A Company Analysis And Valuation Of The Solar Energy Corporation Q Cells Se

The goal of this thesis is to determine the share price of Q-Cells SE, a German company within the solar energy sector, traded on the Frankfurt stock exchange. The company has since it's foundation in 1999 experienced a significant growth and is today a market leader within their industry with sales passing ? 1250 million in 2008. Q-Cells SE has currently employed 2500 employees all over the world; in addition they are engaged with five joint ventures and associated companies. The strategic analysis reveals a company with a significant foothold in its industry and good possibilities for influencing its current and future surroundings. As the market leader the company gains economies of scale and has a robust financial platform. The company is constantly developing within new technologies through R&D and acquisitions; as a result it has a strong technology base with solid positions in the future prevailing technologies, which makes it competitive for the future. The financial statement analysis reveals that the company has a robust and solid economy, with strong solidity, liquidity and profitability. The equity ratio of 66 % puts the company in a good position for further growth and more independent strategically choices. The calculation of the share value is a result of the estimation of future financial performance, and by employing the DCF- and EVA valuation models; we arrived at a share price of ? 15.16. Our estimate is 3.12 % higher than the share price traded 22.06.2009 on the Frankfurt stock exchange, it indicates that the stock at that moment is traded at a discount, which is to some extent supported by the price multiples, which all rank Q-Cells as a better investment than its comparable competitor, Solar World.