China-headquartered solar cell and module manufacturer JinkoSolar‘s revenue dropped 21.6% year-over-year (YoY) to RMB24.05 billion (~$3.31 billion) in the second quarter (Q2) of 2024 due to a decrease in the average selling price of solar modules.

However, revenue grew 4.4% sequentially due to increased module shipments.

The company’s net loss during the quarter came in at RMB100.7 million (~$13.9 million) against a net income of RMB1.31 billion (~$18.4 million) in Q2 2023.

Gross profit in the second quarter of 2024 was RMB2.68 billion ($377.26 million), compared with RMB4.78 billion (~$672.87 million) in the second quarter of 2023.

JinkoSolar witnessed a 44% decline in its first quarter 2024 profit as decreasing module prices hurt the ‘company’s margins.

Total operating expenses in Q2 were RMB3.81 billion (~$524.9 million), an increase of 24.1% in the first quarter of 2024 and 17.6% in the corresponding period last year. The sequential and YoY increases were mainly due to the write-off of the net book value of equipment damaged in a fire at one of its facilities in Shanxi Province, which was partially offset by the insurance proceeds.

The company had said in April that the fire incident could impact its operations and 2024 financial results.

Module shipments grew 34.1% YoY to 23.8 GW in the second quarter, having delivered 260 GW of solar modules, covering nearly 200 countries and regions. Cell and wafer shipments accounted for 1,496 MW.

“By the end of the second quarter, we became the first solar company in the world to have reached accumulative module shipments of 260 GW, covering nearly 200 countries and regions,” Xiande Li, JinkoSolar’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said.

Global demand showed fast growth momentum in the first half of 2024. The newly added installations in China totaled 102.4 GW, up 30.7% YoY, while total solar module exports increased by around 20%.

Li said oversupply and increasingly irrational low prices along the supply chain that have plagued the industry for some time have started to be addressed by market forces and government and industry control policies. “Additionally, financial institutions have become more selective, favoring companies with proven technological innovation, healthy financial conditions, and strong brand recognition. As a result, some manufacturers have been forced to cut or suspend production while others have delayed, suspended, or even canceled capacity expansion projects.”

According to Li, the solar photovoltaic industry remains one of the few sectors maintaining a higher growth rate and is expected to grow 25% to 30% in 2024. “Coming into the second quarter, polysilicon prices continued to decline. On the other hand, macroeconomic conditions pushed the commodity prices higher while increasing market demand drove prices of raw materials such as glass and film higher.”

JinkoSolar claimed that the mass-produced efficiency of its 182 mm ToPCon cells had exceeded 26.1%, and the lab efficiency of the N-type ToPCon-based perovskite tandem solar cell had reached 33.24%. “We firmly believe that TOPCon technology still delivers the best economic performance in terms of cost, mass production yield, intellectual property protection, and customer acceptance, with further room for cost reduction and efficiency increase,” the company said.