Geothermal energy company Ormat Industries Ltd. (TASE: ORMT) US subsidiary Ormat Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ORA) swung to a loss despite higher revenue for the first quarter of 2011.
Revenue rose 18% to $97.8 million for the first quarter from $82.7 million for the corresponding quarter. Electricity segment revenue rose 18.4% to $78.3 million, up from $66.1 million, thanks to a 14% increase in electricity generation. Product segment revenue rose 18.1% to $19.6 million to $16.5 million.
Net loss was $9 million ($0.20 per share) for the first quarter, compared with a net profit of $1.8 million for the corresponding quarter. Ormat Technologies attributed the loss to a pretax loss of $10.3 million by the company's North Brawley geothermal power plant in California.
Ormat Technologies had $64.8 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities at the end of March and a balance of $223.7 million of its $402.5 million in lines of bank credit.
Ormat Technologies CEO Yehudit Bronicki updated the company's full-year guidance to $395-410 million. She expects electricity segment revenue of $315-325 million and product segment revenue of $80-85 million.
Ormat Technologies' share price fell 0.5% in New York yesterday to $24.18, giving a market cap of $1.1 billion. Ormat Industries' share price rose 0.7% by early afternoon on the TASE today to NIS 23.70, giving a market cap of NIS 2.8 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 5, 2011
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