Polymer materials developer and manufacturer Hangzhou First Applied Materials improved its H1/2023 annual operating income by 17.76%, attributing it to the increase in sales of solar PV films and backsheets; however, its net profit dropped 16.31% to RMB 884.7 million ($121 million).
It shipped 967.2 million m2 of solar films during the reporting period, reflecting an annual growth of 57%. This business segment brought in RMB 9.52 billion ($1.3 billion) to the group's total operating income of RMB 10.6 billion ($1.45 billion) for the period. The contribution of this segment improved by over 18.5% annually.
Solar backsheet shipments of 82.93 million m2 increased over the same timeframe by 67%, with operating income of RMB 734.5 million ($101 million), which represented an annual jump of 10.77%.
The management shared, "With the elimination of the impact of high-priced raw material inventory in the early stage and the continuous optimization of product shipment structure, the profitability of photovoltaic film products in the first half of the year has improved significantly, which fully reflects the comprehensive competitive advantages of the company's leading photovoltaic film enterprises."
Apart from China, Hangzhou First operates its manufacturing capacity in Thailand that caters mainly to the US and Southeast Asian markets. Now with module manufacturers setting up shop in Southeast Asia, the Chinese company's plans include expanding its capacity in Thailand and investing in Vietnam (see China PV News Snippets).
The management said it continues to actively evaluate the feasibility and necessity of building additional production capacity in other countries and regions, basis the global development of the solar industry.
Recently the company announced plans to construct a 250 million m2 high efficiency solar film facility in China's Jiangmen (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
Hangzhou First features in TaiyangNews' Solar Backsheets & Encapsulants Market Survey 2022/23. It is available for free download here.