JA Solar announced PV module shipments of 15.88GW in 2020. The figure has risen from 10.26GW in 2019. This represents a 54.8 sharp rise in one year, setting new milestones for total shipments and shipment growth.
Shipment estimates were nearly 1GW higher than forecasted by some research agencies. JA Solar stated that the 15.88GW total shipments included about 500MW deliveries to its in-house downstream project sector in China, despite the fact that this is not a major focus for the company.
The company announced that overseas shipments accounted for 68.3 percent of total overseas shipments in 2020, with up to 10.84GW of combined international shipping. The company stated that as of the end of 2020, it had a panel manufacturing capacity of 23GW.
According to that numbers, JA Solar’s module shipments will be third in the world in 2020. LONGi Group and JinkoSolar, on the other hand, have yet to publicly report their full-year financial performance. When full-year results are posted, Trina Solar, which is ranked fourth, may be able to close the gap on JA Solar.
JA Solar posted a net profit cash dividend of approximately US$229 million, a 20.34 percent increase compared to the previous year. However, though sales in the fourth quarter of 2020 reached a new quarterly high of US$1.39 billion, net profit fell significantly to around US$32.75 million, down from around US$89.88 million in the previous quarter, the high point of quarterly figures.
Even though the company did not specify why net profit in the fourth quarter of 2020 fell 63.5 percent from the previous quarter in its annual report, JA Solar stated that a variety of factors were at play within the quarter.
In addition, JA Solar reported asset impairment charges of approximately $25.74 million in 2020. This is linked to the liability for bad loans on accounts receivable, other deferred revenue, contract properties, and some depreciation on building projects in progress and capital assets.
Following the release of JA Solar’s annual report, the company announced that its founder and chairperson, Jin Baofang, had continued to work for the company. The Pingdu Supervisory Committee has revoked the limitations that had been imposed on Baofang after he was jailed last year.
On November 7, 2020, the chairman was held under investigation, the specifics of which have never been made public, and he did not attend board meetings during the six-month interrogation.
In a brief statement, JA Solar stated that it had obtained notification from Jin Baofang that the government agency had lifted its liability restrictions on April 16, 2021.