Finance

The overcapacity and price falls that dogged manufacturers are expected to have finally fed through into this year’s results for German inverter maker SMA Solar. The figures will be confirmed on Thursday.

An influx of orders in the latter part of 2013 came too late to boost sales for the Swiss engineering company, which saw annual losses increase 47%.

The Shanghai-headquartered solar company posted its first profit in 10 quarters as Chinese demand fuelled shipments.

The Singapore arm of Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. has also had its equity interest in a core subsidiary frozen by Shanghai’s People’s Court as liquidators move in.

Financial results released today reveal the solar company increased its shipments by 40.8% last year, cementing its place as the world’s leading module supplier.

Investors hit by a profit warning last month are given fresh cause for concern. Shunfeng has now pledged to reveal details of the acquisition on Friday.

The prime candidate to follow Chaori Solar into a Chinese default insists it will meet its obligations over a 2018 note. But brokerage has voiced concerns about Tianwei’s ability to roll over its bank loans.

As investors contemplate the eventual expiration of the federal investment tax credit, the state of Iowa has raised the credits available for residential and business installations. Minnesota has prepared America’s first methodology for calculating a solar tariff.

U.S. solar player First Solar has announced completion of a 1.3 MW solar project in Japan. The Arizone company has full ownership of the Kitakyushu-shi scheme.

The nation’s previous overreliance on residential installations has been corrected as the commercial and utility segments have grown more rapidly during the country’s 18-month solar boom.