Chinese solar PV company GCL System Integration Technology (GCL SI) improved its annual revenues for 2024 by 1.70% to RMB 16.24 billion ($2.23 billion), as its module shipments rose 30% year-on-year (YoY) to 21.41 GW, ranking among the top 8 globally.
The domestic market of China accounted for 82.48% of its annual revenues, representing a 10.59% annual decline, while overseas sales saw a strong annual increase of 188.72%, contributing 17.52% of total revenues. In 2023, overseas markets accounted for 6.17% of its operating income, according to GCL SI’s 2024 Annual Report.
GCL said it navigated the oversupply situation and low product prices in the industry in 2024 by adjusting its order-taking strategy and securing large-scale projects of state-owned enterprises in China. However, its net profit dropped by 56.70% YoY to RMB 68.29 million ($9.39 million).
The company also improved its production during the year by 32% YoY to 21.433 GW. By the end of 2024, it had 30 GW of high-efficiency large-sized solar module production capacity and 16 GW of TOPCon cell manufacturing capacity.
Reflecting on the price pressure for manufacturers due to the gap in market demand and supply that gets compounded by new product development and expanded production, GCL SI said it plans to adjust strategies, strengthen research, secure contracts, and focus on innovation to stay competitive. With trade tariffs imposed by the US and India, costs have increased for Chinese enterprises, according to GCL SI, which does not rule out a further decline in regional sales revenues that may impact its operating performance.
The management shared that it is actively pursuing new markets in Europe and China to diversify trade risks and is also exploring manufacturing expansion overseas.
Its mitigation measures helped the manufacturer improve its YoY operating income for Q1 2025 by 7.06% to RMB 3.16 billion ($442.4 million), thanks to sufficient orders and timely delivery, even though it suffered a net loss of RMB 197.92 million ($27.71 million) compared to a net profit of RMB 24.39 million.
GCL SI is part of the larger GCL Group of China. Another group entity, polysilicon producer GCL Technology, recently released its 2024 financials, reporting a 55.2% YoY decline in revenues due to lower polysilicon prices (see GCL Technology Suffers RMB 4.75 Billion Net Loss In 2024).
