(Reuters) - Chinese solar company LDK Solar Co Ltd sharply lowered its third-quarter and full-year revenue outlooks due to rapidly falling prices for solar products, sending its shares down 9 percent.

The company also said it would write down between $45 million and $50 million of inventories and would lose money in the third quarter.

A glut of production and swelling inventories of the panels that turn sunlight into electricity have driven down prices by about 40 percent so far this year, squeezing profits across the industry and pushing some manufacturers into bankruptcy.

With Monday's announcement, LDK joins First Solar Inc, Trina Solar Ltd, Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd and Renesola Ltd, among others, in cutting targets for the year.

LDK lowered its third-quarter revenue outlook by more than a quarter to $460-$470 million, from its earlier view of $630-$680 million.

Gross margins will be between negative 3.5 percent and 5 percent rather than the positive 11 percent to 16 percent the company had expected.

The company forecast wafer shipments of 285-290 megawatts (MW) and module shipments of 185-190 MW. It previously projected wafer shipments of 350-400 MW and module shipments of 250-300 MW.

For the full year, LDK cut its revenue view to $2.20-$2.25 billion, from $2.5-$2.7 billion earlier.

Gross margin will be between 9 percent and 12 percent, down from a prior forecast of 15 percent to 20 percent.

LDK will report results for the third quarter on November 22.

The company's shares fell to $3.20 in extended trade after closing at $3.53 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has lost 76 percent of its value since hitting a 52-week high of $14.96 in February.

Source:Reuters