Daqo New Energy cuts losses and revenues in 2025 as polysilicon sector shifts

Daqo said that the decline in revenue was due to lower sales volumes and slightly declined selling prices for polysilicon over 2025. Lower revenues in turn contributed to the lower gross losses.

For the final quarter of 2025 alone, the company saw improved results compared with the same period in 2024. Q4 revenues were US$221.7 million, compared with US$195.4 million in the same period of 2024, and Q4 2025 saw gross profits of US$15.4 million, up notably from gross losses of US$65.3 million in Q4 2024.

Daqo’s polysilicon production decreased markedly in 2025, down to 123,652MT compared with 205,068MT in 2024. This is significant, as the Chinese polysilicon industry has been defined by overproduction and low utilisation rates in recent years, which have triggered cutthroat price competition and sustained losses for the sector. Daqo’s utilisation rate in 2025 increased by almost 70%, rising from 33% of its total capacity in 2024 to 55% in 2025.

“Furthermore, our 2025 sales volume reached 126,707MT, exceeding production volume and reducing year-end inventory to a reasonable level,” said Xiang Xu, CEO of Daqo New Energy.

In the second half of 2025, China began to implement measures to curb the extreme competition and overproduction in the polysilicon industry. In July, the government called for production cuts to curb low prices, which had often fallen below the cost of production, and in August industry leaders announced plans to buy up and shut down around one third of China’s polysilicon production capacity in order to increase prices.

“In 2025, China’s anti-involution initiatives supported the solar PV industry’s gradual emergence from a cyclical downturn. As a result, solar product market prices rebounded from the third quarter onward, with the polysilicon sector posting the most notable gains,” said Xu.

“In the second half of 2025, we strategically ramped up sales efforts to capitalise on favorable pricing dynamics,” he added. The company’s revenues for the second half of the year accounted for over two thirds of its total 2025 revenue.

“Chinese authorities demonstrated strong resolve in tackling irrational competition and industry overcapacity, formally designating anti-involution as a national priority within China’s 15th Five-Year Plan, and the solar PV industry was a key focus of these efforts. These initiatives have driven a structural shift from price-based competition to value-driven differentiation,” Xu continued.

“”Led by the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, major polysilicon manufacturers have proactively responded to these initiatives, enforcing self-discipline and exploring innovative, market-oriented approaches to combat excess capacity and pricing violations. These coordinated efforts have yielded measurable results in curbing overcapacity.”

In January China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) warned leading polysilicon producers against their consolidation plans at the risk of breaching monopoly and unfair competition laws.

Industry experts outside China have expressed misgivings about the price increases and production cuts by leading polysilicon producers. Johannes Bernreuter, head of Bernreuter Research, said that “collusion” between Chinese market players does not reflect downstream demand for their product. “Polysilicon manufacturers in China seem to believe they can turn market laws upside down: raising prices when demand is low and inventories are rising,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post in January.

Indeed, over the course of 2025 Daqo’s polysilicon production did continue to increase (see chart above) and in Q4 it exceeded its sales for the first time since late 2024.

Looking forward, Xu said: “In light of current market conditions, we expect our total polysilicon production volume in the first quarter of 2026 to be approximately 35,000MT to 40,000MT, and our full year 2026 production volume to be in the range of 140,000MT to 170,000MT.”