Continuing the trend of solar manufacturers showing slight growth over the last half of 2014, JinkoSolar announced its third quarter earnings this week, reporting record-high module shipments, and a slight increase in revenue. However, the big news was the company’s expectation to ship over 1 GW of modules in the fourth quarter.
JinkoSolar’s shares did take a small hit on the news, but they rebounded almost immediately on news the company had closed a $225 million private equity investment deal for its downstream solar power business, JinkoSolar Power.
In its earnings call on Thursday, the company highlighted its desire to expand module capacity in 2015 by 20% to 25%.
“We are pleased to report another solid quarter, as total revenues increased 30.5% from the same period last year,” commented Mr. Kangping Chen, JinkoSolar’s Chief Executive Officer.
“We shipped a record-high 758.1 MW modules, including 100 MW designated for our own downstream projects. Our business continues to gain considerable momentum as we remain on track to deliver a very successful year in terms of top- and bottom-line growth and near completion of our targeted solar power project expansion.
“With strong financial support from established financial institutions, a constantly expanding geographic presence and a host of new products coming on line in the near future, we are poised to finish the year on a strong note and look forward to a successful 2015.”
The company shipped a total of 708.2 MW to third parties, consisting of 658.1 MW of solar modules, 30.3 MW of silicon wafers, and 19.8 MW of solar cells. As of the end of the quarter, JinkoSolar has connected 352 MW of solar projects to the grid, and is expecting to connect a further 461 MW of solar projects during the fourth quarter.
Total revenue was up 5.3% over the previous quarter to $417.3 million, and saw an increase of 30.5% over the third quarter a year earlier. The company’s gross margin was down to 20.6%, compared with 22.6% in the second quarter of 2014 and 22.3% at the same time a year earlier.
“Our downstream business continued to pick up pace, reinforcing our leadership position in this promising market,” Mr Kangping Chen added. “We currently have 15 projects with a total of 488.5 MW under construction. We expect these projects to be connected by the end of 2014 and first quarter of 2015.”
The private equity investment into JinkoSolar Power was led by China Development Bank International and the Macquarie Greater China Infrastructure Fund, a fund managed by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, and also included New Horizon Capital.
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