(Yicai Global) May 10 -- Shares of China's Shuangliang Eco-Energy Systems, a photovoltaic equipment supplier which boosted its net profit by more than four times in the first quarter, jumped after it said that its factory in northern China has gained another long-term client.

Shuangliang's stock price [SHA: 600481] was 7.9 percent up at CNY11.37 (USD1.70) in the afternoon, after hitting the daily upper limit of 10 percent earlier. The shares have almost tripled in value over the past 12 months.

The buyer's shares were also climbing. Solar module maker Risen Energy [SHE: 300118] rose 4.3 percent to CNY23.60 in the afternoon.

A unit of Risen Energy will order almost 1.6 billion large-size monocrystalline silicon wafers worth CNY14.2 billion (USD2.1 billion) by 2024 from the mechanical product manufacturer's plant in Baotou that is expanding production, the Jiangyin-headquartered seller said in a statement yesterday.

This year, Ningbo-based Risen should order no less than 72 million units. The numbers should eventually rise to 900 million units in 2024. Prices will be decided on a monthly basis, the statement added.

Shuangliang has been successful in attracting clients lately. Since September, the same plant in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has received three-year silicon wafer orders from eight large solar cell manufacturers. The tally of those is CNY63.7 billion based on preliminary price estimates.

Shuangliang has invested CNY14 billion to build a new 40-gigawatt facility to produce large-size solar silicon wafers in the Baotou plant since February 2021. The full capacity should be reached next year.

The purchaser also has some big plans in Baotou. Risen Energy said late last year that it intends to construct new energy projects worth CNY44.7 billion in the northern city. Those projects include a solar module plant and a 3.5 GW PV power station that requires silicon wafers.

Shuangliang has been having a great year. In the first quarter, the company's net profit jumped more than four times to CNY121 million (USD18.1 million) from a year ago due to the robust market demand and rising prices of solar product processing equipment, the firm's main product, according to its earnings report. Meanwhile, the company's revenue soared fourfold to CNY1.7 billion (USD253.4 million).

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi