JA Solar, the largest solar cell producer by capacity, has reported its first quarterly profit in fourth quarter 2013, following ten quarters of loss, Zacks reported.
The company reported revenues of $357.3 million, an increase of 29.5 percent from $275.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 and 23.0 percent from $290.5 million in the third quarter of 2013—well ahead of Zack’s projections.
The company shipped 665.7 megawatt (MW) of modules, far above the company’s forecast of 500 MW to 550 MW. Shipments climbed 33.0 percent year over year as well as sequentially. In 2013, total shipments jumped 21.7 percent to 2.1 GW, Zacks said.
The astonishing growth in shipments is mainly attributed to the strong Chinese market where module shipments increased 1450 basis points sequentially. Japan also remains one of the main revenue drivers for the company despite intensifying competition.
Gross profit was $55.3 million or 15.5 percent of total revenue, compared with a gross loss of $12.7 million or a negative 4.6 percent in the year-earlier period and a gross profit of $32.8 million or 11.3 percent of total revenue in the third quarter of 2013.
Total operating expenses declined 33.8 percent year over year and 19.7 percent sequentially to $45.6 million.
JA Solar expects to ship 580–610 MW of cells and modules for the first quarter of 2014. During 2014, the company plans to focus on Latin America and the Middle East with a goal to increase its shipments by more than 30 percent this year to 2.7 GW and 2.9 GW in both these regions respectively.
The company aims to deliver full-year profitability in 2014, an official statement said.