SiliconBeat

Akeena Solar’s share price and workforce got about 25 percent smaller Thursday after the Los Gatos solar power systems supplier and installer released results for its 2008 fourth quarter that missed analysts’ expectations.

While the company’s revenue came in as expected at $10.9 million, it posted a loss excluding some items of 26 cents per share, 60 percent worse than the 16 cents analysts had forecast in a Bloomberg survey.

The company is taking a $963,000 non-cash charge related to a current project that ran into trouble last quarter when the customer lost its funding. Work on that project is approximately three-quarters completed, but the customer has not made the second scheduled payment. The company also wrote down $2.6 million in the value of its inventories at quarter’s end because “of a pronounced softening in the price of solar panels.”

“By quarter’s end, the economic slowdown, lack of available credit, and falling home values were weighing heavily on our customers,” said Akeena Chief Executive Barry Cinnamon in a statement.

Citing continued tight credit markets and the economic slowdown, Akeena doesn’t expect commercial sales to pick up significantly until the benefits of the recently passed stimulus package take effect “toward the latter half of the year.”

The company is closing its Connecticut office, and in addition to laying off 45 employees — a quarter of its staff — Akeena is reducing the regular hours and salaries  of its remaining work force by 10 percent.

Shares of Akeena fell 34 cents, or 25 percent, to $1, their lowest price since the stock first began trading in August 2006.