Reported by Staff

BOULDER – Solar energy integrator Real Goods Solar has announced results for its second quarter of 2009 and the results are mixed. Q2 revenue this year increased 43.8% to $12.7 million from $8.8 million recorded in the same period last year, primarily due to acquisitions.

The company reports gross profit increased to $3.3 million, or 25.8% of revenue, for the quarter from $2.6 million, or 29.8% of revenue, in the 2008 comparable period. Real Goods Solar says the decrease in gross margin percentage primarily reflects an increased mix of commercial installations and the consolidation of last year’s acquisitions which have traditionally produced lower gross profit margins.

Operating expenses (as a percent of revenue) rose from 31.3% last year  to 33.2% for the comparable period. Most of the increase resulted from incremental costs associated with being a public company and integration costs related to the Company’s historical acquisitions. Net loss for the second quarter was $0.6 million, or $0.03 per share, as compared to a net loss of $27 thousand, or $0.00 per share, for the comparable period last year.

For the six months ended June 30, 2009, revenue was $22.2 million, a 44.4% increase from $15.4 million in the comparable period last year. Net loss totaled $2.0 million, or $0.11 per share, compared to a net loss of $0.3 million, or $0.03 per share, for the six months ended June 30, 2008.

According to the financial reporting, results for last year do not include the company’s acquisitions of Independent Energy Systems and Regrid Power, related integration costs, nor most of the costs associated with being a public company.

“While we aren’t satisfied with any quarter in which we show a net loss, we are pleased with the progress we have made during these challenging economic times,” commented Tom McCalmont, Chief Executive Officer.

“Bookings started to come alive again during the second quarter and we began to see the effects of this in our reported revenue. While the economic environment may remain challenging for quite some time, consumers are becoming increasingly compelled to move forward with solar due to the 30% federal tax credit and lower module prices”

“Optimizing our cost structure and preserving cash continued to be high priorities during the second quarter,” said Erik Zech, Chief Financial Officer. “We started to see the benefits of our efforts during the second quarter with operating expenses as a percentage of revenue down by 14.6% as compared to the first quarter of 2009, resulting in a significantly smaller overall net loss. We also made improvements to our balance sheet during the quarter, primarily by further reducing our inventory. As a result of these efforts, our cash position remained strong at $12.5 million at quarter end.”

Real Goods Solar also announced on Wednesday that it has signed a large multi-site contract with Northrop Grumman to design and install three large solar electric systems on two separate U.S. Navy bases in the southwestern United States. Due to the remote nature of these locations, solar PV systems were the ideal choice to meet the demands of these sites. Construction of the systems is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2009 and to be completed in the subsequent 4 to 6 months.