Hong Kong and Shanghai-based solar and battery storage technical and quality engineering consultancy Sinovoltaics has released its Q1/2024 rankings for over 75 global solar PV module manufacturers on the basis of their financial stability.
The consultancy applies Altman Z-Score as a tool to assess the financial health of the module makers and categorizes them into safe, grey or distress zones. A score of 2.6 or more means financial strength, whereas a score of less than 1.1 indicates they are at the risk of going bankrupt within the next 2 years, it explains.
Sinovoltaics says analyzing these parameters is significant since the financial stability of a module manufacturer is geared to the validity and enforceability of the warranty policies on its modules.
It argues that today's PV module makers may not last the next 25 years in the market, so then who does one approach for faulty modules a few years down the line? The financial stability ranking report then provides developers with useful information for sourcing components for their projects.
The latest Sinovoltaics report lists the companies on the basis of their publicly available financial data covering the period from June 2020 to December 2023. It includes publicly listed Asian, European and American manufacturers.
A total of 13 manufactures have made it to its safe zone with a 2.6 or higher Altman Z-Score, indicating a solid financial position. These are Tainergy, First Solar, Eterbright (HIWIN), Mission Solar (OCI), ERA Solar (Yonggao Group), TSEC, LONGi Solar, Tongwei Solar, DMEGC Solar and Phono Solar (Sumec) as among the top 10 out of the 13 in this list.
The companies with Altman Z-Scores of 1.1 to 2.6 are in the grey zone. Some of the notable names here are Boviet Solar, Aiko Solar, JA Solar, JinkoSolar, Trina Solar, Jolywood, BYD, Canadian Solar, Tata Solar, among others.
The distress zone covers companies with less than a 1.1 Altman Z-Score. The ones listed in the report are AU Optronics, GCL System Integration Technology, Akcome, Maxeon Solar, S-Energy, among others.
The complete report titled PV Module Manufacturer Ranking Edition 1/2024 is available for free download on the Sinovoltaics website.