Though with enormous development potential, JA Solar indicated a slight decline in module shipment in the first quarter this year on a recent performance briefing due to market fluctuations.
The integrated module enterprise saw a double increase in product volume and profit last year, with a year-on-year increase in net profit of over 170%.
Last year, the annual module production included approximately 40 GW of OEM, 38 GW of shipments. In the fourth quarter, the shipment volume of cell modules exceeded 12 GW, with increased gross profit margin. The company attributed it to the soaring prices of silicon materials and decreased shipping costs.
However, JA Solar believes that the high profits in the fourth quarter of last year are difficult to sustain in the industry. With affordable grid parity, the economic effects of photovoltaic power generation are becoming more competitive than traditional energy, but it also faces pressure from competition and macroeconomic fluctuations.
This year, the company still focuses on the production and sales of p-type modules, and will gradually transform into n-type products. The current cell capacity under construction all adopts n-type technology. According to the company’s plan, by the end of 2023, n-type cell capacity will exceed 40 GW.
The current production is at full capacity. As of the end of 2022, the company has nearly 50 GW of modules, with silicon wafer and cell capacity accounting for approximately 80% of that of module’s capacity. According to the company’s future production plan, module capacity will exceed 80 GW by the end of 2023, with silicon wafer and cell production capacity accounting for about 90% of the module production capacity.
