JA Solar Had Highest Solar Module Shipment Growth In Solar Module Industry In 2014

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One of the leading solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturers in the world, JA Solar, saw a very impressive solar module shipment growth rate of 105% in 2014 (as compared against 2013) — giving the company the top spot in the whole of the industry with regard to that parameter.

Altogether, JA Solar shipped 2.406 gigawatts (GW) of solar modules and 651.1 megawatts (MW) of solar cells in 2014 — representing ~3.1 GW of total shipments.

Net revenue rose pretty substantially along with shipment rates, with $1.8 billion in net revenue being reported for 2014, up from $1.2 billion in 2013. Net profit was considerably up as well, with an operating profit of $106.8 million reported, as compared to an operating loss of $14.7 million in 2013 (fiscal year 2013 that is).


 

The 4th quarter of 2014 saw total shipments of 952.7 MW — a good deal above the previously announced guidance for the time period, which was 850–900 MW. As compared against the 4th quarter 2013, 2014 saw shipment growth of 43.2%, and sequential growth of 21.3% as compared against the 3rd quarter 2014. Net revenue for the quarter was $576.4 million, representing a jump of 65.3% over the 4th quarter of 2013, and a jump of 18.4% over the 3rd quarter of 2014.

Much of this recent growth was apparently the result of big sales in the Chinese market, as well as, to a lesser degree, solid growth in the North American and European markets.

The Chairman and CEO of JA Solar, Baofang Jin, stated:

Our results in Q4 confirm the visibility we had coming into the quarter. Demand in the China market was as strong as expected, as developers and utilities rushed to meet aggressive government-directed goals for the year. We started the quarter with all of our capacity booked, and demonstrated excellent manufacturing execution to fill orders, resulting in a shipment growth of 43% year-over-year and 21% sequentially. We executed at the margin level too, with product and geographic mix drive sequentially higher gross margin. Filling capacity as we grow enabled us to show steady bottom line improvement. We grew non-GAAP earnings per ADS by 34% sequentially and 85% year over year.

These strong results capped a year of achievement for JA, in which we solidified our position as a leader within the top tier of solar equipment producers. We expect our revenue growth rate of 57% to be among the highest in the industry. Our strategic decision to shift our product mix to more profitable modules and better geographies paid off, with gross profit more than doubling as our gross margin expanded by 500 basis points. We continued to invest heavily in R&D, increasing this expense by 58%, but held other operating expenses under control, resulting in solid operating and net margins. Our intention in 2015 is to sustain this track record of rapid growth and high profitability.

Image Credit: JA Solar


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James Ayre

James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.

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