Chinese solar cell and module manufacturer Jinko Solar, in its recently announced financial results, posted a revenue of $2.57 billion in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2021, a 73.9% year-over-year (YoY) increase compared to $1.44 billion in Q4 2020 and a quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) growth of 91.2% compared to $1.33 billion recorded in Q3 2021.

The increase in revenue was mainly attributed to the shipment of solar modules, especially in the domestic market due to China’s favorable policies driving solar installations in the country.

The adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) for Q4 2021 was $183 million, a YoY increase of 79.6% compared to $100 million registered in Q4 2020 and a QoQ increase of 104.4% compared to $89 million recorded in Q3 2021.

The module manufacturer registered a gross profit of $415 million in Q4 2021, a YoY increase of 75.5% compared to a gross profit of $231 million registered in Q4 2020 and a QoQ increase of 104.4% compared to $201 million recorded in Q3 2021.

Quarterly shipments were at 9,693 MW, including 9,024 MW of solar modules and 669 MW of cells and wafers. The total shipments were up by 94.1% QoQ and 67.9% YoY.

Module shipments in Q4 2021 with 9,024 MW were up 93% QoQ compared to 4,671 MW in Q3 2021. In a YoY comparison, module shipments were up 53% YoY. The surge in shipments was driven by the domestic (China) market demand, which made up ~34% compared to less than 10% in 1H’21. The company expects the proportion of shipments in the China market to increase in 2022 further.

Full Year 2021

Jinko Solar recorded a revenue of $6.41 billion in full-year (FY) 2021, a YoY increase of 16.2% compared to $5.38 billion in 2020.

The adjusted EBITDA for 2021 was $537 million, a YoY increase of 4.9% compared to $464 million registered in 2020.

The company registered a gross profit of $1.04 billion in 2021, a YoY increase of 7.9% compared to a gross profit of $946 million registered in 2020.

The increase in gross profit was mainly attributed to the continued reduction of integrated production costs resulting from the company’s cost structure and the rising average selling price of solar modules.

Annual shipments stood at 25,242 MW, including 22,233 MW for solar modules. The solar module shipments were up 18.4% YoY.

The shipments to the distributed generation market also increased to 30%-40% in 2021 compared to 20%-25% in 2020.

As of December 31, 2021, the company’s annual mono wafer, solar cell, and solar module production capacity was 32.5 GW, 24 GW (940 MW for N-type cells), and 45 GW, respectively.

Its annual mono wafer, solar cell, and solar module production capacity is expected to reach 50 GW, 40 GW (including 16.9 GW N-type cells), and 60 GW, respectively, by the end of 2022.

Source: JinkoSolar

“In the first quarter of 2022, our principal operating subsidiary, Jiangxi Jinko, successfully listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange Science and Technology Innovation Board, raising RMB10 billion (~$1.56 billion). We believe this historic milestone will create greater momentum for advancing our state-of-the-art technology and business expansion,” said Xiande Li, CEO of Jinko Solar.

“We are optimistic about the growth prospects in distributed generation markets and will continue to grow our brand influence in these markets. In China, as installation capacity reached 55 GW for the full year of 2021, distributed generation made up more than half of newly-added installations due to its higher returns.”

The company’s 7 GW mono wafer plant in Vietnam, which commenced production in Q1 2022, will to catering to its production facilities in Malaysia and the United States when production ramps up.

Last year, JinkoSolar had also announced an investment of RMB 315 million (~$49.46 million) in equity in Inner Mongolia Xinte Silicon Materials Company to construct a high-purity polysilicon production line with an annual capacity of 100,000 tons.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Market Leaderboard 1H 2021, JinkoSolar was among India’s top three module suppliers with a 14% market share.

As per the recently published report by the Asia Europe Clean Energy (solar) Advisory (AECEA), China had installed 55 GW of solar projects domestically and reported module exports surpassing 100 GW by the end of 2021.