Chinese PERC cell supplier Aiko Solar released its 3Q21 earnings report on October 26. According to the report, the company raised its quarterly revenue by 12.17% QoQ and its net profit by 82.26%. However, the company (i.e., the parent company) still incurred a loss of RMB 2.20671 million. This indication of a significant performance recovery from 2Q21. An important takeaway from the report is that Aiko continues to adjust its product mix in favor of large-sized cells. The company stated that large-sized products accounted for more than 60% of its cell shipments for 3Q21, up from about 50% for 2Q21. Regarding issues in the supply chain, Aiko stated that it is improving the situation in the upstream and taking steps to ensure a stable supply of wafers.
Regarding the factors that attributed to the loss, Aiko pointed that the COVID-19 pandemic, the electricity rationing policy enforced by the Chinese government, and the supply crunch for wafers have impacted its operations during much of this year. In particular, wafer prices have kept rising, and this has forced cell prices to rise as well. However, the increase in cell prices has not caught up to the increase in wafer prices, thus leading to declining profit. Aiko’s net profit for the first three quarters of 2021 came to negative RMB 45.8252 million, showing a YoY decline of 112.25%. The untaxable profit of the company for the first three quarters of 2021 came to negative RMB 1.632974 billion, showing a YoY decline of 163.3%.