Solaria loses shine as stock price plunges

20 February 2008

MADRID – Spanish solar-panel manufacturer Solaria’s share price took another hammering yesterday after the company announced a finance deal to buy back its own stock.

Solaria’s share price fell 16.21 percent on Tuesday to EUR 11.58 on a heavy-trading volume of 6.6 million shares after an intraday low of EUR 11.06 and a high of EUR 13.74.

Earlier in the day, the company said in a filing to the National Securities Commission (CNMV) that it had entered into an agreement with local brokerage Banesto Bolsa to buy back up to EUR 15 million worth of its own shares equivalent to 1 percent of its capital.

Last Friday Solaria was forced to issue a statement to the CNMV denying rumours of anomalies in its accounts after at one point its stock plunged over 20 percent on the day. Solaria said its books were audited by Price Waterhouse using the same accounting criteria as in previous quarters. The company booked a net profit last year of EUR 48.1 million, up from EUR 5.6 million a year earlier.

Solaria made its debut on the Spanish stock exchanges in June of last year after an initial public share offer at EUR 9.50 amid strong demand for the issue. The stock subsequently rose strongly as oil prices soared, due to an increased demand for renewable energy to combat global warming.

Subject: Spanish news