REC Silicon reports operating loss in 2025
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 month, 3 weeks AGO
REC Silicon reported a substantial drop in revenue and an operating loss in 2025.
CHERYL SCHWEIZER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | March 30, 2026 2:20 AM
MOSES LAKE — REC Silicon operating revenue dropped substantially in 2025 when compared with 2024, according to the company’s annual report released March 25. The company reported $78.2 million in operating revenue in 2025, compared with $140.8 million in 2024.
What that means for the company’s facility on East Wheeler Road is still to be determined. It was shut down in late 2024.
“(The shutdown) was due to persistent quality issues and uncertain resolution paths that plagued the Moses Lake polysilicon product,” wrote Kurt Levens, REC chief executive officer, in the report. “However, the silane facilities were placed in a safe-shutdown condition so that a future restart would be possible if silane market conditions and high-volume demand opportunities were to materialize.”
For now, the company’s facility in Moses Lake remains closed.
“There are no changes to the Moses Lake facility that have been previously announced by the company,” said Chuck Sutton, vice president of polysilicon sales and government relations, in an earlier email.
REC Silicon did cut some of its losses in 2025, with its “earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization” losses at $8.5 million in 2025 compared to a loss of $17.9 million in 2024. The EBITDA measures money generated from a company’s core business activities, while excluding the effects of financing, taxes and non-cash accounting measures.
REC Silicon produces silicon gas at its facility in Butte, Montana. Sales decreased by about 14.3% between 2024 and 2025.
The company’s largest shareholder is Hanwha, based in South Korea, which owns about 60% of REC’s shares through its subsidiaries. Because of its financial position, REC received $90 million in loans from Hanwa in 2025, the report said.
REC Silicon announced a new stock offer earlier this year with the goal of raising about $100 million. The stocks are “fully underwritten,” which means that the underwriters have agreed to buy a lot of the stock. That allows the company to raise the money, even if the stock price falls.
“We continue to work on our short-term and long-term financing,” Sutton said. “This equity raise will assist in that process by paying back some of our current debt, along with supporting working capital and operational needs.”
While in some ways the company’s financial picture has improved, Levens said there’s still work to do.
“We have made tangible progress in reducing fixed costs and stabilizing operations, but further work remains to stabilize our financial position,” he said. “The reality is the company still faces mid- to long-term liquidity challenges.”
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
No deficiencies in Wahluke School District audit
MATTAWA — An audit of the Wahluke School District didn’t find any deficiencies in the district’s federal program management or its financial reporting. It was the second straight deficiency-free audit for the district. Wahluke Superintendent Andy Harlow said that was due to WSD’s financial staff. “I continue to be impressed with (Gabriela) Chacon, our finance director, and her team’s hard work, growth and commitment to implementing and sustaining fiscal systems,” Harlow wrote in response to an email from the Columbia Basin Herald
Tentative opening date set for new Quincy Aquatic Center
QUINCY — Not only a new swimming pool but a new splash pad will be coming to Quincy this summer. Russ Harrington, Quincy parks and recreation director, said there are tentative opening dates for the new Quincy Aquatic Center and the park that includes the splash pad, although it may not be ready at the same time as the park. “We’re getting close,” Harrington said. The splash pad is one of the amenities in the new park at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and E Street Northeast. The park’s playground toys have been installed; Harrington said ground cover is the last piece for those toys, and it’s scheduled for installation within the next few days. The playground toys should be ready for use by June 1.
Mobile home destroyed in early-morning fire
MOSES LAKE — A mobile home north of Moses Lake was destroyed by fire early Wednesday morning. Grant County Fire District 5 Battalion Chief Sean Killion said the fire was reported at about 4:20 a.m. on Broad Street Northeast, off Airway Drive Northeast. “It was vacant,” Killion said, and no one was injured. The trailer was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived, but no nearby structures were damaged, he said. The trailer was a total loss. Firefighters were on the scene about 90 minutes, he said. “The cause of the fire is undetermined, per the fire marshal,” Killion said.