Tongwei set for six-fold profit leap after polysilicon, solar cell prices stay high

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Tongwei’s booth at SNEC 2021 in China. Image: PV Tech.

Solar manufacturer Tongwei is forecasting for a six-fold increase in net profit for Q1 2022, highlighting the impact pricing spikes are having on upstream manufacturer fortunes.

In a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange earlier this week, Tongwei confirmed it expected net profit in Q1 2022 to fall in the range of RMB4.9 – 5.2 billion (US$771 – 818 million), an increase of between 478 – 514% year-on-year.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Tongwei noted that, in effect, the manufacturer would be making between RMB4 billion and RMB4.35 billion more than it did in the opening quarter in 2021.

It attributed this increase to installed capacity in the reporting period exceeding expectations, leading to a greater than expected demand for upstream solar products which has, in turn, maintained higher prices.

Furthermore, Tongwei said it had been able to capitalise on new production capacity that had come onstream since Q1 2021, profiting further from the maintained elevation of material and component prices.

Market prices for polysilicon in particular remain higher than anticipated, trading at RMB245/kg (inclusive of China’s 20% sales tax) in recent weeks.

Last month, Tongwei reported that its revenue had increased by more than 50% in 2021 whilst suggesting that tight material supply meant that high prices were very much here to stay, at least in the short term.

PV Tech’s head of market research Finlay Colville has meanwhile also mused that Tongwei could become the industry’s leading PV module supplier by 2025 should it pursue a vertically-integrated product strategy that would see it become the sector’s first polysilicon-to-module manufacturing entity.

8 October 2024
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 8-9 October 2024 is our second PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The event in 2023 was a sell out success and 2024 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.

Read Next

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
April 10, 2024
Dallas, Texas USA
Solar Media Events
April 17, 2024
Lisbon, Portugal
Solar Media Events
May 1, 2024
Dallas, Texas
Solar Media Events
May 21, 2024
Napa, USA