On July 31, First Solar, a U.S. photovoltaic (PV) company, announced its Q2 2024 financial results. The company achieved total revenue of $1.010482 billion, an increase of 24.65% year-over-year. This growth was primarily driven by increased sales of PV modules to third-party companies, higher average selling prices per watt, and increased orders from other countries. The average selling price per watt increased by 4% year-over-year.
The net profit attributable to shareholders, excluding non-recurring items, was $349.786 million, a year-over-year increase of 69.75%. This growth was mainly due to First Solar's product alignment with U.S. government subsidies for solar projects and the expansion of production tax credits to include energy generated by solar projects.
The gross margin was 49.4%. The increase in gross profit compared to the previous year was mainly due to government subsidies, stable pricing of upstream raw materials, improved production efficiency at manufacturing plants, and contract termination compensation paid by a European customer who reduced module demand.
First Solar, founded in 1999 and headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, is a leading global PV technology company. The company focuses on thin-film PV technology and its main business segments include the design, manufacturing, and sale of cadmium telluride (CdTe) PV modules, as well as the development and operation of large-scale PV projects.
In terms of production capacity, First Solar's total capacity is currently about 17.6 GW. During the second quarter, the company produced 3.7 GW and sold 3.4 GW of PV products. For the full year 2024, the company expects to produce 15.6-16.0 GW and sell 15.6-16.3 GW of PV modules.
Regarding project construction, the company completed the installation of new production equipment at its dedicated R&D innovation center in Ohio, which will be officially launched in July 2024 and is expected to add 0.9 GW of capacity.
It is reported that the facility delivered its first batch of bifacial modules to customers during the second quarter. This equipment can produce full-sized prototypes of thin-film and tandem PV modules, reducing module operating temperatures and significantly increasing energy output efficiency.
In terms of capacity forecasts, the company's manufacturing plant in Panama is expected to begin production in the third quarter of this year, adding 3.5 GW of capacity. The manufacturing plant in Louisiana is expected to begin production in the second half of 2025, adding another 3.5 GW of capacity. These three expansion projects are expected to bring an additional 7.9 GW of capacity, with total PV installations expected to reach 14.1 GW by the second half of 2025.
On the sales side, First Solar signed contracts for 74.6 GW of PV modules with customers during the reporting period, with a total transaction value of $22.3 billion. This revenue is expected to be recognized by transferring ownership of the products to customers by 2030.
Source：DT New Materials