PVTIME – Canadian Solar Inc. (“Canadian Solar” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: CSIQ) today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022, with solar module shipments, revenue and gross margin all at or exceeding the high end of prior guidance.
Highlights
- Solar module shipments of 5.06 GW, at the high end of 4.9 GW to 5.1 GW guidance range.
- 62% increase in revenue year-over-year (“yoy”) to $2.31 billion, above the high end of $2.2 billion to $2.3 billion guidance range.
- 16.0% gross margin exceeds the guidance range of 14.5% to 15.5%.
- Net income attributable to Canadian Solar of $74 million, or $1.07 per diluted share.
- Accelerating upstream capacity expansion plans to further increase control over supply chain.
- Global Energy solar project pipeline expands to 26 GWp and storage pipeline expands to over 31 GWh, as of June 30, 2022.
- Carve-out IPO of CSI Solar Co., Ltd. (“CSI Solar” or the “CSI Solar subsidiary”) remains on track awaiting completion of the CSRC registration.
Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO, commented, “We achieved strong results in the second quarter of 2022, with solar module shipments, revenue and gross margin all at or exceeding the high end of prior guidance. Sequentially, we grew our module shipments by nearly 40% and battery storage solutions revenues by 2.8 times, while significantly expanding our profitability and completing a large volume of project sales. Our capacity growth strategy is also well on track, which we expanded per our recent announcement to invest in our own polysilicon capacity in a region rich in renewable energy resources. This will allow us to gain further control over sourcing, technology and supply chain, and is part of a long-term plan to increase our market share while meaningfully reducing the carbon footprint of our supply chain. We provide additional details of our environmental efforts and performance in our latest ESG Sustainability Report, published last month.
“We are also excited to see the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, in the U.S. coming into effect. We believe it will drive a big acceleration in demand for clean energy, especially for solar energy and battery storage.
“Separately, CSI Solar’s carve-out IPO remains on track awaiting registration with the China Securities Regulatory Commission.”
Yan Zhuang, President of Canadian Solar’s CSI Solar subsidiary, said, “CSI Solar delivered strong results in the second quarter, significantly growing volume and increasing pricing, while taking cost control measures in a difficult environment as polysilicon prices continue to go up. Our performance in the second quarter was also boosted by a substantial foreign exchange gain from a strong U.S. Dollar relative to the Renminbi. From a market standpoint, we are encouraged by signs of a shift in customer behavior driven by a growing awareness of solar energy’s attractive economics and its importance in energy security and climate change mitigation efforts, especially when paired with battery storage. Reflecting this positive trend, our battery storage shipments in the first half of 2022 have already exceeded 1 GWh, a record level for us. We will continue to build on our strong channels and relationships, especially in premium markets, and make capacity expansion preparations to accelerate our global market share gains in the coming years.”
Ismael Guerrero, Corporate VP and President of Canadian Solar’s Global Energy subsidiary, said, “We delivered significant growth in the second quarter by monetizing approximately 880 MWp of project sales across Australia, the U.S., Japan and the U.K. We also continued to expand and diversify our global project pipeline, strengthening our leadership position in key markets while allowing us to be more selective in developing the highest quality assets. We are particularly encouraged by the passing of the IRA in the U.S. as our subsidiary, Recurrent Energy, has one of the largest and best quality project pipelines, with a total of 8 GWp of solar and 16.5 GWh of battery storage. Additionally, we are making progress executing on our O&M (operations and maintenance) growth strategy to increase the share of stable, recurring income, including a recent expansion of our platform in Europe, as we evaluate complementary growth opportunities worldwide.”
Dr. Huifeng Chang, Senior VP and CFO, added, “In the second quarter, we achieved 85% sequential growth in revenue to $2.3 billion and doubled our gross profit to $371 million, achieving a 16% gross margin. We were able to support the accelerated growth rate and reduce the impact of inflation due to our prior strategic decision to increase inventory during the first quarter. We continue to prioritize cash generation and are pleased with the increase in net cash flow provided by operating activities to $293 million in the second quarter of 2022, from $159 million in the first quarter of 2022. We ended the second quarter with a total cash position of $1.9 billion, giving us significant financial flexibility to fund long-term growth opportunities, including accelerating our upstream capacity expansion.”
Second Quarter 2022 Results
Total module shipments recognized as revenues in the second quarter of 2022 were 5.06 GW, up 37% yoy. Of the total, 126 MW were shipped to the Company’s own utility-scale solar power projects.
Net revenues in the second quarter of 2022 were $2.31 billion, up 85% quarter-over-quarter (“qoq”) and 62% yoy. The sequential and yoy increases were mainly driven by higher project sales, higher solar shipment volumes and average selling price, and significant growth in the Company’s battery storage solutions business.
Gross profit in the second quarter of 2022 was $371 million, up 105% qoq and 101% yoy. Gross margin in the second quarter of 2022 was 16.0%, above prior guidance, and compared to 14.5% in the first quarter of 2022. The sequential gross margin increase was mainly driven by higher module pricing, lower manufacturing costs from the depreciation of the Renminbi relative to the U.S. Dollar and scale benefits from higher volume.
Total operating expenses in the second quarter of 2022 were $255 million compared to $165 million in the first quarter of 2022 and $158 million in the second quarter of 2021. The sequential increase was mainly driven by higher shipping and handling expenses and an impairment charge related to certain manufacturing assets.
Depreciation and amortization charges in the second quarter of 2022 were $63 million, compared to $66 million in the first quarter of 2022 and $66 million in the second quarter of 2021.
Net foreign exchange and derivative gain in the second quarter of 2022 was $6 million, compared to a net gain of $3 million in the first quarter of 2022 and a net loss of $3 million in the second quarter of 2021.
Income tax expense in the second quarter of 2022 was $28 million, compared to a $5 million income tax benefit in the first quarter of 2022 and a $2 million income tax benefit in the second quarter of 2021. The expense was a result of the Company’s higher income before income tax.
Net income attributable to Canadian Solar in the second quarter of 2022 was $74 million, or $1.07 per diluted share (“diluted EPS”), compared to net income of $9 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2022, and net income of $11 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2021.
For the three months ended June 30, 2022, diluted EPS of $1.07 was calculated to include the dilution effect of the outstanding convertible notes. Diluted EPS of $1.07 was calculated from total earnings of $76 million, adding back the 2.5% coupon of $1.3 million, divided by 71.1 million diluted shares, including 6.3 million shares issuable upon the conversion of the convertible notes. For the three months ended March 31, 2022, diluted EPS of $0.14 was calculated from total earnings of $9 million divided by 64.7 million diluted shares. For the three months ended June 30, 2021, diluted EPS of $0.18 was calculated from total earnings of $11 million divided by 61.3 million diluted shares.
Net cash flow provided by operating activities in the second quarter of 2022 was $293 million, compared to net cash flow provided by operating activities of $159 million in the first quarter of 2022. The increase in operating cash inflow was mainly driven by higher earnings and monetization of project assets.
Total debt was $2.7 billion as of June 30, 2022, unchanged from March 31, 2022. Non-recourse debt used to finance solar power projects decreased to $264 million as of June 30, 2022, from $550 million as of March 31, 2022, mainly due to the monetization of project assets.
 (NASDAQ: CSIQ) today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022, with solar module shipments, revenue and gross margin…){kind=link}