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September 16, 2016Latest list of Top Module and Inverter Suppliers in India
September 19, 2016Comparing Q2’16 Performance of Solar Companies
The solar industry is growing by leaps and bounds all around the globe. Now a days it is common to see solar panel installations anywhere you go. There have been advancements not only in efficiencies, but also in technology and the prices are also decreasing over the time. Half of the year 2016 has already passed and it is time to do a half yearly review of the prominent solar companies.
You can compare Annual Performance of Chinese Solar companies in 2015.
| Revenues (in Million $) | Gross Profit (in %) | Net Profit (in million $) | ||||
| Q2’16 | Q1’16 | Q2’16 | Q1’16 | Q2’16 | Q1’16 | |
| Trina Solar | 961.6 | 816.9 | 18.3 | 17.1 | 40.3 | 26.6 |
| Jinko Solar | 896 | 848 | 20.4 | 21.3 | 42.1 | 48.6 |
| JA Solar | 619 | 538 | 15.3 | 16.6 | 24.7 | 23.8 |
| Canadian Solar | 806 | 721 | 17.2 | 15.6 | 40.4 | 22.6 |
| Renesola | 250 | 261 | 16.5 | 17.1 | 5.5 | 5.7 |
| First Solar | 934.4 | 848.5 | 20.5 | 31 | 13.4 | 170.6 |
Trina Solar’s – (NYSE:TSL) US demand is being supported by its new production facility in Thailand. Module shipment were driven by increasing demand from China, which again played an instrumental role in the advancement of the company’s downstream project business. During Q2’16, TSL connected more than 290 MW of utility projects and 28 MW of DG projects in China and sold ~11 MW of projects in UK and Italy. Trina Solar also succeeded in achieving 21.1% average efficiency for mono-crystalline cells and 20.2% for P-type multi-crystalline silicon cells, using PERC technology.
“Going forward, we will continue to focus on developing our brand name, products and technology, while identifying opportunities to develop our downstream business. We believe that our strategy gives us a competitive edge in the industry and provides a solid foundation for our sustainable and long term development.”
JA Solar’s – (NASDAQ:JASO) Q2’16 marked a growth over 50% in shipments and revenue. China continued to remain a strong market for JA Solar and the company connected ~250 MW of solar projects to the grid in the quarter.
“We believe our balanced global footprint and flexible business model will allow us to adjust to evolving market conditions. The JA team remains focused on executing our business strategy to provide our customers with high-quality products in 2016 and beyond.”
Canadian Solar – USA remains the top market for Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) comprising more than 47% of total module shipments, while Asia accounted for ~40% of total module shipments. The company succeeded in lowering its module manufacturing cost that reflected in its increased gross margin. The company’s bottom line suffered due to expenses like writing off the deferred expenses of its YieldCo launch, which now stands cancelled and damage caused by tornado at its solar cell factory in Jiangsu.
The Company’s solar project pipeline stands at 20.4 GW, including approximately 2.4 GW of projects in late-stage development (USA, Japan, China, Brazil, UK, Mexico), and 18 GW in early-mid stage development. On the technology front, CSIQ expects to increase its wafer capacity using new diamond wire-saw technology. The Company’s wafer manufacturing capacity is expected to reach 1.3 GW by the end of 2016.
| Shipments (in GW) | Q2’16 | Q1’16 |
| Trina Solar | 1.66 | 1.42 |
| Jinko Solar | 1.72 | 1.6 |
| JA Solar | 1.38 | 1.13 |
| Canadian Solar | 1.29 | 1.17 |
| Renesola | 0.3 | 0.37 |
| First Solar | 0.715 | 0.885 |
Jinko Solar – USA and China accounted for the majority of the shipments. The company is also looking at increasing marketshare in the markets of Latin America, India and Japan. As of June 30, 2016, the Company had connected 1,130 MW worth of solar power projects. Jinko Solar (NYSE:JKS) is increasing its wafer production for usage of our PERC-line products and expects its manufacturing capacity to reach 4.5GW, 3.7GW, and 6.5GW for wafers, cells and modules, respectively.
Mr. Kangping Chen, JinkoSolar’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “I am pleased to announce another strong quarter. We expect global demand to remain robust despite recent industry headwinds and are confident that we will be able to carry this strong growth momentum throughout the second half of the year.”
Revenue declined due to lower wafer ASP and reduced module shipments to external customers. The total wafer shipments increased to more than 423 MW from 351 MW in Q1’16. The company is focusing on wafer capacity expansion through technology improvement. Renesola (NYSE:SOL) now has a solar power project pipeline of 938.2 MW, of which 323.8 MW are late stage. The company has connected six utility-scale projects to UK grid during the quarter, with total capacity of ~26 MW. Its LED products sales increased 26% q/q with gross margin over 30%.
“For the past year, our strategy has been simple and effective, and we have executed it consistently. We are focused on project development with rapid monetization and expansion through technology improvements, as well as de-emphasis of OEM manufacturing. We have consistently been profitable for the past year, and will continue to improve our capital structure”.
First Solar – N America, Asia, India, Middle East and Latin America were the largest markets for First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR), representing 24 GW of potential booking opportunities. Average efficiency of modules remain unchanged at 16.2%. The bottom line suffered mainly due to $85 million in restructuring and asset impairment expenses incurred primarily related to Tetrasun during the quarter. First Solar’s Series 5 and Series 6 panels are expected to deliver more power at lower cost. The company is also looking at reopening its factories, which could be a game changer for the solar market. FSLR is also focusing on reducing costs rather than expanding capacity. I think the company has a good strategic plan in place.