Chinese PV Industry Brief: Daqo reports revenue drop due to lower selling prices

Daqo New Energy said it increased polysilicon production volume in 2023 to 197,831 MT, representing a 47.8% year-over-year increase compared to 133,812 MT produced in 2022. Looking ahead, production volume in 2024 is forecast to be between 280,000 MT and 300,000 MT, approximately 40% to 50% more than 2023. As for financials, it noted annual revenue in 2023 of $2.3 billion compared to $4.6 billion on 2022 due to “much lower” average selling prices. Net income was $421.2 million in 2023, compared to $1.81 billion in 2022. Its latest quarterly results were also announced. It indicated sales volume fell to 59,906 MT in Q4 2023 from 63,263 MT in Q3 2023, with revenue also falling to $477.1 million in Q4 2023 from $484.8 million in Q3 2023. The margin improved to 18.3% in Q4 2023 (up from 14.0% in Q3 2023), as did profit, which grew to $44.9 million in Q4 2023 compared to a net loss of $6.3 million in Q3 2023.

The State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) has committed CNY10 billion to set up a manufacturing facility in Lankao, Henan province, featuring 5 GW of PV module capacity and 5 GW of energy storage capacity. Spanning over 300,000 square meters, the facility will also include a research center. Initiated in November 2022, the project has made significant progress, with construction now exceeding 60% completion.

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration (NEA) jointly released the “guideline for the development of the state grid,” outlining ambitious targets for China's power grid by 2025. The directive mandates the integration of 500 GW of distributed renewable energy. The initiative also aims to transition the national grid from a singular power supply and distribution service entity to a comprehensive source network facilitating efficient allocation of power generation, storage, and load.

Xinyi Solar announced an increase in gross profit in 2023 compared to 2022. Its revenue was HK$26.62 billion, up 29.6% compared to sales in 2022. Profit increased by 9.6% to HK$4.18 billion in 2023, up from HK$3.82 billion in 2022. Its solar energy project business achieved grid connected capacity of 1.09 GW, with 974 MW of utility-scale ground-mounted projects and 120 MW of distributed generation projects. The company indicated that thin glass “continued to increase” in share of sales 2023. In the second half of 2023, the transition from P-type to N-type material drove thin glass sales sales, along with demand for modules for utility-scale ground-mounted PV power projects. The company sees thin glass becoming a mainstream product. It said it planned to increase its total daily melting capacity of solar glass from 25,800 tonnes at the end of 2023 to 32,200 tonnes as at the end of 2024. In addition, the Group has started preparations for the establishment of new production bases domestically and abroad, notably in Indonesia. No commissioning date was mentioned except that it would be 2025 or later.