- JinkoSolar’s Q2/2022 shipments grew 102.4% annually to 10.53 GW comprising 10.18 GW solar modules
- It has increased targeted wafer and module production capacity by 2022-end to 60.0 GW and 65.0 GW, respectively
- Expects polysilicon prices to peak in Q3/2022 and start to come down as new capacity ramps up in the market from Q4/2022 onward
Chinese solar PV manufacturer JinkoSolar saw its total shipments in Q2/2022 growing 102.4% YoY to 10.53 GW—exceeding guidance and leading to an improvement of 137.6% in revenues that added up to RMB 18.84 billion ($2.81 billion). JinkoSolar also announced upward revision in manufacturing plans for 2022.
Of the total shipments, that exceeded the guided range, 10.18 GW comprised solar modules that went up 26.8% sequentially. Even as gross profit swelled 24.5% sequentially and 103.9% annually to RMB 2.77 billion ($413.8 million), its gross margin of 14.7% declined mainly due to an increase in the material cost of solar modules.
Pointing at the continuous rise in demand for solar, JinkoSolar’s Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO Xiande Li shared that Europe imported 42.42 GW of PV modules in H1/2022 representing an annual increase of 137%, while China alone installed 30.9 GW.
“Given this better-than-expected growth in demand, released polysilicon production came up short and was further aggravated by annual maintenance programs, and power rationing and anti-pandemic restrictions in certain regions of China,” explained Li. “As a result, polysilicon prices rose continuously, reaching a recent high of RMB310/kg, further increasing module prices. Higher module prices negatively affected project yields, causing the demand to deduce to some extent.”
In the near term, Li doesn’t see polysilicon prices coming down any time soon. These are expected to continue to rise and reach their peak in Q3/2022, nonetheless some relief can be expected from Q4/2022 onward when new production gradually ramps up. Then prices are expected to ‘moderate, driving a recovery of downstream demand’.
These shipments take the company’s H1/2022 numbers to 18.21 GW with an annual increase of 79%. Going by overall module shipment numbers for H1/2022 shared by some of JinkoSolar’s Chinese peers as Trina Solar (18.05 GW), LONGi (18.02 GW), and JA Solar (15.70 GW), it looks like JinkoSolar stands on top of the list.
Manufacturing plans updated
In 2021, its annual production capacity of wafers, cells (both PERC and n-type) and modules was 32.5 GW, 24.0 GW and 45.0 GW, respectively. During Q1/2022, the management announced an increase to 55.0 GW, 55.0 GW and 60.0 GW to the same by 2022-end (see JinkoSolar’s Q1/2022 Financial Results).
However, a quarter down the line, it has once again increased the 2022 targeted capacity to now 60.0 GW wafers and 65.0 GW modules while keeping cell capacity target unchanged, citing current and expected supply chain and market conditions.
In Q2/2022, JinkoSolar’s 16 GW TOPCon cell capacity reached full production with mass production efficiency of more than 24.8%. By the end of 2022, it aims to increase the efficiency of n-type cells to 25%.
It has now started production at an additional 8 GW n-type cell capacity in Hefei and begun construction of another n-type cell project with 11 GW capacity in Haining.
Guidance
For Q3/2022, the company guides for its total shipments to be within the range of 9.0 GW to 10.0 GW while keeping annual shipment guidance same at 35.0 GW to 40.0 GW. Claiming high visibility for the order book of its premium n-type modules, it expects n-type product shipments to be around 10 GW in 2022 that will grow to 50% of total shipments in 2023.
