Hanwha Q CELLS to Expand Production Capacity to 5.2GW by mid-2016

Hanwha Q CELLS, a member of SMSL, announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2015. The financial performance was well thanks to stronger demand from the downstream sector and lower production costs. The company also unveiled expansion plan to increase its cell and module production to 5.2GW by mid-2016.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Total solar module shipments were 805 MW, an increase of 31.1% quarter-over-quarter.
• Total shipments include 742 MW of external shipments, 11 MW of OEM and 52 MW of shipments to the Company's own downstream projects.
• Net revenues were US$427 million, an increase of 26.4% quarter-over-quarter.
• Gross profit rose 59.2% quarter-over-quarter to US$93.0 million at gross margin of 21.8%, an improvement of 450 basis points quarter-over-quarter, well exceeding the Company's guidance of a minimum of 18%.
• Total all-in processing costs approached US$0.39 per watt in September for in-house production.
• The Company's cash balance approached US$300 million.
• Company generated US$52.4 million in net income.
• Downstream pipeline exceeding 1.2GW, with approximately 40% in late stage development.
• The fourth quarter guidance is 1.2 to 1.4 GW of total module shipments, and gross margin at over 20%.
• The Company reiterates its FY2015 guidance of total module shipments of 3.2 to 3.4 GW and raises its gross margin forecast to be approximately 19%.

Hanwha Q CELLS expects a return to net profitability due to the financial performance in 3Q15. The merger with Hanwha SolarOne contributed to Q CELLS’ reduction of production costs as the manufacturing scale was improved. The merger helped lower operating expenses and thus increased the gross margin.

“We expect to have a more meaningful contribution in the fourth quarter from sales of downstream projects up to 150 MW, bolstering both revenues and profits. And, we have begun shipments to NextEra Energy Resources as we begin to fulfill that 1.5 GW contract in the higher-priced US market,” said Mr. Seong-woo Nam, Chairman and CEO of Hanwha Q CELLS.

The company also unveiled aggressive capacity expansion plants to meet the foreseen demand in 2016. By 2015, the company expects 4.3GW of cell and module production capacity, and by mid-2016 up to 5.2GW. Expanded capacities could be half in Korea and half in Malaysia, where are for shipping tariff-free products to the U.S.

Read the full report: Hanwha Q CELLS Reports Third Quarter 2015 Results