- Xinyi Solar’s solar glass revenues contributed 81% to the group revenues that increased 30.4% annually
- Lower ASPs for solar glass were fully offset by higher sales volume, increased sales of thin glass and appreciation of RMB, MYR and HKD currencies
- It added 4 new solar glass production lines in China with 1,000 tons a day capacity each, taking its total annual melting capacity to 13,800 tons a day
- Management said it will add 8 new solar glass production lines in 2022, each with a daily melting capacity of 1,000 tons
Solar glass manufacturer from China, Xinyi Solar Holdings Limited managed to increase revenues for 2021 by 30.4% to HKD 16.06 billion, despite drop in ASP for solar glass products and increased costs for material and energy, however the latter was fully offset by higher sales volume, increased sales of thin glass and appreciation of RMB, MYR and HKD currencies.
According to Xinyi, the price of mainstream solar glass products with 3.2mm dimension at the end of 2021 was around 39.3% lower than that at the beginning of that year and the annual average price was 10.5% lower than previous year, mainly due to rising module prices that suppressed demand from downstream segment.
The solar glass business segment accounted for 81% of its total revenue for the group that’s also active in solar farm development, EPC and generation business. The latter accounted for HKD 2.97 billion out of group revenues for the year.
For solar glass revenue of HKD 13.02 billion, Mainland China was the major geographical market bringing in 75% of the revenues for the segment. It increased YoY by 30.3% for reasons stated above. Overall, it sold 30.9% more solar glass in 2021, when compared annually (see Good Run For Solar Glass Supplier Xinyi Solar In 2020).
During the period, it added 4 new solar glass production lines in Wuhu, Anhui province, each with a melting capacity of 1,000 tons a day. These new lines increased the company’s annual melting capacity to 13,800 tons a day. It explains that 2 of the lines with 900 tons a day melting capacity have been under cold repair since mid-November 2021 so its operational solar glass production lines as on December 31, 2021 was 12,000 tons a day. These 2 lines are expected to resume operation in Q2/2022.
Management said the group has upgraded some of its existing production lines to support large format, bifacial and high power modules.
Going forward, Xinyi said it will add 8 new solar glass production lines in 2022, each with a daily melting capacity of 1,000 tons. Of these, 4 will be located in Jiangsu province’s Zhangjiagang and the other 4 in Anhui province’s Wuhu. Management said of these, 3 lines are expected to start commercial operations in H1/2022 and 5 lines in H2/2022.
In addition, its pipeline has the construction of 10 new solar glass production lines, out of which 8 lines with a daily melting capacity of 1,000 ton each are proposed for Wuhu, and 2 lines with 1,200 ton capacity each are planned for Qujing in Yunnan province. However, the management is not sure of their commissioning time as it will ‘constantly review and adjust its expansion plan amid the changing market conditions’.
“With the increasing use of bifacial solar modules and larger panels, the Group will continue to develop the thin glass and the large-format glass market so as to maintain its industry leadership and focus on the niche areas in which it enjoys high competitive advantages,” stated Xinyi.
Back in December 2021, Xinyi said it will venture into polysilicon production through a joint venture (JV) between Xinyi Glass and Xinyi Solar targeting 60,000 tons annual capacity in Qujing. Management believes siting the fab in Yunnan where electricity prices are among the lowest in China is a good investment decision. Along with creating synergy with the group’s existing sales network, it will also enrich its supply chain since its module customers are engaged in cell and wafer production too (see Xinyi Expanding Into Polysilicon Production).
