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Zacks Analyst Interview Highlights: JA Solar, Hoku Scientific and Gushan Environmental Energy

Posted on: Thursday, 7 August 2008, 06:00 CDT

Zacks.com releases the latest Analyst Interview. Today's interview is with senior analyst Jon Kolb, who discusses JA Solar (Nasdaq: JASO), Hoku Scientific (Nasdaq: HOKU) and Gushan Environmental Energy (NYSE: GU).

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We've seen in pre-Olympic footage in and around Beijing that China has some major industrial pollution issues. Does it have any good alt-energy companies at this point?

Certainly it does. JA Solar (Nasdaq: JASO) is a Buy-rated stock under coverage. The company's bullishness is buoyed by strong global demand for its photovoltaic (PV, or solar power) cells.

Solar seems to be a bigger deal these days in many parts of the world, doesn't it?

The company has seven fully operational solar cell manufacturing lines with annual installed capacity of 175 MW (megawatts), with plans to expand its annual capacity to 425 MW by year-end 2008. The company's principal customers are solar module manufacturers, who assemble and integrate its products into modules and systems. It sells its products primarily to customers in China, as well as customers in Germany, Sweden, Spain, South Korea and the United States.

What other Chinese solar companies do you cover?

We have a Hold recommendation on Hoku Scientific's (Nasdaq: HOKU) common stock, with a six-month target price of $4.75. This represents 8.0% upside potential.

Hoku Scientific's $1.7 billion of polysilicon order backlog for up to 10 years from four solar companies represents a great growth story. However, its polysilicon plant with the exit of Merrill Lynch is facing a capital crunch forcing the company to resort to earnings dilutive borrowings. Also, the facility will not be operational before 2009, and will achieve full capacity only in 2010.

What other alt-energy plays in China can you tell us about?

I'll leave you with one more for the time being. China's biggest bio-diesel player, Gushan Environmental Energy (NYSE: GU) is ramping up its production capacity in a big way. The company's proprietary technology allows it to use cheaper sources of raw material and have a lower cost structure than its peers. Looking ahead, escalating oil prices on account of lower fuel subsidies by the government, higher production and entry into the high margin chemical market should collectively generate significant earnings growth.

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Source: Business Wire

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