Chinese solar PV company JA Solar Technology grew its operating income in 2022 by over 76% to RMB 72.98 billion with solar module business contributing RMB 70.34 billion to revenues, up from RMB 39.46 billion a year back, as it shipped 38.1 GW total modules last year.
Shipments of solar modules increased from 24.1 GW on annual basis, the management reported. According to local media reports, its total solar cell and module shipments in 2022 were 39.75 GW.
In 2022, JA manufactured over 40 GW solar modules, 32 GW cells, 35 GW silicon wafer and 36 GW silicon ingots, whose annual production increased by 54.93%, 59.18%, 78.91% and 93.78%, respectively. It attributes growing downstream demand for solar as the reasons for this rapid increase in its production volume year after year.
With average unit price of RMB 1.85/W, up from RMB 1.64/W annually, its average unit cost was RMB 1.58/W having gone up from RMB 1.41/W in 2021.
Its net profit surged too, to exceed RMB 5.5 billion having increased from RMB 2.0 billion in 2021 and RMB 1.5 billion in 2020.
At the end of 2022, JA said its module orders in hand added up to 25.47 GW, mainly comprising 182mm size. In the months of January 2023 and February 2023, it has already shipped 6.7 GW.
Its module production capacity till the end of 2022 was close to 50 GW and wafer and cell capacity roughly 80% of the module capacity. By the end of 2023, it expects to cross 80 GW module production capacity and sell 60 GW to 65 GW of modules this year, local media reports referred to company statements.
JA also announced the company's board to have approved an investment of RMB 12.84 billion for the addition of 20 GW silicon wafers and 30 GW cell production capacity in Ordos High-Tech Zone, Inner Mongolia. This is part of RMB 40 billion investment JA announced in January 2023 which will also entail building capacities for polysilicon, ingots and modules (see JA Solar Announces RMB 40 Billion Investment For New Fab).