The Wuxi, China,-based company’s fourth-quarter sales were $583.6m, up 40.8% from the same period in 2008, and well ahead of the $468.3m expected by Wall Street analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Profit for the quarter was $49.9m, $0.27 per American Depository Share, compared to a net loss a year earlier of $109.1m. Analysts were expecting a profit of $0.12 per share.

Suntech’s