SHANGRAO, China - JinkoSolar (NYSE:JKS) Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE: JKS), a leading solar module manufacturer, reported a robust first quarter with earnings surpassing analyst expectations.
The company announced an earnings per share (EPS) of RMB2.82, which was significantly higher than the analyst estimate of RMB1.54. Despite this earnings beat, revenue for the quarter was RMB23.33 billion, falling short of the consensus estimate of RMB24.34 billion.
The company's stock responded positively to the news, rising 2.57% in premarket trading.
JinkoSolar's first-quarter revenue saw a slight decline of 1.2% year-over-year (YoY), while gross profit decreased by 32.3% YoY to RMB2.74 billion (US$378.8 million). The company's gross margin also experienced a dip to 11.9%, compared with 17.3% in the same period last year. The decrease in gross margin was mainly due to the reduction in the average selling price of solar modules.
Despite these challenges, JinkoSolar achieved a substantial year-over-year increase in module shipments, which grew by 53.3% to 19.99 GW, securing its position as an industry leader. The company's chairman and CEO, Mr. Xiande Li, attributed this success to the strong demand for their N-type technology and the company's extensive global operation network.
Looking ahead, JinkoSolar provided guidance for the second quarter, expecting module shipments to be between 24.0 GW and 26.0 GW. For the full year of 2024, the company anticipates shipments to range from 100.0 GW to 110.0 GW, with N-type modules comprising nearly 90% of total shipments. The midpoint of the second-quarter guidance range, at 25.0 GW, suggests a positive outlook when compared to the analyst consensus, which was not provided.
The company is also optimistic about its production capacity, projecting an increase to 120.0 GW for mono wafers, 110.0 GW for solar cells, and 130.0 GW for solar modules by the end of 2024. Additionally, JinkoSolar expects the mass-produced N-type cell efficiency to reach 26.5% by year-end.
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