Canadian Solar expects increase in revenue despite coronavirus

Canadian Solar Ontario project

Canadian Solar indicated that it expects increase in revenue in 2020 despite the spread of coronavirus.

Canadian Solar said it expects revenue of $3.4 billion – $3.9 billion in 2020 as compared with reported revenue of $3.20 billion in 2019 and $3.74 billion in 2018.

Canadian Solar expects total module shipments of 2.15-2.25 GW, including approximately 250 MW of module shipments to the company’s own projects in the first quarter of 2020.

Canadian Solar expects revenue of $780 million — $810 million, with gross margin of 26-28 percent.

Canadian Solar expects total module shipments of 10-12 GW, with total revenue expected to be in the range of $3.4 billion to $3.9 billion in 2020.

Yan Zhuang, acting CEO of Canadian Solar, said: “We were experiencing strong demand across all regions until the past few days, as we started to see some delays and weakening demand.”

2019 performance

Canadian Solar said module shipments were 8.6 GW in 2019 as compared to 6.6 GW in 2018.

Canadian Solar reported total revenue of $3.20 billion in 2019 as compared to $3.74 billion in 2018.

Canadian Solar has posted net income of $171.6 million as compared to $237.1 million in 2018.

Fourth Quarter 2019

Canadian Solar said module shipments in the fourth quarter were 2,474 MW, compared to 2,387 MW in the third quarter of 2019. This included 295 MW for the company’s utility-scale solar power projects.

Canadian Solar has reported revenue of $920 million in Q4 2019 as compared to $760 million in the third quarter of 2019 due to higher shipments recognized in revenue, stable module average selling price (ASP) and the monetization of solar power plants.

Canadian Solar posted gross profit of $230 million with gross margin of 25 percent against 26.2 percent in the third quarter of 2019. The improvement was due to a stable ASP and lower manufacturing costs.

Net income of Canadian Solar was $67.7 million compared to $58.3 million in the third quarter of 2019.

As of January 31, 2020, the company’s portfolio of utility-scale solar power plants in operation was 880.2 MWp with an estimated total resale value of approximately $1 billion.

“The strategic decisions we made in R&D and production capacity helped us achieve one of the industry’s highest margins, as we build upon our strong brand and maintain pricing power,” Shawn Qu, chairman and chief executive officer of Canadian Solar, said in a statement.

“We have been working hard to ensure the health and safety of our employees in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Canadian Solar’s 19-year track record and the robust, conservative nature of our long-term strategy will allow the company to emerge stronger from the current period of uncertainty,” Shawn Qu said.

Canadian Solar continued to grow and monetize operating solar assets and pipeline, which currently stand at 880 MWp and 15.4 GWp, respectively.

“We are evaluating ways to capture value by retaining partial ownership in selected solar project assets we develop to create higher, more predictable and more profitable revenues,” Yan Zhuang, acting CEO of Canadian Solar said.

Canadian Solar shipped 2.5 GW of modules to more than 60 countries in the fourth quarter of 2019 and 8.6 GW to 90 countries in 2019. The top five markets ranked by revenue were the U.S., Brazil, China, Japan and Australia in the fourth quarter; and Brazil, the U.S., Australia, Japan and China in 2019.

Multi-crystalline modules accounted for 68 percent of the company’s module shipments in the fourth quarter and 74 percent in 2019, with mono-crystalline modules representing 32 percent and 26 percent, respectively.