Chinese PV Industry Brief: Another huge glass order and new profit forecasts

Chinese module manufacturer Risen and solar glass maker Flat Glass Group (FGG) signed a glass supply deal on Thursday. Under the terms of the agreement, Risen and some of its subsidiaries will purchase around 34 GW (234 million square metres) of PV glass from FGG from 2021 to 2023 based on a monthly bargaining price. The estimated value of the supply contract is around RMB 8.9 billion (US$1.39 billion).

Taiwanese market research company PV InfoLink published the top five solar cell manufacturer ranking for 2020. Tongwei was the largest cell maker last year, followed by Aikosolar, Runergy, Shanxi Lu’an, and Jiangsu Zhongyu (Solarspace). Total annual solar cell shipments of these five providers for last year totaled 55 GW, which is 60% more than in 2019 and shows that concentration in the sector is increasing.

Solar panel producer Trina Solar said on Tuesday it expects its net profit for 2020 to increase by between 87% and 107% compared to a year earlier. The main reasons for this positive performance, the company stated, are the overall growth of the PV market, the company’s long-term global brand strategy, leading innovation capabilities and product advantages, and global sales and service advantages.

Shanghai-listed leading inverter manufacturer Goodwe forecasts its net profit will increase by between 123% to 168% year-on-year compared to 2019. Goodwe explained that the main reason for the change in performance was good PV industry development during the reporting period, its continuous R&D investment and technological innovation, which resulted in continually expanding domestic and overseas markets.

State-owned manufacturer Luoyang Glass yesterday announced it expects demand for solar glass to have driven up its 2020 net profit to between RMB 246 and RMB 286 million (US$38 and US$44.2 million) from the RMB 54 million recorded in 2019.

Polysilicon maker Daqo New Energy has estimated the Xinjiang Daqo New Energy business, which constitutes the lion’s share of its operations and which it plans to list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, will bank a net profit of RMB 950 million to RMB 1.05 billion (US$147 to US$162 million) from last year. The figure, based on audited nine-month returns plus a fourth-quarter estimate, was supplied as part of the application for a Shanghai listing by Xinjiang Daqo. The business is expecting revenue of between RMB 4.5 and 4.7 billion for the year, Daqo said yesterday, with estimated production volumes of 20,500 to 21,000 metric tons (MT) contributing to a full-year figure of between 76,700 and 77,200 MT. Daqo expects fourth-quarter sales of 23,000-23,200 MT of polysilicon for a full-year return of 74,700 to 74,900 MT.

Shareholders in PV project developer Xinyi Energy will vote on February 11 on whether to acquire 520 MW more generation capacity from the Xinyi Solar holding company that it is being spun out of. Having acquired 230 MW of Chinese projects installed by PV glassmaker Xinyi Solar in September, Xinyi Energy is set to acquire additional capacity for around RMB 512 million (US$79.59 million).

Solar manufacturer Solargiga yesterday completed a 180-million-share issuance, albeit at a hefty 50.8% discount on Wednesday’s closing share price as the stock was placed at HK$0.29 (US$0.04) per share. The new shares constitute 5.42% of the enlarged company.

NYSE-listed Renesola also completed a placement of 10 million American depositary shares at US$25 per ADS to raise US$250 million for the expansion of its solar and energy storage portfolio and funding possible acquisitions. Each ADS comprised 10 ordinary shares in the business