Greentech Lead Asia: Daqo New Energy, a polysilicon manufacturer based in China, has shipped approximately 706 metric tons, or MT of polysilicon in the first quarter of 2013.
Of this 30 MT were shipped by the end of the first quarter of 2013 but will be recognized as revenue upon completion of inspection in the second quarter of 2013.
Wafer shipments were 2.21 million pieces during this period. The company also
The company’s revenues were $14.5 million, compared to $6.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 and $32.0 million in the first quarter of 2012.
Gross loss was $12.9 million, compared to $11.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 and $9.9 million in the first quarter of 2012.
“In the first quarter of 2013, we have been running our Xinjiang polysilicon facilities successfully and have achieved our initial targets for cost structure, capacity, and quality. As a result, our Xinjiang facilities have started to contribute positive cash flow since the first quarter of 2013 in this challenging market,” said Gongda Yao, chief executive officer of the Company. “In April, we conducted several process optimization projects in our Xinjiang facilities. This enabled us to further reduce our total production cost to approximate $18/kg by the end of May.”
“We have seen average selling prices stabilizing across the solar PV value chain. The current improved financial performances of the downstream entities indicate the start of stabilization in the market. We believe today’s challenging situation is only temporary. We are confident that the political leaders of China and European Union have competence to manage the international trading conflict in the solar PV industry, so as to enable the industry to achieve a healthy and sustainable growth in the future,” Yao concluded.
The Company generated revenues of $11.3 million from 676 MT polysilicon sold, compared to revenues of $4.7 million from 266 MT of polysilicon sold in the fourth quarter of 2012, and revenues of $25.7 million for 964 MT of polysilicon sold in the first quarter of 2012.
The increase from the fourth quarter of 2012 was primarily due to the fact that in the fourth quarter of 2012, Xinjiang facilities were in the stage of pilot production and did not contribute to revenues during this period.
The Company generated $1.7 million from sales of wafers, compared to $0.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 and $6.3 million in the first quarter of 2012. The increase from the fourth quarter of 2012 was primarily due to higher sales volume. The decrease from the first quarter of 2012 was primarily due to lower sales volume combined with lower average selling price.
The Company also generated $1.5 million from other businesses, such as sales of multi-crystal silicon blocks and etc.