As one of the leading companies in the world’s PV industry, Trina Solar posted strong financial results for the second quarter of 2016, when the demand in Chinese market was unprecedentedly strong. The total module shipment increased to 1,658.3MG in the quarter, and Trina Solar further aims to deliver 6.3~6.55GW of modules for the full year of 2016 according to its guidance.
Highlights
Trina Solar delivered a total of 1,658.3MW of PV modules in 2Q16, up from 1,423.3MW in 1Q16 and 1,231.6MW in 2Q15. It is noticeable that the 1,658.3MW shipments included only 39.3MW for the company’s downstream projects, lower than 52.9MW in 1Q16 and 230.9MW in 1Q15, respectively. Stronger external shipments were due to relatively strong demand in China in the quarter.
The net revenues were US$961.6 million, represented an increase of 17.7% QoQ and 33% YoY. The net revenues of 1Q16 and 2Q15 were respectively US$816.9 million and US$722.9 million.
Gross profit was US$176.3 million, compared with US$139.7 million in previous quarter US$144.9 million in the same quarter of 2015. Gross margin of 18.3% were slightly up from 17.7% compared to 1Q16 but down from 20.0% in 1Q15.
Trina Solar explained that the sequential increase in gross margin was mainly due to lower blended costs as a result of a significant decrease in antidumping and countervailing duties in the U.S. as the company increased the proportion of shipments to the U.S. from its Thailand facilities in the second quarter. The YoY decrease in gross margin was primarily due to average selling prices declining at a faster rate than Trina Solar's cost reductions.
Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders of Trina Solar was US$40.3 million, compared with US$26.6 million in 1Q16 and US$40.9 million in 2Q15. Earnings per fully diluted ADS were US$0.42.
Capacity, R&D and outlook
Trina Solar achieved several breakthroughs in transforming lab technology into production practice in 2016. The company’s R&D team successfully brought the average conversion efficiency of monocrystalline PERC cells to 21.1% and P-type multicrystalline PERC cells to 20.2%. The R&D team also achieved an average efficiency of 18.7% for our multi-crystalline silicon P-type double print cells that were produced for commercial shipment.
"Going forward, we will continue to focus on developing our brand name, products and technology, while identifying opportunities to develop our downstream business,” commented Jofan Gao, Chairman and CEO of Trina Solar. “We believe that our strategy gives us a competitive edge in the industry and provides a solid foundation for our sustainable and long term development."
Trina Solar currently has approximately 5.0GW of annual PV cell manufacturing capacity and around 6.0GW of annual PV module capacity.
Although the overall market outlook for the third quarter of 2016 is pessimistic, Trina Solar still sets its PV module shipment guidance at 1.55~1.65GW for the quarter. As for the full year of 2016, Trina Solar expects to deliver up to 6.3~6.55GW of PV modules.
Besides, the company reiterates its 2016 guidance of global solar power project connections at between 400 MW and 500 MW, including 15% to 20% of distributed generation projects in China.