Hanwha Q Cells holds steady in Q3, expects bigger Q4

Hanwha Q Cells revenue for Q3 fell 6% to $543 million, from $577 million in the previous quarter and down 23.3% YoY from $707.8 million in Q3 2016.

Gross profit also fell to $63.2 million in Q3, from $67.2 million the previous quarter and $140.5 million in Q3 2016. Gross margin held steady QonQ at 11.6%, but was down from 19.9% in Q3 2016.

Discussing the results, Hanwha Q Cells Chief Financial Officer Jay Seo cited increasing wafer prices as the main factor putting pressure on profits, but said that some of the effects could be offset by cost reductions at cell and module level.

The company expects to have 8 GW nameplate module capacity at the end of the year, including the capacity of affiliate company Hanwha Q Cells Korea, which is in the process of ramping up from 2.1 GW to 3.7 GW.

For the final quarter of 2017, the company is forecasting an increase in revenue to between $610 million and $630 million.

Hanwha Q cells did not alter its previous guidance figures for the full year, which stand at 5.5 – 5.7 GW in module shipments, and capital expenditure of $70 million. Moon Seong Choi, the company’s SVP of corporate planning, stated that the company does not expect the section 201 decision to have a drastic effect on demand in the U.S., since the ITC’s recommended action was less stringent that what was requested by the petitioners.