Hoku Corp., bolstered by a $20 million loan this week from China Merchants Bank and the recent successful production demonstration at its Pocatello, Idaho, facility, said it expects to begin commercial shipments of polysilicon next quarter as its long-awaited entry into that market finally comes to fruition.

The Honolulu-based company updated its production timetable yesterday in conjunction with the release of its fiscal fourth-quarter financials, in which its net loss widened to $2 million in the period ended March 31 from $904,000 in the year-earlier quarter. Its loss per share was 4 cents in both periods.

Hoku, which also operates a solar installation business in Hawaii, said its revenue jumped more than sixfold in the quarter to $776,000 from $112,000. All its revenue in each of the last two fiscal years has come from photovoltaic system installation and related services, the sale of electricity and the resale of solar inventory.

Former Chief Operating Officer Scott Paul, who took over for Dustin Shindo on April 1 as president and chief executive officer, said the total cost for Hoku's planned 4,000-metric-ton polysilicon plant is projected to be between $390 million and $410 million.

“;We will need to secure a total of approximately $81 million in additional financing during this fiscal year in order to achieve our 4,000-metric-ton production capacity targets,”; Paul said.

He said the length of the phased construction will be driven by the timing of when Hoku receives its remaining financing. Paul said the company currently has $291 million in cash and expects to receive $6 million in additional prepayments, leaving Hoku short by $43 million before it can begin partial commercial operations. Hoku plans to continue on-site construction while producing polysilicon, which is the raw material used to make solar panels.

“;Our annual production capacity during this phase is expected to be approximately 2,500 metric tons,”; Paul said.

He said depending on the timing of initial polysilicon shipments, and the low fixed cost for Hoku Solar, the company aims to break even or achieve profitability this fiscal year. Hoku's solar installation business nearly doubled from about 600 kilowatts in fiscal 2009 to more than 1,100 kilowatts in fiscal 2010.

China-based Tianwei New Energy Co. Ltd., which agreed last September to take over 60 percent ownership of Hoku and provide $50 million in debt financing, has invested more than $129 million of its own capital in Hoku and provided collateral support for the $20 million in debt financing from China Merchants Bank.

“;We are working closely with Tianwei to identify appropriate sources for our remaining financing,”; Paul said. “;Importantly, though, while we plan to adjust the scale and pace of our construction efforts and production ramp to match the timing of receipt of these additional funds, we remain on track today, and we continue to expect that we will meet all of our contractual customer shipment obligations.”;

For the year, Hoku's net loss widened to $5.4 million, or 23 cents a share, compared with $3 million, or 15 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 47.4 percent to $2.6 million from $5 million.