First Solar's quarterly sales rise on higher solar panel demand

April 30 (Reuters) - First Solar FSLR.O, the biggest U.S.-based solar panel maker, on Thursday reported higher quarterly sales that met Wall Street expectations, helped by demand from third parties and from India.

U.S. tariffs and stricter trade enforcement that raised the cost of imported solar panels have strengthened First Solar's pricing power, as developers increasingly turned to domestic suppliers.

Shares of the company rose 0.55% in extended trading.

“We delivered a strong start to 2026, with record first-quarter revenue, record sales in India, meaningful margin expansion, and Adjusted EBITDA above the top end of our first quarter preview range,” CEO Mark Widmar said in a statement.

First Solar posted first-quarter net sales of $1.04 billion, compared with $844.6 million a year ago, and in line with analysts' expectations, according to data compiled by LSEG.

It reported a net income of $346.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, up about 65.4% from the year-ago period.

The company said it expects second-quarter module sales of 3.4 to 4.0 gigawatts and adjusted EBITDA of $400 million to $500 million.

Last week, the U.S. Commerce Department unveiled preliminary antidumping duties on solar cells and panels from India, Indonesia and Laos, backing domestic manufacturers’ claims that producers in those countries sold products at unfairly low prices, adding to a decade-long series of tariffs on Asian solar imports.