Array Technologies’ 2021 Annual Results

• Array Technologies had 2% annual revenue drop in 2021 with a net loss of $66.1 million thanks to increased supplier and logistics lead times, and project delays
• There was 22% annual increase in Q4/2021 revenues, but gross margin suffered due to higher raw material input and logistics costs
• For 2022, it has provided a strong guidance of annual revenues between $1.45 billion to $1.75 billion

US solar tracker manufacturer Array Technologies blamed increased supplier and logistics lead times, and project delays for its 2021 annual revenues dropping 2% to $853.3 million and net loss of $66.1 million, yet offered a robust guidance of 2022 revenues as between $1.45 billion to $1.75 billion.

Management sees 'no project cancellations' entering 2022, but does expect delays to continue, and touts its STI Norland acquisition as a positive since it has 'little exposure to US module uncertainty'.

The guidance comes at a time when the US solar industry is facing an anti-circumvention investigation against 4 Southeast Asian nations that account for around 84% of all solar module imports to the US. Recently, the US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) said preliminary results of its survey shows companies complaining of panel deliveries being cancelled or delayed due to the same (see SEIA's Auxin Solar Survey Preliminary Results).

Philip Shen of Roth Capital Partners believes this confidence of Array management could stem from its close relationship with American module maker First Solar, Inc that aims to ship between 8.9 GW to 9.4 GW modules in 2022 (see First Solar's 2021 Financial Results). It could also benefit from a business partnership with South Korean and US module supplier Hanwha, as well as Maxeon Solar Technologies with whom it will collaborate on the Gemini Solar Project (see North America PV News Snippets).

In Q4/2021, it reported 22% annual increase in revenues due to strong demand for its products, even as gross profit went down 71% owing to higher raw material input and logistics costs. Gross margin too decreased to 4.7% from 19.6% for the same reasons, but was partially offset by greater absorption of fixed costs due to higher sales volumes.

Array counts its total executed contracts and awarded orders as on December 31, 2021 as worth $1.8 billion comprising $1.4 billion from Array itself and $0.4 billion from STI Norland. "This translates into forecasted revenue growth year-over-year of over 85% at the mid-point of our guidance. While this growth is aided by our acquisition of STI, the legacy Array business alone is forecasted to grow at approximately 40% at our mid-point, despite the current module challenges and supply chain disruptions," said CEO Jim Fusaro.

The management also announced the departure of Jim Fusaro as the company's CEO, to be replaced by newcomer Kevin Hostetler (see Jim Fusaro To Leave Array By 2022-End).