Financials

U.S. residential solar installer Sunrun reported strong solar deployments and revenue to start 2020, even with orders decreasing by as much as 40% for periods in March. Micro-inverter manufacturer Enphase’s first-quarter revenues exceeded expectations as the company set an all-time gross margin record and announced plans for a new manufacturing location.

Tesla finished the first quarter of 2020 with a positive GAAP net income, driven by the profitability of the Model Y. However, the story was not so bright for solar, storage or corporate governance.

Xinyi Solar reported record profits earlier this month, not surprisingly prompting bullish talk of extending its plans to expand production capacity this year and next. However, with PV demand in Europe key to its returns, the company has accepted the coronavirus epidemic may have an impact this year.

The Chinese manufacturer shipped 14.3 GW of PV modules last year, up 2.9 GW from 2018. In its 2020 outlook, it reiterated its initial shipment guidance and confirmed its plans to ramp up capacity.

‘First Solar, at its core, is a technology and module manufacturing company,’ said Mark Widmar, chief executive of the U.S. company.

Lack of flannel in the latest quarterly and full-year filing indicates the Israeli inverter maker is happy the figures speak for themselves. The company is in an expansionary mode as it enters the energy storage and electrical vehicle markets with cash from its financial warchest.

An unusually profitable fourth quarter has anchored an even rarer profitable year for SunPower, bolstering growing confidence in its decision to spin off its module manufacturing business into Maxeon Solar Technologies.

The German inverter maker last year saw shipments and revenue rise by 35% and 20%, respectively. The company claims measures taken to reduce its cost structure are bearing fruit.

The internet’s favorite energy company installed 530 megawatt-hours of battery storage in Q4, beating out the previous record, set last quarter, as well as showing continued improvement in solar installations.

The German polysilicon manufacturer said results for the past financial year are in line with its expectations. However, falling sales and earnings were also reported. The company blamed low prices for polysilicon for last year’s performance.