Boston, MA 09/04/2014 (wallstreetpr) – SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) announced that it intends to expand operations in seven states and open 20 new operation locations. The company has already named the states in which it seeks to boost presence. It says there will be cost benefits in the latest expansion drive.
The company said its latest expansion efforts would create more than 600 jobs in the targeted states and even improve the economies of the states. The company targets Arizona, California, Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, Massachusetts, and New York in the latest expansion efforts, and it will open 20 new operation centers in the regions. The company said the new locations will help it reduce its operating cost burden. That will be achieved through reduction in service and installation drive times.
SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) has increased its presence in a number of states within the past six months. For example, it opened its first location in Nevada, added a third one in Maryland and opened two more centers in Massachusetts. The company says it has 7,000 full-time employees in the U.S.
$1.90 cost per watt
SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) is battling huge operating costs. In the most recent reporting the company’s Chief Operating Officer, Tanguy Serra, said that their installation costs dropped to $2.29 per watt in 2Q2014, from $3.16 at the time of their IPO. They expect further reduction in installation costs, and they target to bring it to $1.90 per watt by 2017. The acquisition of Silevo is expected to contribute to that cost benefit.
Impact of unprecedented demand
The company also reported in the red in 2Q, except that it performed better than most analysts expected. It suffered a loss of $0.96 a share, yet analysts on the average expected a loss of $0.99 a share. The improvement in the bottom line was linked to the unprecedented demand for solar installations in the quarter. The company quit the quarter with $61.3 million in revenue, which was 62% higher than the same period a year earlier.
