Canadian Solar Updates Third Quarter 2011 Guidance

ONTARIO, Canada, Oct. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", "we" or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar companies, today updated its financial guidance for the third quarter 2011 based on its current views with respect to operating and market conditions, its current order book and customers' forecasts, all of which are subject to change.

For the third quarter of 2011, Canadian Solar expects shipments to be in line with prior guidance of 350 MW to 360 MW despite broader weakness experienced in the solar market worldwide.  The Company noted that it saw strength in customer demand return at the end of the third quarter of 2011.  Management believes that demand was initially lower earlier in the third quarter as customers appear to have been waiting as long as possible before committing to purchases given continued pressure on average selling prices ("ASP's") throughout the solar supply chain.  This was compounded by a weaker than normal financing environment.  Due to the lower ASP's, the Company now expects its gross margin for the third quarter will be in the range of 2% to 5%, compared to prior guidance of 9% to 12%.

About Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ)

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) is one of the world's largest solar companies. As a leading vertically integrated provider of ingots, wafers, solar cells, solar modules and other solar applications, Canadian Solar designs, manufactures and delivers solar products and solar system solutions for on-grid and off-grid use to customers worldwide. With operations in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, Canadian Solar provides premium quality, cost-effective and environmentally-friendly solar solutions to support global, sustainable development. For more information, please visit www.canadiansolar.com.

Safe Harbor/Forward-Looking Statements:

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These statements are made under the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by such terms as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "estimates," the negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include the risks regarding the previously disclosed SEC investigation, as well as general business and economic conditions and the state of the solar industry; governmental support for the deployment of solar power; future available supplies of high-purity silicon; demand for end-use products by consumers and inventory levels of such products in the supply chain; changes in demand from significant customers; changes in demand from major markets such as Germany; changes in customer order patterns; changes in product mix; capacity utilization; level of competition; pricing pressure and declines in average selling prices; delays in new product introduction; continued success in technological innovations and delivery of products with the features customers demand; shortage in supply of materials or capacity requirements; availability of financing; exchange rate fluctuations; litigation and other risks as described in the Company's SEC filings, including its annual report on Form 20-F filed on May 17, 2011. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance, or achievements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All information provided in this press release is as of today's date, unless otherwise stated, and Canadian Solar undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.