Hanwha Q CELLS has reported net revenues were $624.7 million, up 15.0 percent from the third quarter of 2017 and up 10.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2016.
Total net revenues were $2,177.4 million for the full year 2017, a decrease of 10.2 percent from $2,425.9 million for the full year 2016.
Operating loss was $29.7 million, compared with operating income of $10.6 million in the third quarter of 2017 and operating loss of $21.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2016.
Total revenue-recognized module shipments were 5,438MW for the full year 2017, an increase of 18.7 percent from 4,583MW for the full year 2016.
According to Seong Woo Nam, CEO of Hanwha Q CELLS, in 2017, the company was able to re-establish the course of its strategic direction, focusing more on solidifying its leadership in new markets.
Moon Seong Choi, senior vice president of Corporate Planning said that despite the negative impact of Section 201 tariffs in the U.S. solar market, the company “will continually look for ways to provide high quality solar modules to its customers in the U.S.”
Choi added that the company will focus on expanding its footprint in the U.S. residential segment with its mono-PERC half-cell products as the Section 201 tariffs are expected to have a lesser impact on residential demand.
The company’s bottom line was negatively affected by the recognition of a one-time loss associated with the discontinuation of its wafer manufacturing operations and bad debt expenses, without which the Company would have seen an improvement in its profitability due to elimination of losses resulting from unprofitable operations as well as a downward trend in wafer prices, said Jay Seo, CFO.
According to Seo, the company observed a steady downward trend in wafer prices, due to “reduced demand for mono-crystalline wafers after the deadline for Top Runner projects in China, combined with additional mono wafer capacities coming on-line in China.”
For the fourth quarter of 2017, Hanwha Q CELLS has spent $6.5 million for R&D, up 41.3 percent from $4.6 million in the third quarter of 2017 and down 44.0 percent from $11.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2016.
The company had a CAPEX $66.1 million for the full year 2017.
As of December 31, 2017, the company’s in-house, annualized production capacities were 1,600 MW for ingots, 4,300 MW for cells and 4,300 MW for modules.
Furthermore, the Company has additional module availability of up to 3,700 MW (annualized) as of December 31, 2017from Hanwha Q CELLS Korea Corporation, an affiliate of the Company.
For the first quarter of 2018, the Company estimates net revenues in the range of $430 to 450 million.
For the full year 2018, the company expects total module shipments in the range of 6,000 to 6,200 MW.
The company plans to spend approximately $90.0 million for manufacturing technology upgrades and certain R&D related expenditures. In addition, the Company estimates $37.0 million in relation to a planned capital increase in the Turkey joint venture.