Quarterly Results: Canadian Solar Reports Decline in Revenue And Earnings in Q3 - Share Price Falls

Guelph, Canada - Canadian Solar has presented its figures for the third quarter of 2023 (Q3 2023) and the first nine months of the 2023 financial year.

While revenue and net profit fell on a quarterly basis, the solar company recorded growth for the nine-month period, which is still very significant in terms of net profit. The share price nevertheless fell.

In the third quarter of 2023, the RENIXX Group's revenue totalled USD 1.85 billion. Compared to the third quarter of the previous year, this is a decline of just under 5 per cent (Q3 22: USD 1.93 billion). Canadian Solar thus fell well short of analysts' estimates, who on average had expected Q3 sales of USD 2.03 billion. Net profit in the third quarter was USD 21.9 million, which corresponds to a significant decline of 72 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year (Q3 22: USD 78.5 million). This results in diluted earnings per share of just USD 0.32 in the third quarter of 2023, compared to USD 1.12 in Q3 22.

The figures look better for the first nine months of 2023. There was an increase in both sales and net profit from January to September 2023. Sales climbed by 7.5 per cent to USD 5.9 billion (Jan-Sep 22: USD 5.5 billion). Net profit in the first nine months totalled USD 275.6 million. This represents an increase of 70 per cent compared to the same period last year (Jan-Sep 22: USD 162.1 million). This results in diluted earnings per share of USD 3.88 for the first nine months of 2023 (Jan-Sep 22: USD 2.33).

"We delivered solid profitability in the third quarter of 2023 with continued progress on our capacity diversification, despite lower-than-expected market demand growth due to the higher interest rate environment driving higher inventories in certain markets. We significantly ramped up our capacity in the latest N-type TOPCon cell technology, which now accounts for half of our total cell capacity and is expected to reach 60% by the end of 2023", said Canadian Solar CEO and Chairman Dr Shawn Qu of Canadian Solar's financial results. While Canadian Solar navigates through short-term cyclical market fluctuations, the goal of expanding its long-term competitive position in a fast-growing global market and creating sustainable value for shareholders remains unchanged, Qu added.

After the first four trading days of this week, the RENIXX Group's share price is down 4 per cent at EUR 18.96 (16 November 2023, closing price, Stuttgart Stock Exchange). The share has thus lost 35.6 per cent since the turn of the year.

Source: IWR Online, 17 Nov 2023