U.S.-based First Solar‘s second quarter (Q2) 2024 net income rose 104.8% to touch $349.4 million from $170.6 million last year, primarily driven by higher module sales and improved pricing.

Quarterly net sales rose to $1.01 billion, up 24.6% from $810.7 million in Q2 2023, reflecting increased module shipments.

Meanwhile, operating expenses decreased slightly by 11%, falling from $142 million last year to $126.4 million, benefitting the top line. This reduction was largely due to lower litigation-related expenses.

Gross margin also improved, with gross profit increasing by 60.7% to $498.9 million in the quarter, compared to $310.4 million last year. This boost in profitability was due to reduced warehousing, logistics, and production costs.

The Nasdaq-listed company’s year-to-date net bookings now stand at 3.6 GW, and total contracted backlog at 75.9 GW, with orders stretching through 2030.

“With the November election fast approaching, the solar industry is again facing an uncertain policy environment,” said CEO Mark Widmar during a post-earnings call with analysts, raising concerns about the uncertainty affecting access to capital and project development decisions.

“The impact of this uncertainty became more apparent as the second quarter progressed. We have observed increasing constraints on access to capital, both for early-stage solar technology companies seeking to finance the next stage of their growth as well as for the established companies looking to build domestic manufacturing capacity. Our financing parties wait to make investment decisions until they have a clear view of the policy picture,” he said.

Widmar flagged concerns about potential changes to the Inflation Reduction Act and related policies if Republicans gain control of the presidency and Congress, or even through executive orders from a new administration. This uncertainty, he said, is causing some developers to reconsider renewable projects in favor of fossil fuel alternatives.

Commenting on the Indian solar industry, Widmar said: “In India, a challenged ASP environment is a large part a consequence of Chinese cell dumping, that is artificially lower pricing and challenges the country’s aspiration to end its reliance on an adversarial by developing a domestic manufacturing base that serves a domestic market.”

First Half 2024

Comparing the first half of 2024 to the same period in 2023, net income rose 175% to $586 million from $213.1 million. Net sales for the first six months of 2024 reached $1.80 billion, up 32.8% from $1.36 billion last year.

Operating expenses decreased slightly by 2.4% to $230.4 million in 1H 2024, compared to $236.1 million, and gross profit for the period was $844.9 million, doubling from $422.5 million, indicating improved operational efficiency and pricing power.

First Solar was among the companies that led the annual solar module manufacturing capacity additions in the calendar year 2023, according to Mercom’s India Solar Market Leaderboard Report 2024.

The Arizona-based company also performed well in the previous quarter, with soaring profits and better margins.