Aug 20, 2014 - Chinese solar panel manufacturer JA Solar Holdings Co Ltd (NASDAQ:JASO) today posted a second-quarter 2014 net profit of CNY 40.1 million (USD 6.5m/EUR 4.9m) and lifted its full-year shipments forecast to 2.9 GW-3.1 GW.
The bottom line result compares to a CNY-85-million profit in the first quarter of the year and to a loss of CNY 132.4 million in April-June 2013.
The revised guidance, on the other hand, has been motivated by JA Solar’s expectations for better demand in China and further expansion of its business in North America and also by secular demand trends in Japan. Of the expected volumes, 200 MW of modules will be used in JA Solar’s own solar projects, as its downstream business is expanding, it noted.
The photovoltaics (PV) company’s gross margin for the second quarter was 15.2%, up from 8.1% a year ago, but down from 16.7% in the preceding quarter. The sequential drop was mainly attributed to increased shipments to China, where the module selling prices contracted slightly, and an adjustment of the minimum import price in the European Union (EU).
During the period, JA Solar made progress in its transition to modules from cells as the main source of revenue. This and higher penetration of key markets such as China and Japan helped JA Solar boost its revenue by 52.9% year-over-year and 6.5% quarter-on-quarter to CNY 2.4 billion.
April-June shipments were also up by 47% in annual terms and by 6.8% in quarterly terms to a total 681.8 MW. The volume includes 445.8 MW of modules and module tolling and 236 MW of cells and cell tolling. China accounted for 26% of shipments, while 47.1% went to the rest of the Asia-Pacific region. Europe’s share was 13.9%, while the Americas' grew to 11.2%.
“In the second half of 2014, we expect to sustain both our growth and profitability, due to accelerating activity in China, and continued favorable product and geographic mix,” said chairman and chief executive Baofang Jin. JA Solar guided for third-quarter cell and module shipments of 730 MW-760 MW.
(CNY 10 = USD 1.628/EUR 1.225)
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