JA Solar's top 10 breakthroughs

The Wind Knows the Grass!

In the past year, the photovoltaic industry has accelerated into a deep reshuffle cycle, which is the most challenging for the comprehensive governance and operation level of enterprises.

Before May Day, JA Solar released its 2023 annual report, combined with the financial report data of previous years, Black Eagle Solar found that the performance of this historically stable traditional photovoltaic leader in fiscal 2023 has achieved breakthroughs in almost all core operating data such as revenue scale, profitability, globalization ability, hematopoietic capacity, and R&D investment, hitting a new high.

Gather sand into a tower, dripping stone wear! For any large-scale enterprise, the breakthrough in business performance is by no means an overnight achievement, but the result of long-term layout and deep cultivation. As we all know, JA Solar has always been one of the most stable industry leaders in the photovoltaic industry. With the in-depth promotion of China's "14th Five-Year Plan" and "dual carbon" strategy, JA Solar has also accelerated its own development pace.

Robust and reliable, the choice of value! In the 19 years since its establishment, Austrotech has "crossed mountains and mountains", just like the entire industry, which has gone through tests and challenges. Behind the high-quality growth of this company in the midst of many drastic changes in the industry is the long-term development of many elements such as core concepts, strategic layout, technology choices, R&D investment, investment pace, management improvement, and brand building.

[Breakthrough 1] The revenue scale hit the highest record in the same period, with an increase of 3.96 times in 8 years.

According to the financial report, JA Solar will achieve an operating income of 81.556 billion yuan in 2023, which has maintained a growth trend for five consecutive years and continues to refresh the highest record in history, and the annual revenue scale of JA Solar Technology (2016-2023) has increased by 3.96 times in the past eight years.

[Breakthrough 2] The ability to globalize continued to grow, and the total overseas revenue exceeded 170 billion yuan in eight years.

Forward-looking international layout and strong global development are one of the secrets of JA Solar's sustained and rapid growth.

According to the statistics of Black Eagle Solar, in 2023, JA Solar will achieve overseas revenue of 44.428 billion yuan, accounting for 54.47% of overseas revenue, and JA Solar's overseas revenue has maintained a growth trend for at least seven consecutive years, with the scale of overseas revenue increasing by 4.8 times compared with 2016, and the total overseas revenue of JA Solar (2016-2023) in the past eight years will reach 175.408 billion yuan. There is no doubt that JA Solar has become one of the most successful companies in the internationalization of the photovoltaic industry.

In fact, since its establishment, JA Solar has established a global development strategy, focusing on major mature PV markets such as China, Europe, the United States, and Japan, while actively deploying in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, Australia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. At the same time, in order to better serve the international market, the company has built vertically integrated production plants in Southeast Asia and module factories in the United States, so as to effectively protect overseas markets, especially for the supply of modules from countries with trade barriers to domestic photovoltaic products, and provide customers with cost-effective module products.

At the same time, JA Solar has set up 13 overseas sales companies, with a sales and service network covering 165 countries and regions around the world, and built regional operation centers in Europe and the United States, upgrading overseas sales companies from simple product sales functions to regional operation centers with a series of operational functions such as technology, delivery, customer service, finance, legal affairs, and human resources. It will further form a regional operation center with complete local functions, provide more comprehensive product services and solutions for local customers and partners, and bring greater value to customers' new energy construction.

In addition, JA Solar actively promotes cooperation with top universities such as the University of New South Wales or photovoltaic research institutions, and actively promotes the strategy of "global service for the world" integrating R&D, procurement, production, sales and service.

Its global layout strategy is also conducive to offsetting the impact of uncontrollable factors such as the phased trough of individual countries or regions and international trade frictions, so as to maintain a steady development trend, and maintain consistency in technology research and development, production line technical transformation, equipment investment, etc., forming a virtuous circle and maintaining long-term vitality. The proportion of the company's module products shipped to various countries and regions around the world is basically similar to the proportion of new photovoltaic installed capacity in various countries and regions around the world, and the company has established a relatively obvious global market layout advantage in the global photovoltaic market. In September 2023, Forbes China released the "Top 50 Chinese Enterprises in Transnational Operations", and JA Solar made the list for its outstanding performance in global development.

In addition, JA Solar has been recognized as a "Top PV Brand" by EuPD Research in Europe, Germany, France, Poland, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia, Vietnam and other countries and regions, and has been awarded the honor of "Best Overall Performance" by the Renewable Energy Test Center (RETC), an authoritative testing organization in the United States, for 4 consecutive years from 2020 to 2023, and has been rated as "Best Performance" by PVEL, the world's authoritative independent third-party PV testing organization, for 8 times from 2014 to 2023 Component suppliers.

JA Solar has also been recognised as a first-class bankable brand by Bloomberg New Energy Finance BNEF, AAA rated for bankability by PV ModuleTech, and won the IFF Global Green Finance Award. The company's products have won many authoritative awards such as TÜV Rheinland "Quality Wins China" Photovoltaic Module Outdoor Power Generation Award, TÜV Nord "Solar Storage Quality and Efficiency Award", which is an important embodiment of the company's technical strength and quality reliability.

According to statistics from PV InfoLink, a third-party authoritative consulting organization, the company's module shipments ranked among the top three in the world from 2017 to 2021 and the top four in the world from 2022 to 2023.

【Breakthrough 3】Profitability hit a record high, with an increase of 8.41 times in 8 years!

In 2023, JA Solar's net profit (attributable to the parent company) will be 7.039 billion yuan, which has maintained a growth trend for 6 consecutive years and continues to refresh the profit record, and the annual profit scale of JA Solar Technology (2016-2023) has increased by 8.41 times in the past 8 years.

The author's analysis found that JA Solar's comprehensive gross profit margin continues to increase steadily, reaching 18.13% in 2023, the highest value in the past four years.

【Breakthrough 4】The scale of foreign investment has grown strongly, and the level of extremely efficient vertical integration leads the whole industry!

Stable investment layout is one of the key factors for JA Solar to maintain its leading scale and always occupy the forefront of the industry. According to Black Eagle PV statistics, in the past 8 years (2016-2023), JA Solar has invested a total of 52.180 billion yuan, which has maintained a growth momentum for five consecutive years, and exceeded the 10 billion yuan mark for the first time in 2023, reaching 18.740 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 134.10%, and continuing to refresh the highest record in history.

In tandem with the steady and strong growth in the scale of foreign investment, JA Solar's vertically integrated production capacity has been accelerating in recent years. As a "veteran" representative of the integrated enterprises in the entire photovoltaic industry, JA Solar has expanded from a leading cell segment to upstream silicon wafers, downstream modules and power stations since 2010, and has since developed into one of the most vertically integrated enterprises.

According to the financial report, by the end of 2023, JA Solar's module production capacity will reach 95GW, and the wafer and cell production capacity will reach about 90% of the module production capacity. According to the company's capacity plan, the degree of capacity integration will be further improved in 2024, and the production capacity of each link will exceed 100GW.

The popularization of automation and intelligent equipment, and the promotion of centralized control management system have greatly reduced the labor intensity and number of grassroots operators, further reduced the labor cost of the production process, reduced the production cost, improved the cost performance of the product, and further optimized the company's resource allocation and management capabilities, which is conducive to the synergy effect of each business and reduced the company's production cost. Enhance the company's competitiveness in the photovoltaic industry.

[Breakthrough 5] The hematopoietic capacity was the highest in history in the same period, with a total of 36.215 billion yuan in 8 years.

Due to the great changes in the industry and external financing environment, enterprises need to compete for their own hematopoietic capacity (operating cash flow). In order to meet the expansion capital needs and improve capital strength, many enterprises regard improving their hematopoietic capacity (operating cash flow) as one of the important strategic means.

Why does JA Solar continue to "conquer the city" on the industrial side? Black Eagle PV analysis believes that it is largely due to the strong hematopoietic power it maintains. The author's statistics show that since 2016, JA Solar's "net operating cash flow" has been positive, and a total of 36.215 billion yuan of cash flow has been provided for JA Solar in the eight years from 2016 to 2023. As we all know, the photovoltaic industry has experienced ups and downs, and it is extremely difficult to maintain such a level of cash flow.

In 2023, JA Solar's hematopoietic (net operating cash flow) will reach RMB12.414 billion, an increase of 51.72% year-on-year, and its hematopoietic power will continue to set a new record in history. Hematopoietic power ranks in the forefront of the industry.

[Breakthrough 6] net financing was 5.960 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 507.98%, a new record high.

In addition, JA Solar is also constantly improving its financing capabilities. According to the financial report, JA Solar's net financing (net financing cash flow) in 2023 will reach 5.960 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 507.98%, and the net financing scale will set a new record in history.

[Breakthrough 7] The scale of monetary fund reserves reached 15.988 billion yuan, and the capital strength set a new record in the same period.

A sound financial strategy and strong capital strength are one of the core elements of JA Solar's continuous development and growth despite several crises.

As of the end of 2023, JA Solar has capital reserves (monetary funds and transactional financial assets) of 15.988 billion yuan, an increase of 31.23% from the beginning of the year, and the scale of capital reserves has set a new record in history. Such capital strength is firmly in the forefront of the entire photovoltaic industry.

【Breakthrough 8】The total asset scale hit a record high, and the enterprise volume ranked first in the industry!

Under the outstanding investment strategy of JA Solar, its total asset scale has also maintained a rapid growth trend. By the end of 2023, JA Solar's total assets exceeded the 100 billion yuan mark for the first time, reaching 106.589 billion yuan, and the annual total assets of JA Solar (2016-2023) have increased by 3.91 times in the past eight years.

[Breakthrough 9] In the past 8 years, the R&D investment has been 17.582 billion yuan, and the number of patents has continued to refresh the highest record in history.

Throughout the history of China's photovoltaic development, from the "three heads outside" to the global "three firsts", this is a history of indomitable struggle, but also a history of never-ending innovation. No matter how the industry goes through ups and downs, the core driving force for photovoltaic to continue to advance and grow is ultimately due to technological innovation. At present, JA Solar has built a strong R&D talent and technical reserve. As of the end of 2023, JA Solar has 1,263 authorized patents, including 285 invention patents.

This is mainly due to JA Solar's continuous and strong R&D investment, according to Black Eagle PV statistics, JA Solar's R&D investment has reached a total of 17.582 billion yuan in the past eight years, ranking among the top in the industry.

JA Solar has always adhered to the R&D and innovation strategy of "mass production generation, reserve generation, and R&D generation", and continues to increase R&D and innovation efforts to continuously improve the technical level of products. The company has a professional team composed of scientists and doctors and masters graduated from well-known universities at home and abroad, with a number of R&D centers such as crystalline silicon, battery modules, energy storage, photovoltaic systems, etc., and has established long-term cooperative relations with scientific research institutions in the United States, the Netherlands, Australia and other countries.

With continuous investment in R&D, JA Solar's cell and module technology has always maintained the industry-leading level, mainly reflected in conversion efficiency, power, quality and cost control. For example, in 2023, JA Solar will release a new n-type module product DeepBlue4.0 Pro based on a new generation of size rectangular silicon wafers, which adopts JA Solar's self-developed n-type 182mm*199mm rectangular silicon wafers with high life and low oxygen content and a new generation size, superimposed with high-efficiency n-type passivated contact Bycium+ cell technology, with an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of up to 733mV and a mass production conversion efficiency of more than 26.3%.

At the same time, the DeepBlue4.0 Pro module also integrates SMBB technology, high-density packaging technology and other quality and efficiency improvement technologies, with a 72-version module power of up to 635W and a module efficiency of more than 22.8%. Compared with the industry's mainstream (2465mm*1134mm) 182 series 78 version modules, the power is better, and the open circuit voltage of the new version is reduced by 7.6%, which not only reduces the system BOS cost, but also reduces the risk of hot spots in the module. It has been calculated that in different application scenarios, different project types, and different installation methods, compared with p-type modules, the BOS cost of DeepBlue 4.0 Pro modules can be reduced by about 2%-4.5%, and the LCOE can be reduced by about 2.5%-6%, and compared with the original version of n-type modules, the BOS cost of DeepBlue4.0 Pro modules can be reduced by about 1.4%-2.8%, and the LCOE can be reduced by about 0.7%-1.6%, which is a perfect interpretation of JA Solar. Born for customer value".

At the same time, the pilot conversion efficiency of the "Hycium" heterojunction high-efficiency cell R&D project based on silicon-based heterojunction technology has been steadily improved, and the production cost has been reduced through the introduction of a series of process improvement measures, so as to meet the conditions for large-scale mass production.

For a variety of cutting-edge technologies such as full-back contact cells, perovskite and tandem cells, the R&D center actively researches and reserves to maintain its core competitiveness. In 2023, JA Solar won the "Top Perforator" award from PVEL (PV Evolution Labs), the world's authoritative independent third-party PV testing organization, for the eighth time for its excellent PV module products.

In 2023, the company was officially approved to build a national-level "Photovoltaic Industry Intellectual Property Operation Center"; The company has been selected into the list of "National Technology Innovation Demonstration Enterprise" and "Industrial Product Green Design Demonstration Enterprise" by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the photovoltaic innovative application solution won the third prize in the "Global Call 2023" global solution competition of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

[Breakthrough 10] set a record dividend of 1.85 billion, actively rewarding investors.

At the same time as the release of the 2023 financial report, JA Solar announced a rather eye-catching dividend plan: it intends to distribute a cash dividend of RMB 5.63 (tax included) to all shareholders for every 10 shares, and is expected to pay a cash dividend of RMB 1.852 billion. Black Eagle PV combed and found that this is the highest dividend record since the PV leader returned to A-shares in 2019. Behind the record dividend plan is another concentrated manifestation of JA Solar's positive return to investors since its listing. Since its return to A-shares, JA Solar has paid cash dividends of 320 million yuan, 252 million yuan and 566 million yuan respectively from 2020 to 2022. With the amount of dividends to be paid this time, JA Solar will be listed on the A-share market for four years, and the cumulative dividends will reach 3 billion yuan. In addition to cash distribution, the company also shares the company's development results with investors through the conversion of capital reserve into share capital. Looking at the whole industry, JA Solar's dividend strength is at the leading level in the photovoltaic industry. JA Solar's dividend is deeply in line with the overall trend of listed companies continuously strengthening their dividend efforts, and also meets the recent requirements of the regulator for listed companies.

According to the company's annual report, JA Solar plans to use no less than RMB 400 million (inclusive) and no more than RMB 800 million (inclusive) to repurchase the company's shares, and all the repurchased shares will be used for employee stock ownership plans or equity incentives, demonstrating the company's long-term confidence and confidence. As of the end of March 2024, JA Solar has repurchased 20,284,800 shares of the company, with a total transaction amount of 400 million yuan (excluding stamp duty, transaction commissions and other transaction costs).

Nowadays, low-carbon and digital economy have become a global trend, and clean energy alternatives are everywhere. From the perspective of the historical process of the photovoltaic industry and the industrialization layout and globalization strategy of JA Solar itself, all the current strategic layout is only a new starting point for its future development, and it will have greater imagination space in the future, let's wait and see.

Article source: Black Eagle Photovoltaic