On March 26, JinkoSolar (SH:688223), a global leader in photovoltaic modules, disclosed its controlling shareholder JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE:JKS) 2024 fourth quarter and full year results.

The price drop increased and module shipments ranked first in the world

For the full year of 2024, JinkoSolar's total revenue was US$12.64 billion (about 91.8 billion yuan), and the adjusted net profit was US$78.3 million. Total shipments for the year reached 99,596 MW, up 19.2% year-on-year.

It can be seen that despite the challenges of price fluctuations in the industry, JinkoSolar has still achieved a breakthrough through technology-driven and global layout, ranking first in the world in module shipments last year.

Among them, in the fourth quarter of 2024, the company's total shipments reached 26,462 MW, a slight increase of 2.1% quarter-on-quarter, but a year-on-year decrease of 5.0%; Quarterly revenue was 20.65 billion yuan, a sharp decrease of 37.1% year-on-year.

As of the end of last year, JinkoSolar became the first module manufacturer in the world to exceed 300GW in total deliveries, setting a new record for its technology reserves, with the recently released TOPCON module conversion efficiency reaching 24.8%, setting a new industry record.

At the end of 2024, the company had $3.8 billion in cash and cash equivalents, providing sufficient ammunition for capacity expansion.

N-type iteration and patent barriers build a technical moat

In 2024, when the industry is generally losing money, JinkoSolar can still maintain positive profitability, relying on its leading technology in the core

First, its N-type technology dominates the market, accounting for 85% of annual N-type module shipments, the Tiger Neo series shipments exceeded 150GW, the third-generation process has increased the cell efficiency to 25.8%, and the power generation per watt is 3%-5% higher than that of PERC modules.

The second is the upgrading of the company's patent strategy, holding more than 2,800 authorized patents (including 462 TOPCon core patents), and initiating a number of transnational patent lawsuits, which not only protects technological advantages, but also accelerates the clearance of backward production capacity in the industry.

Third, the company is deeply engaged in overseas markets, with revenue from high-priced markets such as Europe and the Middle East accounting for more than 60%, and revenue from distribution channels increasing by 40% year-on-year.

Global capacity expansion is accelerating, with a target of 85-100GW this year

According to public information, JinkoSolar was founded in 2006 by Chairman Li Xiande in Shangrao, Jiangxi, landed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2010, and returned to A-shares in 2022. The company is deeply engaged in the "vertical integration" strategy, forming a closed loop of the entire industry chain from silicon wafers, cells to modules, and establishing a technological moat by betting on N-type TOPCon technology.

In recent years, JinkoSolar has continued to deepen its global supply chain network. In July 2024, the company entered into a cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF to invest in the construction of a 10GW high-efficiency cell and module project in Saudi Arabia, with a total investment of about US$985 million.

The project not only strengthens its leading position in the Middle East market (with a market share of more than 50%), but also forms a linkage with the production capacity of the United Arab Emirates, Oman and other places, supporting the company's annual module shipment forecast of 85-100GW in 2025.

In addition, the 56GW vertically integrated base project in Shanxi has started construction, and it is expected that some production lines will be put into operation in 2025, which will further consolidate its advantages in the whole chain of silicon wafers, cells and modules.

Despite short-term price pressures, JinkoSolar expects to ship 16-18GW of modules in the first quarter of 2025 and 85-100GW for the full year, with a capacity of 120GW for mono-Si wafers, 95GW for cells, and 130GW for modules. With the optimization of supply chain costs and the increase in the proportion of efficient products, profitability is expected to be restored.

On the whole, JinkoSolar's first-mover advantage in the field of N-type technology, global market layout and capital reserves constitute its core competitiveness through the cycle. With the acceleration of the global carbon neutrality process, the demand for high-efficiency photovoltaic products continues to grow, and the company's long-term growth logic remains unchanged.