Wed Mar 30, 2011 5:47pm EDT

* 2010 sales up 7 pct at $33.9 mln

* Sees gross margins in low 30 pct range

* Sees mln dollar contracts from Ontario's FIT program

* Q4 loss $4.1 mln vs loss $0.9 year ago

* Q4 rev up 36 pct at $9.3 mln

March 30 (Reuters) - Canadian solar power company Carmanah Technologies said it expects organic sales to grow at least twice as fast in 2011 than it did in 2010 as it expects million-dollar contracts, aided by Ontario's feed-in-tariff (FIT) program.

Green energy companies in Canada have gained from the launch of an European-style FIT program late in 2009 that offered above market rates for electricity produced from solar, wind and other renewable sources.

"Now that contracts are working their way through the FIT program process in Ontario, we see an inflow of million-dollar contracts to the Solar Power System division of our business during at least 2011," Chief Executive Ted Lattimore said.

The solar LED and solar power systems maker expects 2011 organic revenue to increase 15-20 percent, compared with a 7 percent rise last year.

Carmanah expects gross margins in the low-30-percent range, consistent with 33.3 percent in 2010.

The company said fourth-quarter sales rose more than a third to $9.3 million and expects first-quarter sales above $9.5 million.

Fourth-quarter loss quadrupled to $4.1 million, hurt by non-recurring items including a $3 million non-cash charge.

Shares of Victoria, British Columbia-based Carmanah closed at 52 Canadian cents on Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Gowri Jayakumar in Bangalore; Editing by Joyjeet Das)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/30/carmanah-idUSL3E7EU3F720110330?feedType=RSS&feedName=industrialsSector&rpc=43