September 4, 2007 – “Abrupt” shutdowns and delays caused by a “construction incident” at its Pasadena, TX facility has caused MEMC Electronic Materials to reduce its 3Q07 sales by about 5% below its $500 million target, though the company says it will likely recover those sales in 4Q.

The accident, characterized as a “construction incident” at its polysilicon facility’s expansion project caused by an electrical subcontractor, resulted in a power outage to the entire site for part of the day. While the facility is “in the late stages of recovery” from the incident, “the unplanned and abrupt shutdown of high temperature and pressure chemical operations,” complicated by heavy rains in the area, have delayed recovery at the operation and the site’s expansion project.

As a result, MEMC says it will lose about a week’s worth of production in the current quarter, pushing sales down by about 5% below its previous estimates of $500 million, with margins about flat vs. 2Q07 “due to associated costs.” The Associated Press noted that Thomson Financial analyst surveys expected $504.1M in sales.

The company hopes to recover some of the lost production in 4Q and minimize the impact to full-year targets, including the company’s capacity expansion, noted Nabeel Gareeb, MEMC president/CEO in a statement, adding that “the specific quantification” of such a recovery would be known after the end of this quarter.