Germany's Q-Cells, posted a hefty loss in the first nine months of the year, it said on Nov. 12, amid tough competition from Asian manufacturers.
The company, based in eastern Germany, said it slumped to a net loss of 958 million euros (US$1.4 billion) compared to profits of 153 million euros in the same period in 2008.
Sales in the first nine months of 2009 also dropped by over 40%. Q-Cells blamed the results on a "drastic fall in prices on the international market for solar cells."
After years of dazzling results, the solar energy sector in Germany has suffered recently, as competition from Asia begins to bite.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009