Friday, August 29, 2008

5N Plus Inc. Extends Supply Agreements with First Solar, Increases Minimum Quantities to be Ordered (FSLR, VNP.TO)

From the press release:
5N Plus Inc. (TSX: VNP) today announced
the extension of its supply agreement with First Solar, Inc. pursuant to which
5N Plus provides cadmium telluride and cadmium sulphide to First Solar from
5N Plus' Montreal facility. 5N Plus Inc. also announced the extension of its
supply agreement with First Solar Inc., relating to the supply of similar
product from 5N Plus' German facility, which agreement is subject to the
execution of notarized documents in accordance with German law. Pursuant to
these amendments, the previous supply agreements are being extended until
July 31, 2012, representing approximately one additional year.
The agreements are being amended to increase by 50% the minimum
prescribed quantities of cadmium telluride to be ordered by First Solar for
most of the remaining term of the agreements. In addition, the definition of
"change of control", which allows First Solar to exercise a purchase option
over 5N Plus' German assets in certain circumstances, are being materially
amended, such that a "change of control" will now occur only when a party
acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding shares of 5N Plus.


I had forgotten about little VNP until this showed up in an email. Here's their last earnings
release
:
5N Plus Inc. (TSX: VNP) today announced
financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended May 31, 2008.

Highlights of the fourth quarter and year ended May 31, 2008
- Net earnings for the fourth quarter were $3,178,621 or $0.08 per share,
representing a 160% increase over net earnings of $1,222,428 or
$0.04 per share for the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year.
For the fiscal year, net earnings were $7,766,137 or $0.22 per share,
representing an increase of 117.3% over net earnings of $3,574,082 or
$0.12 per share for the previous fiscal year.

- EBITDA(1) for the fourth quarter was $4,646,476, representing an
increase of 86.7% over EBITDA of $2,488,087 for the fourth quarter of
the previous fiscal year. EBITDA reached $12,481,760 for the fiscal
year, an increase of 73.3% over EBITDA of $7,202,310 for the previous
fiscal year.

- Sales for the fourth quarter were $9,423,908, representing an increase
of 43.9% over sales of $6,549,412 for the fourth quarter of the
previous fiscal year. Sales for the fiscal year were $30,972,941, an
increase of 41.4% compared to sales of $21,897,240 for the previous
fiscal year.

- Operational performance was outstanding throughout the year as the
Company increased production throughput at its Montreal facility, to
meet the growing requirements of the Company's customers, while
improving efficiency and reducing costs.

- Cash flow from operating activities, excluding changes in non-cash
working capital items, increased to $3,552,457 for the quarter and
$9,880,266 for the fiscal year. This compares to $1,553,438 and
$4,738,467 for the corresponding periods of the previous fiscal year.

- Shareholders' equity significantly increased during the fourth quarter
and the fiscal year, reaching $91,553,930 at year end, up from
$7,546,467 at the end of the previous fiscal year. During the fourth
quarter, the Company raised $46,200,000 through the issuance of
4 million common shares, which resulted in net proceeds of $44,147,461
(net of issue expenses). This followed the closing of the Company's
initial public offering which occurred during the third quarter of the
fiscal year, resulting in net proceeds to the Company of $31,417,006
(net of issue expenses)....

The stock went public at $3.00 on Dec. 20, 2007.
Chart via Yahoo Finance:
Chart for 5N PLUS INC (VNP.TO)
Some of our earlier posts on 5N Plus:

First Solar Supplier 5NPlus: 5N Plus Inc. New German Facility Now Operational

5N Plus Third Quarter Sales Up 50.5%, Profit Doubles; Webcast Today 10:00 AM EDT (VNP.TO; FSLR)

First Solar: Materials for Solar Photovoltaic Cells II: Tellurium, Not So Rare After All (FSLR; VNP.TO)