Canadian Solar shipments soar

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Better than expected market demand, across multiple regions in the fourth quarter of 2011 has led to Canadian Solar significantly increasing its module shipment guidance, ahead of releasing Q4 and full-year results on March 7. Previously, the company guided fourth quarter shipments were expected to be in the range of 340MW – 360MW, inline with third quarter shipment levels and in contrast to many of its tier 1 rivals. However, the company expects shipments to be in the range of 430MW – 440 MW.

The quarterly increase means full-year shipments are expected to be in the range of 1,316MW – 1,326MW, compared to prior guidance in the range of 1,200MW – 1,300MW.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

“Canadian Solar continues to successfully execute on our business strategy. We are increasing shipments to customers in key markets worldwide, while at the same time aggressively reducing our manufacturing costs,” commented Dr. Shawn Qu, chairman and chief executive officer of Canadian Solar. “In the market place we are winning by stressing our global brand, product quality, high performance, reliability and customer service. We are seeing continued gains in both solar module shipments to installers and in shipments related to our expanding project business. As an illustration of our business momentum, we recently signed agreement for Canadian Solar to develop and sell 9 fully-operational and commissioned utility-scale solar projects in the Province of Ontario, which are expected to contribute to the Company's revenue and profitability between late 2012 and mid-2013.”

Canadian Solar also reiterated that gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2011 remained in-line with prior guidance of 5% to 8%.

Update

According to an investor research note by Avian Securities analyst, Mark Bachman believed Canadian Solar must have had plenty of inventory on-hand to meet the stronger than expected demand from customers. Bachman also noted that the company had issued its prior guidance in late November, which should have indicated that it should have had better visibility into the order trends for the remainder of Q4. 
 
The financial analyst believed the market share gain the revised guidance portrays would therefore be short-lived. Increased shipments were said to have been concentrated in the US and China, according to Bachman. 

Read Next

June 24, 2026
A new anti-circumvention inquiry request has been filed with the US Department of Commerce against Hanwha and other solar cell producers regarding the import of solar cells from South Korea to the US.
June 24, 2026
LONGi has launched its Hi-MO 9 Prime series of modules at Intersolar Europe 2026, which have a conversion efficiency of 25.2%.
Premium
June 24, 2026
Patrizio Donati, co-founder, Terrawatt, talks about Italy's €23 billion FER X scheme and its impact on renewable energy deployment.
Sponsored
June 24, 2026
LONGi's Louis Liu discusses the company's evolution from module supplier into an integrated clean energy systems partner.
June 23, 2026
SMA Solar has launched a suite of products at Intersolar Europe 2026, including grid-forming inverters and power plant management software.
June 23, 2026
Infrastructure investment manager I Squared Capital has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Korean construction company GS E&C to develop renewables in the country.

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 13, 2026
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
Solar Media Events
November 3, 2026
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
November 24, 2026
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
April 20, 2027
Istanbul, Türkiye