JA Solar Q2 Total Shipments Above Guidance; Raises Shipment Outlook

(RTTNews) - JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (JASO) reported second-quarter net income to company of RMB 134.6 million compared to RMB 163.7 million, prior year. Earnings per ADS were RMB 2.87, flat with last year. Non-GAAP earnings per ADS were RMB 2.87 or $0.42, compared to RMB 2.04 or $0.30.

Second-quarter total shipments were 2,389.2 MW, well above the guidance of 1,550 to 1,650 MW. The company said this is mainly due to stronger than expected pull-in orders from the China market. External shipments of 2,314.7 MW increased 88.3% year over year. Net revenue was RMB 6.0 billion or $878.1 million, an increase of 44.7% from prior year.

Baofang Jin, Chairman and CEO of JA Solar, said, "Second quarter results exceeded our expectations. Robust shipments in China, primarily attributable to accelerated activity ahead of subsidy reductions, drove our year-over-year double-digit revenue growth in the quarter. Additionally, better-than-expected average selling price and lower blended costs resulted in 120 basis-point sequential improvement in gross margin."

For the full year 2017, the company raised its shipment outlook. Total cell and module shipments are now expected to range between 6.5 and 7.0 GW, up from 6.0-6.5 GW in the prior guidance.

For the third quarter of 2017, the company expects total cell and module shipments to be in the range of 1,600 to 1,700 MW. Nearly all will be external shipments.