests
of Turner Renewable Energy, LLC. Under the purchase method of accounting, we
allocated $33.4 million to goodwill through December 29, 2007, which
represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the
identifiable net tangible and intangible assets of Turner Renewable Energy, LLC.
All of this goodwill was allocated to our systems segment. At September 26, 2009
and December 27, 2008, the carrying amount of this goodwill was $33.8
million.
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8
On April
3, 2009, we acquired the solar power project development business of OptiSolar.
Under the acquisition method of accounting, we allocated $261.1 million to
goodwill, which primarily represents the synergies and economies of scale
expected from acquiring OptiSolar’s project pipeline and using our solar modules
in the acquired projects. During the three months ended September 26, 2009, we
adjusted goodwill downward by $11.0 million as additional information regarding
deferred tax assets became available. We have allocated $248.8 million and $1.4
million of this goodwill to our components reporting segment and systems segment
(reported under “Other” in our disclosure of segment operating results),
respectively. At September 26, 2009, the carrying amount of this goodwill was
$250.2 million. See Notes 4 and 20 to our condensed consolidated financial
statements for additional information about this acquisition.
The
changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for the nine months ended September
26, 2009 were as follows (in thousands):
ASC 350,
Intangibles – Goodwill and
Other, requires us to test goodwill for impairment at least annually, or
sooner, if facts or circumstances between scheduled annual tests indicate that
it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit that has
goodwill might be less than its carrying value. We performed our goodwill
impairment tests in the fourth fiscal quarter of the year ended December 27,
2008. Based on that test, we concluded that our goodwill was not impaired. We
have also concluded that there have been no changes in facts and circumstances
since the date of that test, and since the April 3, 2009 OptiSolar acquisition,
that would trigger an interim goodwill impairment test.
Acquisition
Related Intangible Assets
In
connection with the acquisition of Turner Renewable Energy, LLC, we identified
intangible assets that represent customer contracts already in progress and
future customer contracts not yet started at the time of acquisition. We
amortize the acquisition date fair values of these assets using the percentage
of completion method.
Information
regarding our acquisition-related intangible assets that are being amortized was
as follows (in thousands):
Amortization
expense for acquisition-related intangible assets was immaterial for the three
months ended September 26, 2009 and was $0.2 million for the nine months ended
September 26, 2009. Amortization expense for acquisition-related intangible
assets was $22,000 for the three months ended September 27, 2008 and $0.1
million for the nine months ended September 27, 2008.
Project
Assets
In
connection with the acquisition of the solar power project development business
of OptiSolar, we measured at fair value certain project assets based on the
varying development stages of each project asset on the acquisition date. We
will expense these projects assets as each respective solar power project is
sold to a customer, constructed for a customer or if we determine that the
project is not commercially viable. See also Note 8 to our condensed
consolidated financial statements about balances for project
assets.
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Note
6. Cash and Investments
Cash,
cash equivalents and marketable securities consisted of the following at
September 26, 2009 and December 27, 2008 (in thousands):
We have
classified our marketable securities as “available-for-sale.” Accordingly, we
record them at fair value and account for net unrealized gains and losses as
part of accumulated other comprehensive income until realized. We report
realized gains and losses on the sale of our marketable securities in earnings,
computed using the specific identification method. During the three months ended
September 26, 2009, we did not realize any gains or losses on our marketable
securities. During the nine months ended September 26, 2009, we realized an
immaterial amount in gains and did not realize any losses on our marketable
securities. During the three and nine months ended September 27, 2008, we
realized $0.2 million and $0.6 million in gains and $0.3 million and $0.4
million in losses, respectively, on our marketable securities. See Note 10
to our condensed consolidated financial statements for information about the
fair value measurement of our marketable securities.
All of
our available-for-sale marketable securities are subject to a periodic
impairment review. We consider a marketable debt security to be impaired when
its fair value is less than its carrying cost, in which case we would further
review the investment to determine whether it is other-than-temporarily
impaired. When we evaluate an investment for other-than-temporary impairment, we
review factors such as the length of time and extent to which fair value has
been below cost basis, the financial condition of the issuer and any changes
thereto, our intent to sell, and whether it is more likely than not we will be
required to sell the investment before we have recovered its cost basis. If an
investment is other-than-temporarily impaired, we write it down through earnings
to its impaired value and establish that as a new cost basis for the investment.
We did not identify any of our marketable securities as other-than-temporarily
impaired at September 26, 2009.
The
following table summarizes unrealized gains and losses related to our
investments in marketable securities designated as available-for-sale by major
security type (in thousands):
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Contractual
maturities of our available-for-sale marketable securities as of September 26,
2009 and December 27, 2008 were as follows (in thousands):
The net
unrealized gain of $1.5 million and $0.4 million as of September 26,
2009 and December 27, 2008, respectively, on our available-for-sale
marketable securities was primarily the result of changes in interest rates. We
typically invest in highly-rated securities with low probabilities of default.
Our investment policy requires investments to be rated single A or better and
limits the security types, issuer concentration and duration of the
investments.
The
following table shows gross unrealized losses and estimated fair values for
those investments that were in an unrealized loss position as of September 26,
2009 and December 27, 2008, aggregated by investment category and the
length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous loss
position (in thousands):
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Note
7. Restricted Cash and Investments
Restricted
cash and investments consisted of the following at September 26, 2009 and
December 27, 2008 (in thousands):
At
September 26, 2009, our restricted investments consisted of long-term marketable
securities that we hold to fund future costs of our solar module collection and
recycling program.
The
following table summarizes unrealized gains and losses related to our restricted
investments in marketable securities designated as available-for-sale by major
security type (in thousands):
As of
September 26, 2009, the contractual maturities of these available-for-sale
marketable securities were between 18 and 26 years.
Note 8. Consolidated Balance Sheet
Details>
Accounts
receivable, net
Accounts
receivable, net consisted of the following at September 26, 2009 and December
27, 2008 (in thousands):
The
increase in accounts receivable was mainly due to the amendment of certain of
our customers’ long-term supply contracts to extend their payment terms from net
10 days to net 45 days at the end of the first quarter of 2009 and due to higher
volumes shipped during the three months ended September 26, 2009.
During
the three months ended September 26, 2009, we amended our Long Term Supply
Contracts with certain of our customers to implement a program which extends a
price rebate to certain of these customers for solar modules purchased from us.
The intent of this program is to enable our customers to successfully compete in
our core segments in Germany. The rebate program applies a specified rebate rate
to solar modules sold for solar power projects in Germany at the beginning of
each quarter for the upcoming quarter. The rebate program is subject to periodic
review and we will adjust the rebate rate quarterly upward or downward as
appropriate. The rebate period commenced during the third quarter of 2009 and
terminates at the end of the fourth quarter of 2010. Customers need to meet
certain requirements in order to be eligible for and benefit from this
program.
We
account for rebates as a reduction to the selling price of our solar modules and
therefore as a reduction in revenue. No rebates granted under this program can
be claimed in cash and all will be applied to reduce outstanding accounts
receivable balances. During the three months ended September 26, 2009 we
extended rebates to customers in the amount of €48.7 million ($71.5 million
at the balance sheet close rate on September 26, 2009 of $1.47/€1.00) which
reduced our accounts receivable from these customers by such amount at September
26, 2009.
During
the three months ended June 27, 2009, we provided an allowance for the
doubtful account receivable in the amount of $7.0 million due to the
collectability of the outstanding accounts receivable from a specific customer.
During the three months ended September 26, 2009 we collected $3.0 million of
the overdue accounts receivable balance from this specific customer and reduced
our allowance for the doubtful account accordingly.
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Inventories
Inventories
consisted of the following at September 26, 2009 and December 27, 2008 (in
thousands):
Prepaid
expenses and other current assets
Prepaid
expenses and other current assets consisted of the following at September 26,
2009 and December 27, 2008 (in thousands):
Project
Assets – Current and Noncurrent
Project
assets – current and noncurrent consisted of the following at September 26, 2009
and December 27, 2008 (in thousands):
Project
assets consist primarily of costs capitalized relating to solar power projects
in various stages of development. They include costs for land and
costs for developing a solar power project, including legal, consulting,
permitting and other costs. Project assets acquired in connection with the
acquisition of OptiSolar were measured at fair value on the acquisition date.
Subsequent to the acquisition of OptiSolar, we incurred additional costs to
further the development of these projects, which we capitalized. We expense
these project assets as each respective solar power project is sold to a
customer, constructed for a customer or if we determine that the project is not
commercially viable. See also Note 5 to our condensed consolidated financial
statements.
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Property,
plant and equipment, net
Property,
plant and equipment, net consisted of the following at September 26, 2009 and
December 27, 2008 (in thousands):
Depreciation
of property, plant and equipment was $33.7 million and $16.9 million for the
three months ended September 26, 2009 and September 27, 2008, respectively, and
was $88.0 million and $40.4 million for the nine months ended September 26, 2009
and September 27, 2008, respectively.
Capitalized
Interest
We
incurred interest cost and capitalized a portion of it (into our property, plant
and equipment and project assets) as follows during the three and nine months
ended September 26, 2009 and September 27, 2008 (in thousands):
Accrued
expenses
Accrued
expenses consisted of the following at September 26, 2009 and December 27, 2008
(in thousands):
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Other
current liabilities
Other
current liabilities consisted of the following at September 26, 2009 and
December 27, 2008 (in thousands):
Note 9. Derivative
Instruments>
As a
global company, we are exposed in the normal course of business to interest rate
and foreign currency risks that could affect our net assets, financial position,
results of operations and cash flows. We use derivative instruments to hedge
against certain risks, such as these, and we only hold derivative instruments
for hedging purposes, not for speculative or trading purposes. Our use of
derivative instruments is subject to strict internal controls based on centrally
defined, performed and controlled policies and procedures.
Depending
on the terms of the specific derivative instruments and market conditions, some
of our derivative instruments may be assets and others liabilities at any
particular point in time. As required by FASB ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging, we
report all of our derivative instruments at fair value on our balance sheet.
Depending on the substance of the hedging purpose for our derivative
instruments, we account for changes in the fair value of some of them using
cash-flow-hedge accounting pursuant to ASC 815 and of others by recording the
changes in fair value directly to current earnings (so-called “economic
hedges”). These accounting approaches and the various classes of risk that we
are exposed to in our business and the risk management systems using derivative
instruments that we apply to these risks are described below. See Note 10
to our condensed consolidated financial statements for information about the
techniques we use to measure the fair value of our derivative
instruments.
The
following table presents the fair values of derivative instruments included in
our condensed consolidated balance sheet as of September 26, 2009 (in
thousands):
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The
following tables present the amounts related to derivative instruments affecting
our condensed consolidated statement of operations for the three and nine months
ended September 26, 2009 (in thousands):
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Interest
Rate Risk
We use
interest rate swap agreements to mitigate our exposure to interest rate
fluctuations associated with certain of our debt instruments; we do not use such
swap agreements for speculative or trading purposes. We had interest rate swap
contracts with a financial institution that effectively converted to fixed rates
the variable rate of the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor) on the term loan
portion of our credit facility with a consortium of banks for the financing of
our German plant. These swap contracts were required under the credit facility
agreement, which we repaid and terminated on June 30, 2009. Therefore, we
terminated these interest rate swap contracts on June 26, 2009 and consequently
recognized an interest expense of €1.7 million ($2.5 million at the
balance sheet close rate on September 26, 2009 of $1.47/€1.00). The termination
of the interest rate swap contracts settled on June 30, 2009.
On May
29, 2009, we entered into an interest rate swap contract to hedge a portion of
the floating rate loans under our Malaysian credit facility, which became
effective on September 30, 2009 with a notional value of €57.3 million
($84.2 million at the balance sheet close rate on September 26, 2009 of
$1.47/€1.00) and pursuant to which we are entitled to receive a six-month
floating interest rate, the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor), and pay a
fixed rate of 2.80%. The notional amount of the interest rate swap contract is
scheduled to decline in correspondence to our scheduled principal payments on
the underlying hedged debt. This derivative instrument qualifies for accounting
as a cash flow hedge in accordance with FASB ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and
we designated it as such. We determined that our interest rate swap contract was
highly effective as a cash flow hedge at September 26, 2009.
Foreign
Currency Exchange Risk
Cash
Flow Exposure
We expect
many of the components of our business to have material future cash flows,
including revenues and expenses that will be denominated in currencies other
than the component’s functional currency. Our primary cash flow exposures are
customer collections and vendor payments. Changes in the exchange rates between
our components’ functional currencies and the other currencies in which they
transact will cause fluctuations in the cash flows we expect to receive when
these cash flows are realized or settled. Accordingly, we enter into foreign
exchange forward contracts to hedge the value of a portion of these forecasted
cash flows. As of September 26, 2009, these foreign exchange contracts hedge our
forecasted future cash flows for up to 18 months. These foreign exchange
contracts qualified for accounting as cash flow hedges in accordance with ASC
815, and we designated them as such. We initially report the effective portion
of the derivative’s gain or loss in accumulated other comprehensive income
(loss) and subsequently reclassify amounts into earnings when the hedged
transaction is settled. We determined that these derivative financial
instruments were highly effective as cash flow hedges at September 26, 2009. In
addition, during the nine months ended September 26, 2009, we did not
discontinue any cash flow hedges because it was probable that a forecasted
transaction would not occur.
In 2008
and during the nine months ended September 26, 2009, we purchased foreign
exchange forward contracts to hedge the exchange risk on forecasted cash flows
denominated in euro. As of September 26, 2009, the unrealized loss on these
contracts was $52.0 million and the total notional value of the contracts
was €499.5 million ($734.3 million at the balance sheet close rate on
September 26, 2009 of $1.47/€1.00). The weighted average forward exchange rate
for these contracts was $1.36/€1.00 at September 26, 2009.
We expect
to reclassify $51.2 million of net unrealized losses related to these forward
contracts that are included in accumulated other comprehensive loss at September
26, 2009 to earnings in the following 12 months as we realize the earnings
effect of the related forecasted transactions. The amount we ultimately record
to earnings will be contingent upon the actual exchange rate when we realize the
related forecasted transaction.
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Transaction
Exposure
Many
components of our business have assets and liabilities (primarily receivables,
investments, accounts payable, debt, solar module collection and recycling
liabilities and inter-company balances) that are denominated in currencies other
than their functional currencies. Changes in the exchange rates between our
components’ functional currencies and the currencies in which these assets and
liabilities are denominated can create fluctuations in our reported consolidated
financial position, results of operations and cash flows. We may enter into
foreign exchange forward contracts or other financial instruments to hedge these
assets and liabilities against the short-term effects of currency exchange rate
fluctuations. The gains and losses on the foreign exchange forward contracts
will offset all or part of the transaction gains and losses that we recognize in
earnings on the related foreign currency assets and liabilities.
During
the nine months ended September 26, 2009, we purchased foreign exchange forward
contracts to hedge balance sheet exposures related to transactions with third
parties. We recognize gains or losses from the fluctuation in foreign exchange
rates and the valuation of these hedging contracts in cost of sales and foreign
currency gain (loss) on our consolidated statements of operations.
As of
September 26, 2009, the total notional value of our foreign exchange forward
contracts to purchase and sell euros with/for U.S. dollars was
€225.9 million and €198.9 million, respectively ($332.1 million and
$292.4 million, respectively, at the balance sheet close rate on September 26,
2009 of $1.47/€1.00); the total notional value of our foreign exchange forward
contracts to purchase and sell U.S. dollars with/for euros was $20.8
million and $38.7 million, respectively; the total notional value of our foreign
exchange forward contracts to purchase and sell Malaysian ringgits with/for
U.S. dollars was MYR 128.2 million and MYR 30.0 million,
respectively ($37.2 million and $8.7 million, respectively, at the
balance sheet close rate on September 26, 2009 of $0.29/MYR1.00); and the total
notional value of our foreign exchange forward contracts to purchase and sell
Canadian dollars with/for U.S. dollars was CAD 5.7 million and CAD
22.1 million, respectively ($5.2 million and $20.1 million, respectively,
at the balance sheet close rate on September 26, 2009 of $0.91/CAD1.00). As of
September 26, 2009, the total unrealized gain on these contracts was
$2.9 million. These contracts have maturities of less than two
months.
Credit
Risk
We have
certain financial and derivative instruments that subject us to credit risk.
These consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents, investments, trade accounts
receivable, interest rate swap contracts and foreign exchange forward contracts.
We are exposed to credit losses in the event of nonperformance by the
counterparties to our financial and derivative instruments. We place cash, cash
equivalents, investments, interest rate swap contracts and foreign exchange
forward contracts with various high-quality financial institutions and limit the
amount of credit risk from any one counterparty. We continuously evaluate the
credit standing of our counterparty financial institutions.
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18
Note 10. Fair Value
Measurement>
On
December 30, 2007, the beginning of our 2008 fiscal year, we adopted ASC
820, Fair Value Measurements
and Disclosures. ASC 820 defines fair value, establishes a framework for
measuring fair value in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles
and expands financial statement disclosure requirements for fair value
measurements. Our initial adoption of ASC 820 was limited to our fair value
measurements of financial assets and financial liabilities, as permitted by ASC
820. On December 28, 2008, the beginning of our fiscal year 2009, we adopted ASC
820 for the remainder of our fair value measurements. The implementation of the
fair value measurement guidance of ASC 820 did not result in any material
changes to the carrying values of our assets and liabilities.
ASC 820
defines fair value as the price that would be received from the sale of an asset
or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) on the measurement date in an
orderly transaction between market participants in the principal or most
advantageous market for the asset or liability. ASC 820 specifies a hierarchy of
valuation techniques, which is based on whether the inputs into the valuation
technique are observable or unobservable. The hierarchy is as
follows:
When
available, we use quoted market prices to determine the fair value of an asset
or liability. If quoted market prices are not available, we measure fair value
using valuation techniques that use, when possible, current market-based or
independently-sourced market parameters, such as interest rates and currency
rates. Following is a description of the valuation techniques that we use to
measure the fair value of assets and liabilities that we measure and report at
fair value on a recurring or one-time basis:
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19
At
September 26, 2009, information about inputs into the fair value measurements of
our assets and liabilities that we make on a recurring basis was as follows (in
thousands):
Fair
Value of Financial Instruments
The
carrying values and fair values of our financial instruments at September 26,
2009 and December 27, 2008 were as follows (in thousands):
The
carrying values on our balance sheet of our cash and cash equivalents, accounts
receivable, restricted cash, accounts payable, income tax payable and accrued
expenses approximate their fair values due to their short maturities; therefore,
we exclude them from the table above.
We
estimated the fair value of our long-term debt in accordance with ASC 820 using
a discounted cash flows approach (an income approach) and incorporated the
credit risk of our counterparty for asset fair value measurements and our credit
risk for liability fair value measurements.
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20
Note
11. Related Party Transactions
In
October 2008, we made an investment, at a total cost of $25.0 million, in the
preferred stock of a company based in the United States that supplies solar
power plants to commercial and residential customers. This investment represents
an ownership of approximately 12% of the voting interest in this company at
September 26, 2009 and is our only equity interest in that entity. Since our
ownership interest in this company is less than 20% and we do not have
significant influence over it, we account for this investment using the cost
method.
In the
fourth fiscal quarter of 2008, we also entered into a long-term solar module
supply agreement with this related party. During the three and nine months ended
September 26, 2009, we recognized $4.0 million and $8.2 million, respectively,
in net sales to this related party. At September 26, 2009 we had accounts
receivable from this related party of $2.6 million.
Note 12. Notes
Receivable
On April
8, 2009 we entered into a credit facility agreement with a solar project entity
of one of our customers for an available amount of €17.5 million
($25.7 million at the balance sheet close rate on September 26, 2009 of
$1.47/€1.00) to provide financing for a photovoltaic power generation facility.
The credit facility replaced a bridge loan that we had made to this customer.
The credit facility bears interest at 8% per annum and is due on December 31,
2026. As of September 26, 2009, this credit facility was fully drawn. The
outstanding amount of this credit facility has been included within Other assets
– noncurrent on our condensed consolidated balance sheets.
On April
21, 2009, we entered into a revolving VAT financing facility agreement for an
available amount of €9.0 million ($13.2 million at the balance sheet close rate
on September 26, 2009 of $1.47/€1.00) with the same solar project entity with
whom we entered into the credit facility agreement on April 8, 2009. The VAT
facility agreement pre-finances the amounts of German value added tax (VAT) and
any other tax obligations of similar nature during the construction phase of the
photovoltaic power generation facility. Borrowings under this facility are
short- term in nature, since the facility is repaid when VAT amounts are
reimbursed by the government. The VAT facility agreement bears interest at the
rate of Euribor plus 1.2% and matures on December 31, 2010. As of September 26,
2009 the balance on this credit facility was €5.8 million ($8.5 million at
the balance sheet close rate on September 26, 2009 of $1.47/€1.00). The
outstanding amount of this credit facility is included within Prepaid expenses
and other current assets on our condensed consolidated balance
sheets.
On June
30, 2009, the available amount under the VAT facility agreement was increased to
€15.0 million ($22.1 million at the balance sheet close rate on September 26,
2009 of $1.47/€1.00). This increase was only temporary and the amounts available
under the facility reverted back to the original amounts on August 31,
2009.
Note 13. Debt>
Our
long-term debt at September 26, 2009 and December 27, 2008 consisted of the
following (in thousands):
We did
not have any short-term debt at September 26, 2009 and December 27,
2008.
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21
Revolving
Credit Facility
On
September 4, 2009, we entered into a revolving credit facility pursuant to
a Credit Agreement among First Solar, Inc., certain designated Borrowing
Subsidiaries (consisting of First Solar Manufacturing GmbH, a German subsidiary,
and other subsidiaries of our Company who may in the future be designated as
borrowers pursuant to the Credit Agreement) and several lenders. JPMorgan
Chase Bank, N.A. and Bank of America served as Joint-Lead Arrangers and
Bookrunners, with JPMorgan also acting as Administrative Agent. The Credit
Agreement provides First Solar, Inc. and the Borrowing Subsidiaries with a
senior secured three-year revolving credit facility in an aggregate available
amount of $300.0 million, a portion of which is available for letters of credit
and swingline loans. Subject to certain conditions, we have the right to
request an increase in the aggregate commitments under the Credit Facility up to
$400.0 million. In connection with the Credit Agreement, we also entered into a
guarantee and collateral agreement and foreign security agreements.
Borrowings
under the Credit Agreement currently bear interest at (i) LIBOR (adjusted for
eurocurrency reserve requirements) plus a margin of 2.75% or (ii) a base rate as
defined in the Credit Agreement plus a margin of 1.75%, depending on the type of
borrowing requested by us. These margins are subject to adjustments
depending on the Company’s consolidated leverage ratio and the credit rating of
the facility provided by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. and Standard and Poor’s
Rating Services.
At
September 26, 2009, we had no borrowings outstanding and $14.0 million
in letters of credit drawn on the revolving credit facility, leaving
approximately $286.0 million in capacity available under the revolving credit
facility, $61.0 million of which may be used for letters of credit. As of
this date, based on the indices, the all-in effective three months LIBOR
borrowing rate was 3.51%.
In
addition to paying interest on outstanding principal under the Credit Agreement,
we are required to pay a commitment fee currently at the rate of 0.375% per
annum to the lenders in respect of the average daily unutilized commitments
thereunder. The commitment fee may also be adjusted due to changes in the
consolidated leverage ratio.
We will
also pay a letter of credit fee equal to the applicable margin for eurocurrency
revolving loans on the face amount of each letter of credit and a fronting
fee. Proceeds from the credit facility may be used for working capital and
other general corporate purposes.
The
Credit Agreement contains various financial condition covenants which we must
comply with, including with respect to a debt to EBITDA ratio, minimum EBITDA
and minimum liquidity. Under the Credit Agreement we are also subject to
customary non-financial covenants including limitations in secured indebtedness
and limitations on dividends and other restricted payments. We were in
compliance with these covenants through September 26, 2009.
Malaysian
Facility Agreement
On
May 6, 2008, in connection with the plant expansion at our Malaysian
manufacturing center, First Solar Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (FS Malaysia), our indirect
wholly owned subsidiary, entered into an export financing facility agreement
(Malaysian Facility Agreement) with IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG (IKB), as
arranger, NATIXIS Zweigniederlassung Deutschland (NZD), as facility agent and
original lender, AKA Ausfuhrkredit-Gesellschaft mbH (AKA), as original lender,
and NATIXIS Labuan Branch (NLB), as security agent. The total available loan
amount was €134.0 million ($197.0 million at the balance sheet close rate
on September 26, 2009 of $1.47/€1.00). Pursuant to the Malaysia Facility
Agreement, we began semi-annual repayments of the principal balances of these
credit facilities during 2008. Amounts repaid under this credit facility cannot
be re-borrowed. These credit facilities consisted of the following (in
thousands):
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