PVTIME – Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) recently reported its fourth quarter and full year financial results. The company faced a challenging solar industry landscape characterised by intense competition and political/trade uncertainty.
In the fourth quarter, the company shipped 8.2GW of modules, up 1% year over year but down 2% sequentially. Net sales reached $1.5 billion, up 1% quarter over quarter but down 11% year on year, mainly due to changes in the average selling price (ASP) of solar modules and shipment volumes. Gross profit was $217 million, with a gross margin of 14.3%, impacted by lower module ASPs. Total operating expenses were $344 million, with sequential and year on year increases due to impairment charges and higher shipping and handling costs. Despite these challenges, the company reported net income attributable to shareholders of $34 million, or $0.48 per diluted share.
For the full year, CSI Solar achieved solar module shipments of 31.1 GW. The energy storage business had a remarkable performance with 6.6GWh of shipments, an increase of over 500% year on year. Recurrent Energy brought a record 1.3 GWp of solar projects into commercial operation. The company’s e – STORAGE shipments reached 2.2GWh in Q4 and its pipeline grew to 79GWh, including a contracted backlog of $3.2 billion.
The company has two main divisions. Recurrent Energy, a leading clean energy project development platform, had a total global solar development pipeline of 25GWp and a battery energy storage development pipeline of 75 GWh as of 31 December 2024. It has a business model based on power revenues, asset sales and energy services. In October 2024, BlackRock invested $500 million in Recurrent Energy, representing 20% of its outstanding fully diluted shares, enabling its strategic transition. CSI Solar, on the other hand, is involved in the manufacture of solar modules and battery energy storage systems, and offers total system solutions.
Looking ahead, for the first quarter of 2025, the company expects total revenue to be in the range of $1.0 billion to $1.2 billion, with a gross margin of 9% to 11%. Total module shipments are expected to be 6.4 to 6.7GW and battery energy storage shipments are expected to be around 800MWh. For the full year 2025, the company reiterates its outlook for CSI Solar’s total module shipments of 30 to 35GW and total battery energy storage shipments of 11 to 13GWh. Total revenue is expected to be in the range of $7.3 billion to $8.3 billion.
Dr Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO, noted that although 2024 was challenging, the company made strategic adjustments in its module business and maintained relatively good profitability. He also noted that the industry is in transition, with solar market uncertainties remaining in the short to medium term, but energy storage demand accelerating. The company remains committed to the US market and continues to expand its manufacturing facilities. Despite the challenges, the company’s significant progress in energy storage and its strategic business model position it for potential growth in the evolving renewable energy market.
 recently reported its fourth quarter and full year financial results. The company faced a challenging solar industry landscape characterised by intense competition and…){kind=link}