Leading Chinese solar group JinkoSolar saw net profit skyrocket in the second quarter, nearly tripling year-on-year to CNY 138.2 million ($22.3 million) as sales rose 38% to CNY 2.4 billion ($392.1 million), boosted by the companys growing international operations.
The company's downstream operations continued to grow as it managed to maintain its leading position in China while expanding operations in emerging markets in what was the groups fifth consecutive quarter of profitability. Buoyed by a number of major financing agreements, the company revised its full-year 2014 project development guidance upwards from 400 MW to more than 600 MW.
Total solar product shipments rose 34.8% year-on-year to 659.5 MW, which consisted of 570.8 MW of modules, 54.1 MW of silicon wafers and 34.6 MW of cells. As of June 30, the company had connected 252 MW of solar projects to the grid and it expects to connect another 100 MW of solar projects during the third quarter.
"We gained considerable momentum during the quarter," said JinkoSolar CEO Kangping Chen. "We expanded our geographic reach, secured financial support from globally-respected financial institutions for our downstream business and solidified our position in important emerging markets where we have made strategic investments such as South Africa and Latin America."
JinkoSolar's downstream business continued to grow, with revenue from power generation for the quarter increasing 26.1% sequentially to nearly $10 million.
In addition to the CNY 1 billion ($163 million) financing agreement it signed with China Minsheng Bank (mainly for distributed PV generation systems), JinkoSolar secured $225 million in private equity financing for its downstream operations from China Development Bank International, Macquarie Greater China Infrastructure Fund and New Horizon Capital.
Chen said the company's financial backers would not only provide financing but also a wide range of support to drive future growth in the group's downstream business. "These agreements demonstrate the growing interest of Chinese capital in the downstream solar market, as China's solar power regulatory framework matures and rapid market growth is expected."
The group increased its full-year project development guidance as a result of the financing agreements, the chief exec said, adding that it would continue to take full advantage of its financial and operational resources "to further grow our downstream businesses in the future."
Chen said the group remained confident that the Chinese market would continue to grow following the National Energy Administration's reiteration of strong support for the solar industry and solar power generation, and particularly distributed power generation. He pointed out that the government was also encouraging local governments to play a larger and more proactive role by offering more support and extra subsidies.
Commenting on JinkoSolar's expanding U.S. operations, Chen said the group's market share in the U.S. continued to grow, with shipments for the quarter increasing 61.3% sequentially, due partially to rush orders.
He added that while the company's presence in traditional markets such as Europe had remained stable, it continued to grow its presence in new emerging markets, such as Chile and South Africa, where it had become the market leader.
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