REC Silicon, a leading producer of advanced silicon materials, posted a revenue of $43.2 million in the fourth quarter (Q4) of the calendar year (CY) 2021, up 20% compared to $36 million during the same period last year.

The revenue increased by 19% in Q4 2021, compared to $36.2 million in Q3 2021.

The company’s total revenue for 2021 stood at $142.8 million, up 18% compared to $121.4 million in 2020.

The strong demand in the semiconductor market resulted in increased sales opportunities for semiconductor-grade polysilicon during Q4 2021. The company aims to upscale its solar-grade polysilicon production and the battery components production supported by the global demand forecast for these products.

The earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) stood at a loss of $400,000 for Q4 2021, which was an improvement of 89% compared to the loss of $3.7 million in the last quarter. The EBITDA did show more loss compared to $1.9 million profit during the same period last year.

The company reported an EBITDA of $9.3 million contributed by the semiconductor materials segment during Q4 2021, up by 416% compared to $1.8 million in Q3 2021. The increase in EBITDA contribution was primarily due to higher production volumes of intermediate products and lower electricity prices during the quarter.

The total polysilicon sales volume increased by 84 MT to 481 MT in Q4 2021, compared to 397 MT during Q3 2021. The semiconductor grade polysilicon sales volume increased by 137 MT to 371 MT. The solar-grade polysilicon sales volume decreased by 53 MT to 110 MT in Q4 2021.

The company stated that average polysilicon prices for Q4 2021 increased by 15.1% compared to the last quarter due to the increase in semiconductor polysilicon sold during Q4 2021. Average prices for solar-grade polysilicon increased by 6% compared to the prior quarter.

The total polysilicon production volume for Q4 2021 was 316 MT compared to 295 MT in Q3 2021. The production utilization increased during Q4 2021 due to the completion of a planned maintenance outage in Q3 2021.

Polysilicon price movement

The company noted that in Q4 2021, polysilicon prices increased in the early part of the quarter by 10% to about $36.8/kg and ended the quarter with $30.5/kg as demand in the year-end fell and wafer producers reduced inventory. Polysilicon supply in China was stable as most producers focused on inventory control, with anticipated seasonal declines in demand at the end of the year. Polysilicon prices remained significantly higher at the end of 2021 compared to prices of $11.1/kg at the beginning of 2021.

Solar grade polysilicon prices increased to $32/kg at the beginning of the first quarter of 2022. Prices are expected to remain stable in the first part of the year. Polysilicon supply will increase through 2022 as new capacity comes online.

In 2020, REC Silicon and Violet Energy Corporation had joined hands to develop an integrated domestic solar manufacturing supply chain. REC Silicon had invested over $1.7 billion in a facility employing its proprietary silane gas-based fluidized bed reactor for granular polysilicon.