China Singyes posts $12.3 million profit in H1

The PV project operator and solar EPC contractor — which specializes in ground-mount and rooftop PV arrays, as well as building-integrated PV installations — reported revenue of CNY 2.9 billion in the first six months of this year, up slightly from CNY 2.7 billion a year earlier. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) reached CNY 508.81 million, up 5.9% year on year.

The group’s total renewables business accounted for 65.8% of total revenue, generating roughly CNY 1,961.5 million, from CNY 1,718.5 million a year earlier. Its EPC unit finished about 230 MW of solar capacity in the first half. “The group secured several sizeable solar EPC projects in southern parts of China and we are positive on the outlook of the solar EPC business in the second half,” China Singyes said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Revenue from its solar EPC business reached CNY 1,541.6 million, up approximately 22% on the year. The bulk of its EPC contracts in the first half — accounting for roughly CNY 1,511.6 million of total segment revenue — were for PV arrays installed on commercial and industrial buildings. China Singyes said that it has invested more in its EPC operations this year, but it did not disclose specific figures.

The company sold about CNY 298 million of renewable-energy products — including PV modules and solar heat pumps — in the January-June period, down nearly 23% year on year. On a brighter note, sales of electricity from the company’s operational PV projects, including tariff adjustment, rose to CNY 121.9 million in the first half, up 77.7% from the first six months of 2016. However, electricity sales accounted for just 1.6% of its total revenue.

Total non-current liabilities stood at CNY 3.7 billion at the end of June,  from CNY 3.06 billion a year earlier. Net assets were calculated at CNY 4.27 billion.

The group’s unaudited results for the six months to the end of June are broadly in line with the “considerable decrease” in profit that it hinted at earlier this month, partly because revenue from its curtain wall and green building businesses fell by 2.2% year on year. It recorded a profit of CNY 325.5 million in the first half of 2016 and a profit of CNY 512.5 million for the full year. 

However, China Singyes — which has offices in Hong Kong and Zhuhai, Guangdong province — remains upbeat about the future of its PV business. It appears to be particularly focused on expanding beyond the Chinese market. While it derived 89.6% of its revenue from China, at CNY 2.6 billion, it drew about CNY 302.7 million in revenue from its operations in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau and Oceania, which collectively accounted for the remaining 10.4% of its total revenue. It said that it is now looking for opportunities to secure solar EPC contracts outside of China, noting that it secured an EPC order  in Uzbekistan last December for a 100 MW solar project that is backed by the Asian Development Bank.

”Demand for solar in China remains strong,” China Singyes added. “Our long-term strategy — through our innovative research and development team — is to diversify the application of solar and to widen the solar applications in different area, like rural applications and irrigation.”

In late July, China Singyes completed the spin-off of its Singyes New Materials unit. The latter is now a non-wholly owned group unit, with shares listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange’s growth enterprise market.