Chinese solar manufacturer Jinko Solar Holding has posted a revenue decrease of 21 per cent to RMB 4.57 billion ($979.04 million) in the first quarter of this year. The Chinese solar panel manufacturer, which remains optimistic despite the change in policies, has attributed the downward shift to the plunge in shipment of solar modules and the sharp drop in the average market price of solar modules.
According to the giant solar firm JinkoSolar, the newly enacted regulatory policies in the the US had significantly affected the market and its ASPs.
The recent China government’s cuts to solar installations aimed at accelerating grid parity, fast-tracking clearance of obsolete volume and easing the pressure exerted by existing energy fund deficits.
Commenting on the company’s operating results, Kangping Chen, CEO of JinkoSolar said the company projects a decline in average prices across its industrial supply chains, and consequently a slash in silicon as well as non-silicon related costs to offset the continuous decline in its ASPs.
JinkoSolar’s drop in revenue
JinkoSolar’s total revenue from operations dipped to RMB 125 million ($26.76 million) from a previous RMB 91.3 million in the last quarter of 2017 and RMB 56.8 million in the first quarter of 2017.
This compares to the 2016 capacity of 6,656 Mega Watts and 21.40 billion CNY, to record a year-on-year growth of about 47% and 24% respectively; the company’s best ever performance.
For the decline in the company’s gross and net profit numbers, the company pointed to lower solar module average selling prices (ASPs), increased production volume from OEM partners and rising poly silicon prices as the main reasons.
The solar firm also achieved an operating margin of 2.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2018 in comparison with the 1.4 per cent recorded in Q4 of 2017 and 1.0 per cent in the first quarter of 2017.
The overall operating costs dropped 10.3 per cent to settle at RMB 531.1 million ($113.89 million) during Q1 of 2018, and this is attributed to the decreasing shipping costs caused by a drop in shipment of solar module shipment.
According to reports from the vertically-integrated Chinese solar panel manufacturer, operating costs accounted for 11.6 per cent of all revenues during Q1 of 2018, in comparison with 10.1 per cent recorded in Q4 of 2017 and 10.3 per cent during Q1 of 2017.
Meanwhile, JinkoSolar has highlighted that its overall operating expenses for the year 2017 increased by 5.8% compared to 2016, at 2.67 billion CNY (approximately $551.31 million). This increase was as a result of high shipping and warranty costs.
Regardless, the Chinese solar panel manufacturer delivered a strong performance in both sales and shipment in 2017, with about 9,807 MW being recorded in shipped solar products and about 26.47 billion CNY ($5.38 billion) in turnover.
JinkoSolar is currently ranked the world’s biggest solar panels manufacturer, thanks to its shipping of a mammoth volume of 9.81 GW of solar modules.
Notably, demand for its solar modules was high in Southern European markets including Italy, Spain and Portugal with a boom in demand from emerging solar markets like North Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
The company expects its overseas orders to account for up to 80 per cent of JinkoSolar’s overall shipments for 2018 indicating a global footprint.
In a statement, the company said it had broken its own world record when solar cell efficiency for its P-type mono crystalline PERC cell reached 23.45%. The statement further noted that it had made great progress in the design and development of the N-type Hydride Oxide Thin Film (HOT) technology, recording the best ever cell efficiency in the industry of 21.9% during its mass production.
Founded in 2006 as a solar wafer manufacturer, and getting listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2010, the solar company which is headquartered in Shanghai, China, is well established and bound to bounce back.
Looking forward, the company hopes to capitalise on the increasing demand and expand its production volume for bi-facial cell-plus bi-facial duo-glass solar modules. No figures on projected sales or revenue were provided.
