Greentech Lead Asia: For the second quarter ended June 30, 2013, JinkoSolar has reported revenues of RMB1.76 billion (US$287.6 million), representing an increase of 51.7 percent from the first quarter of 2013 and an increase of 42.6 percent from the second quarter of 2012.
The company’s solar product shipments were 489.2 megawatts (MW), consisting of 460.0 MW of solar modules, 11.1 MW of silicon wafers and 18.1 MW of solar cells. This represents an increase of 44.5 percent from 338.6 MW in the first quarter of 2013 and an increase of 61.9 percent from 302.1 MW in the second quarter of 2012.
Three utility-scale projects in China, consisting of 55 MW, were completed, which are currently operating and earning feed-in tariffs. Six utility-scale projects, totaling 146 MW, are currently under construction.
Kangping Chen, JinkoSolar’s chief executive officer, said, “During the second quarter of 2013, increasing demand from regions where we have made strategic investments and our ability to efficiently execute our strategy further solidified our leading position in the global PV market.”
With increased shipment volume and expanded gross margin to 17.7 percent, JinkoSolar has become one of the first Chinese module producers to return to net profitability since the downturn. The company recently increased the integrated production capacity from 1.2 GW to 1.5 GW as a result of technological improvements and the upgrading of production lines.
Chen added, “Most importantly, we expect to realize net profitability for the entire year as we are confident that this quarter’s strong operational and financial performance is indicative of our future performance. Module shipments for 2013 have been revised upwards and are expected to be in the range of 1.5 GW to 1.7 GW, compared to our previous outlook of 1.2 GW to 1.5 GW.”
While ASPs continue to stabilize, the solar industry has begun to consolidate with demand gradually aligning with supply. These fundamental industry shifts are further supported by a series of positive developments domestically and internationally, Chen said.
Further the recent settlement between EU and China over solar panel exports has improved the visibility of Chinese providers on the European market. The guidelines recently issued by China’s State Council emphasized the strategic importance of the PV industry and set a clear target of 35 GW by 2015, according to Chen.
As part of the company’s strategy to reduce reliance on Europe and flourish in potential markets, the company has expanded presence in emerging markets, such as China, Japan, the United States, South Africa and India.
The U.S has already become a strategically important market for the company. Orders from South Africa and India also continue to grow. The company has also strengthened their effort to penetrate new emerging markets in the Middle East and Latin America, Chen said.
By the end of this year, Jinko Solar expects to complete solar power projects with total capacity in the range of 200-300 MW and our project pipeline is now rapidly approaching 700 MW.
For the third quarter of 2013, total solar module shipments are expected to be between 460 MW and 500 MW. For the full year 2013, total solar module shipments have been revised upwards and are now expected to be between 1.5 GW and 1.7 GW, with total project development scale expected to remain between 200 MW and 300 MW.