Xinyi Solar, a China-based solar glass manufacturer and project developer, has announced a 79.52% increase in its net profit to HK$ 5.023 billion (~$647.46 million) in 2020 from HK$2.798 billion (~$360.66 million) in 2019.

The company also reported a 35.39% jump in revenue in 2020 on the back of significant growth in its solar glass business despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during the first half of 2020. The company’s net revenue stood at 12.31 billion Hong Kong Dollars (HK$) (~$1.58 billion) in 2020 as against HK$ 9.096 billion (~$1.17 billion) in 2019.

The company’s profit attributable to shareholders stood at HK$ 4.560 billion (~$587.79 million) in 2020 from HK$ 2.416 billion (~$311.42 million) in 2019.

Xinyi’s solar glass business witnessed a 47.65% growth from HK$6.767 billion (~$872.24 million) in 2019 to HK$9.99 billion (~$1.287 billion) in 2020. Its solar farm business stood at HK$ 2.323 billion (~$299.04 million) in 2020, a minimal decrease compared to HK$ 2.328 billion (~$300.07 million)  in 2019.

The company said that the solar glass market witnessed a weak first half in 2020, and prices of solar glass products reduced by 17% in the second quarter, as demand reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, constant improvement in local and overseas demand provided a significant recovery, and solar glass prices increased over 70% in the second half of 2020.

Anticipating that solar glass demand would stay high as solar installations were increasing worldwide, the company is planning to expand its solar glass production capacity by developing four new production lines with a daily melting capacity of 1,000 tons each, increasing the group’s aggregate melting capacity to 9,800-tons per day. The construction of all four production lines is expected to be completed in 2022.

As a medium-term plan, the group has started the construction work for sixteen new solar glass production lines with a daily melting capacity of 1,000 each in Zhangjiagang (Jiangsu province) and  Anhui.

According to the company, new solar glass capacities generally need about two years to fully come online, the market supply of solar glass is expected to remain tight in the near term. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in China is planning to ease restrictions on investments in new solar glass production capacity. Under the proposed new regulations, solar glass manufacturers intending to add new capacity will not have to submit capacity replacement plans but need to obtain technology, energy consumption, and environmental accreditation by qualified industrial and professional agencies in advance.

According to Mercom Research, in May 2019, Xinyi Solar completed a 380 million shares issue, at a rate of HK$3.47 (~$0.44) per share, for proceeds of $167.2 million. The company intended to use the funds toward its project development and solar glass production capacity expansion plans.

According to a report by SolarZoom in October 2020, the demand-supply gap in the Chinese solar module market widened due to shortage of solar glass used in the manufacturing of solar modules.