Trina Solar has been one of the world’s largest solar PV module suppliers. During the first quarter of 2016, the company totally shipped 1.4GW of PV modules to the world. As for the full year 2016, Trina Solar targets at delivering 6.3~6.55GW of PV modules, maintaining its world-class position.
Financial highlights
In 1Q16, Trina Solar’s module shipments were 1,423.3MW, consisting of 1,370.4 MW of external shipments and 52.9 MW of shipments to its own downstream power projects. The total module shipments decreased 19.9% sequentially and increased 38.7% YoY.
Net revenues were $816.9 million, representing a decrease of 15.1% from 4Q15 and an increase of 46.4% from 1Q15.
Gross profit decreased by 23.8% sequentially to US$139.7 million, yet increased by 39.2% from 1Q15. However, 1Q16’s gross margin was down from both 19.1% in 4Q15 and 18.0% in 1Q15 to 17.1%.
Net income was US$26.6 million, decreasing by 36.1% QoQ and increasing by 91.3% YoY.
Jifan Gao, Chairman and CEO of Trina Solar, commented: “This quarter was a good start to the year. [The year-over-year growth in revenues, net income and module shipments] was largely driven by demand from our key markets in the U.S., China, and India. Our shipments in Europe were up two-fold sequentially as a result of our strategic shift in Europe.”
Trina Solar aims to ship 1.5~1.6GW of PV modules during the second quarter of 2016, of which 40 MW to 50 MW of PV modules will be shipped to its downstream PV projects. For the full year 2016, PV module shipment guidance is 6.3~6.55GW, of which 220 MW to 260 MW will be for self-owned projects.
PV projects, capacity expansion plans, and high-efficiency products
Gao pointed in the financial report that Trina Solar’s downstream business continued to expand in the global market. During the quarter, Trina Solar connected 101.7MW of utility-scale projects to the grid, bringing the total of grid-connected operating projects to near 1 GW. The company has successfully connected five solar projects totaling 24.3MW in the UK, for instance, and has put a 14MWdc large-scale project online in Japan in partner with GE.
In China, Trina Solar has connected 920.8MW of PV projects to the grid, in which 722.9MW are utility projects and 197.9MW are DG projects.
By the end of 2016, Trina Solar plans to add 400~500MW of global PV projects, including 15~20% of DG projects in China.
To maintain its market share and its position as the world’s largest PV supplier, Trina Solar also continued expanding its overseas manufacturing capacity to meet global demand, especially from the US and Europe. “In the first quarter, we acquired a cell factory in the Netherlands and also brought our facility in Thailand online as scheduled, using our 'Honey' state-of-the-art high-efficiency assembly line method,” explained Gao.
Aside from quantity, Trina Solar also devoted to improve quality of its products. The company’s R&D team has recently achieved a new world record of 23.5% for IBC cells. Its commercialized PERC cell production capacity was expanded to 200MW during the first quarter of 2016.