Canadian Solar, one of the world’s leading solar power companies, announced this week that it shipped a record high 6,828 megawatts worth of solar products in 2017 in its guidance-beating Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2017 financial report.
On Monday, Canadian Solar revealed impressive results for both its fourth quarter, with shipments and revenue above the company’s own guidance, and supremely strong full-year shipments and revenue, bolstered by quarter after quarter of strong growth.
In the fourth quarter, Canadian Solar recorded total solar module shipments of 1,831 megawatts (MW), well in line with the 1,870 MW shipped during the third quarter and exceeding the company’s own guidance in the range of 1,720 MW to 1,820 MW. Similarly, net revenue for the fourth quarter reached $1.11 billion, compared to $912.2 million taken in during the third quarter and guidance in the range of $1.04 billion to $1.08 billion. Income per share was $1.01 compared to $0.22 in the third quarter and beating market expectations by $0.05.
For the full year 2017, Canadian Solar posted record shipments of 6,828 MW, compared to 5,232 MW in 2016 and company guidance in the range of 6.8 GW to 6.9 GW. Net revenue was $3.39 billion, compared to $2.85 billion in 2016, and full year 2017 guidance in the range of $3.33 billion to $3.37 billion.
“2017 was an exceptional and milestone year for the PV industry, in which total global new solar installation reached 100 GW for the first time in our history,” said Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar. “This demonstrates that solar is quickly approaching grid parity and is penetrating more and more markets. Our revenue, shipments, gross margin and net income all exceeded our expectations for the fourth quarter and full year 2017. Our record-high solar module shipments for the full year 2017 were driven by strong demand from China, India, Europe and the United States.”
Looking forward, the company seems less confident than maybe its 2017 results may have allowed, with first quarter shipments expected to be in the range of approximately 1.30 GW to 1.35 GW, and total revenue expected to be in the range of $1,370 million to $1,400 million. While the company is expecting increased revenue, it is not predicting much in the way of growth. For the full-year 2018, Canadian Solar expects total module shipments to be in the range of 6.6 GW to 7.1 GW, which only amounts to either a decline of 3% or an increase of only 4.4% year-over-year. Conversely, the company is predicting total revenue for 2018 to be in the range of $4.4 billion to $4.6 billion, which represents expected growth between 30% and 35%.
“Moving into 2018, we have seen price adjustment throughout the solar value chain,” explained Dr. Shawn Qu. “We expect that our technology, new products and the increase in vertical integration along the manufacturing process will help the Company further build upon its leadership position.”
The company is expecting that nearly half of its revenue in 2018 will come from the monetization of its solar power plants across the US, Japan, China, and the UK, which essentially means the sale of completed solar projects.
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