World's biggest solar panel maker posts $355m Q3 loss
China's Yingli Green Energy saw its net loss widen to CNY2.3bn ($352m) in Q3 2017, up from CNY335.4m in the same period in 2016. It also reported a 48% drop in quarterly photovoltaic (PV) module shipments to 597.7 MW. CEO Liansheng Miao said the decrease in shipments on the previous quarter was due to lower demand as Yingli tried to balance shipment volumes with operating cash flows. It expects to ship 700 MW to 800 MW of PV panels in 4Q, and raised its full-year guidance for shipments to between 2.8 GW and 2.9 GW.
Yingli Chairman and CEO Liansheng Miao attributed the fall in quarterly shipments to lower demand from the end of the first half, as the company tried to strike a balance between maintaining shipment volumes and ensuring that its operating cash flows remained sufficient. It expects to ship 700 MW to 800 MW of solar panels in the fourth quarter, and it has raised its full-year guidance for PV module shipments to between 2.8 GW and 2.9 GW.

“Distributed generation (DG) projects maintained strong development momentum,” Miao said. “Therefore, the company adjusted its market strategy and developed more small and medium scale customers to penetrate the DG market.”

Revenue hit RMB 1,678.7 million in the July-September period, from RMB 3,173.6 million in the second quarter of this year. The company recorded an operating loss of RMB 2,266.7 million, while its gross profit fell by roughly half from the preceding quarter to RMB 26.5 million, with a gross margin of 1.6%. Earnings before interest, tax expenses, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) stood at negative RMB 2,116.3 million on a non-GAAP basis, according to an online statement.

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Throughout the quarter, Yingli continued to restructure its overseas sales network, which is based in Madrid. It completed this process in November, with all operations now centralized out of Europe.