(Yicai Global) July 12 -- Shares of JA Solar Technology, the world's second-largest solar panel maker, fell despite the Chinese firm saying it expects first-half profit to have surged by 147 percent to 188 percent thanks to a jump in shipments.

After plunging by as much as 9.9 percent, JA Solar [SHE: 002459] ended 2.1 percent lower at CNY35.46 (USD4.93) a share in Shenzhen today. Along with other domestic PV giants, the firm has faced market pressure due to concerns about overcapacity in the industry, with its stock down about 37 percent since July last year.

Net profit likely jumped to between CNY4.2 billion and CNY4.9 billion (USD584.2 million and USD681.6 million) in the six months ended June 30, Beijing-based JA Solar said late yesterday. It had profit of CNY5.5 billion last year.

Global demand for solar products continued to improve, leading to a significant increase in JA Solar's panel shipments and revenue in the first half, the firm noted. Business benefited from scale effects because of new production capacity, ensuring sales growth, it added. Profitability also rose significantly as the cost of raw materials, logistics, and transportation tumbled.

Last year, JA Solar’s net profit surged 171 percent to surpass the combined total of the previous three years as panel demand climbed. In the years 2019 to 2022, the compound annual growth rate of its operating income reached 51 percent, and the compound annual growth rate for net profit attributable to its parent company was 64 percent.

JA Solar sold 39.75 gigawatts of solar battery modules in 2022, with overseas sales accounting for about 58 percent of the total. Its module output capacity was about 50 GW by the end of the year, while its wafer and battery capacity were both roughly 80 percent of its module capacity. 

Module capacity is likely to exceed 80 GW by the end of this year, with the firm's wafer and battery capacity both increasing to 90 percent of its module capacity, JA Solar predicted. The company aims to sell 60 GW to 65 GW of modules this year, up about 50 percent from last year.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev