I was following this one 'cause i like alt. ener. but this article forced me to rethink about them so i post it here not to hurt actual shareholders but to warn will be shareholders in looking more deeply even though the S/P seems very low .

Timminco predicts brighter future when solar energy rises

GARY NORRIS

The Canadian Press

May 15, 2009 at 1:26 PM EDT

TORONTO — Timminco Ltd. [TIM-T] will rise again when the outlook for the solar energy industry brightens, the chairman-CEO of the beaten-down provider of silicon for solar cells told shareholders Friday.

Despite this assurance, Timminco shares tumbled to a two-year low Friday, a day after a group of investors filed a class-action lawsuit accusing the Toronto-based specialty metals producer of misleading them about the company's growth and profit potential.

"We are confident that when the industry emerges from the current downturn it will resume its long-term growth plans," Heinz Schimmelbusch told a brief annual meeting in which shareholders raised no questions despite a 96 per cent drop in Timminco's stock price from its peak last June.

"As it does, Timminco will be well positioned to capitalize on this growth," with its proprietary production of high-purity silicon through a metallurgical rather than chemical process, Mr. Schimmelbusch said.

Timminco Ltd.

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Timminco, in the face of skepticism from others in the industry, says its process entails smaller capital investment and lower energy and material costs than other techniques.

Mr. Schimmelbusch acknowledged that "we have ongoing problems" in silicon purity and usability in solar cells — some customers have declared their contracts terminated due to non-compliance — but he insisted that "the short-term challenges that we are currently facing are primarily market-driven."

"Like many industries, the solar energy industry looks very different today than it did 12 months ago," he observed.

"Lack of financing and fewer government incentives have delayed many solar energy projects, as evidenced by the 40 per cent drop in the dollar value of new installed capacity for the first quarter to 2009 compared with the same period a year earlier."

This has generated a solar-panel inventory buildup, "the impact of which has cascaded down the supply chain."

Timminco, which has curtailed production and postponed expansion, had a first-quarter net loss of $22.3-million, compared with a year-earlier loss of $600,000, as sales fell to $37.7-million from $47.6-million.

It shipped 131 tonnes of solar-grade silicon at average selling price of $58 per kilogram, for gross revenue of $7.6-million.

It also agreed during the quarter to spin off its magnesium metal operations in a deal with Winca Tech Ltd. of China, creating a new company, Applied Magnesium International, 20 per cent owned by Timminco. The first-quarter loss included $3.8-million to close the magnesium group's plant in Aurora, Colo. The magnesium group produced $14.1-million of first-quarter revenue.

In the remaining silicon business, producing both silicon metal and solar-grade silicon, quarterly sales fell to $23.6-million from $34.7-million.

"We recognize that we will continue to be challenged by the economy and the markets in the short term," Mr. Schimmelbusch told shareholders, "and we expect these challenges to continue to impact our business throughout the end of 2009."

Timminco shares dropped as low as $1.24 Friday morning — the lowest price since they began a breathtaking rise from penny-stock status in April, 2007, to a peak of $35.69 last June. The stock changed hands near midday at $1.32, down 23 cents or 15 per cent on the TSX session.

A Toronto law firm, Kim Orr Barristers, announced late Thursday it had filed a class-action lawsuit seeking $520-million on behalf of investors who bought Timminco stock between March and November last year.

The lawsuit, naming Timminco, Mr. Schimmelbusch and others, alleges the company knowingly misled investors about its growth and profit potential. Timminco stated Friday it had not been served with legal documents.

GARY NORRIS

The Canadian Press

Latest comment posted at 7:53 AM EDT 16/05/09

Silcon producer's share hit two-year low; ‘We have ongoing problems,' CEO says ...Read the full article

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pump and dump from howe street, Canada writes: yeah there problem is that it is a classic pump and dump.their process won't work unless they can get some magin new materials for the furnance liners.to get the chemistry right and get rid of the B and P, the conditions are so harsh that it will wear away the furnance liners, hence the low production numbers and likely constant redoing of the liners.

Posted 15/05/09 at 2:50 PM EDT | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

Jason S from Windsor, Canada writes: What they do not tell you is that it takes oil to produce these solar panels, and the amount of solar panels needed to even come close to replacing oil will take extraordinary amounts of oil. Why are oil prices high, and manufacturing jobs leaving? As EconoChristian.com mentions, to bring about the end to all industrialization and the production of nuclear generated electric power in what they call "the post-industrial zero-growth society&8221;. Excepted are the computer- and service industries. US industries that remain will be exported to countries such as Mexico where abundant slave labor is available

Posted 15/05/09 at 4:09 PM EDT | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

dave charleston from toronto, Canada writes: something doesn't seem quite right with this company. Almost Bre X like

Posted 15/05/09 at 4:32 PM EDT | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

Day Trader from Toronto, Canada writes: Does this CEO still have credibility?

Posted 15/05/09 at 10:22 PM EDT | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

David Simon from Canada writes: I understand that GM and Chrysler have ongoing problems, too. Is this correct?

Posted 15/05/09 at 11:13 PM EDT | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

bob gervitz from United States writes: Do I recall correctly that there was a particular analyst (was it Ravi Sood?) a year or two ago who was censured or even sued by Timminco for repeatedly panning the company and claiming that their process was not viable? Perhaps the author of this story (or another G&M journalist) could revisit that situation and determine whether the analysts claims have been vindicated by the recent collapse in Timminco's technical/production credibility.

Posted 16/05/09 at 7:17 AM EDT | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

ALASTAIR JAMES BERRY from NANAIMO, Canada writes: The whole Pump and Dump scenario here seems to be made possible by the politicos who like the photo - ops available with 'new' technologies particularly if they are Green.Ballard's share price graph mirrors Timminco's on a slightly longer time scale!Hydrogen power for a pollution free world, as preached by BALLARD, brought grants and taxpayers money and a steady stream of " politicos " to be photographed, to the facilities in British Columbia.............and the shares rose to almost $200........... as a stream of News Releases with photos of Fuel Cell buses, operating in Chicago and Europe or Fuel Cell cars in competitions emanated from the company, which has now exited the bus and car FUEL CELL BUSINESS (and the Winter Olympics were to be THE SHOW CASE for a fleet of Fuel Cell buses to deliver Athletes to and from Whistler)Surely, with investing in shares(and I've been doing it for 60 years) is, and always has been, a case of caveat emptor?As for silicon, I reckon Corning would be a better bet than Timminco , if solar cells are ever take off as an economic alternative to coal fired electrical power.

Posted 16/05/09 at 7:53 AM EDT | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

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