LDK Solar actually beat revenue guidance for the first quarter of 2013 but the struggling PV manufacturer reported losses of US$187.1 million and exited the quarter with US$174.1 million in cash and US$168.4 million in short-term pledged bank deposits.
Multi-junction solar cells with conversion efficiencies of almost 50% could become cost effective as a result of a collaboration between equipment supplier EV Group and Fraunhofer ISE.
Applied Materials reported a surprise GAAP operating loss for its Energy and Environmental Solutions (EES) segment of US$322 million that included impairment charges of US$278 million. Non-GAAP operating loss was US$34 million.
Struggling LDK Solar has reported a net loss of US$1.05 billion in 2012, the starkest figure in an annual report containing volumes of negative financial figures.
The Heraeus Photovoltaics business unit, part of German technology firm Heraeus, has upgraded its PV laboratory in Shanghai, China, in order to increase its local support to Chinese cell manufacturers.
Tokuyama Corporation, a Japanese silicon producer, has teamed up with 1366 Technologies, a solar wafer manufacturer, with a key focus on research and development.
Specialist encapsulant supplier STR Holdings continued to see sales slump in the first quarter of 2013, despite many module manufacturers raising production utilization rates on improved demand.
