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Gintech breaks ground for solar wafer plant


Nuying Huang, Taipei; Willie Teng, DIGITIMES [Monday 7 March 2011]

Solar cell maker Gintech Energy on March 7 broke ground for its solar wafer plant in Miaoli, Taiwan. The plant is under Gintech's solar wafer subsidiary, which also include Taiwan Fertilizer and CTCI Corporation as main investors.

The subsidiary will begin equipment installation in May and June with production scheduled for July 2011. Its capacity will total 330MWp in 2011

Gintech will retain management rights to both solar cell and wafer businesses, and for upstream materials, the company will position itself through investments. As for solar modules, it is evaluating whether it is more advantageous to set up facilities in Taiwan or China. Gintech also has plan to partner with CTCI in solar systems.

Gintech to ship 1.2GWp worth of solar cells in 2011
Nuying Huang, Taipei; Willie Teng, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 18 January 2011]


Solar cell maker Gintech Energy expects 2011 capacity to reach 1.5GWp and could ramp up further depending on market conditions, according to company chairman Wenant Pan, who added that solar cell production will total 1.2GWp this year up 50% from 2010. The company has developed an order screening process for 2011, and currently sees 1.4GWp in orders for the year.

Gintech currently has NT$18 billion (US$) in cash holding and 2011 capex will be NT$5 billion. Hence, the company has no fund raising plans at the moment.

Gintech will look to integrate vertically in the future, Pan said. The company reportedly has plans to establish a system-end joint venture with real estate developer CTCI to secure market presence downstream and order source.

Pan still believes demand will increase by 20% in 2011. The system end will rebound after winter and Germany's next subsidy cut in mid-2011 could stimulate demand in the first half, he said.

Though the 2011 solar cell market will not be as strong as in 2010, Gintech's performance will be above average due to economy of scale and stronger procurement leverage. The company is still running at full capacity for the first quarter.

Auria aims to raise NT$10 billion via ESM listing, Gintech reaches 930MWp capacity ahead of schedule


Nuying Huang, Taipei; Willie Teng, DIGITIMES [Friday 22 October 2010]

Thin-film photovoltaic (PV) module maker Auria Solar turned profitable in the third quarter of 2010, and plans to raise NT$10 billion (US$324.51 million) via listing on Taiwan's Emerging Stock Market (ESM) at the end of the year, according to company chairman Tsai Chin-Yao, noting that public offering is ongoing.

Auria will bring module capacity from 60MWp currently to 200MWp by the end of 2011, Tsai said. When capacity reaches 200MWp, production cost will drop to US$1/W and down to US$0.5/W with 500MWp in capacity, Tsai indicated, adding that thin-film module cost is approaching levels competitive with mainstream crystalline silicon solutions. Auria's thin-film PV modules currently provide an average 10% conversion rate, and the company is looking to improve to 11% in 2011.

Auria reported more than NT$1 billion in revenues from January through September. Current monthly revenues are around NT$200 million.

In related news, solar cell maker Gintech Energy posted NT$7.73 billion in third-quarter revenues, up 11% sequentially. Revenues from January through September increased 103% from a year ago to NT$20.27 billion. The company is projecting to ship 800MWp for 2010, representing a 118% increase from 2009.

Gintech has also ramped up manufacturing capacity to 930MWp in October ahead of schedule.

Since the Japanese market currently constitutes 30% of Gintech's shipments, and thanks to a weakening US dollar and the Japanese yen rising at a stronger pace than the NT dollar, Gintech saw a modest profit from currency exchange rates. Gintech's net income for the first three quarters in 2010 could exceed NT$10, according market watchers.

Gintech expecting solar cell shipments to double this year
By Yu-huay Sun / STAFF REPORTER

Gintech Energy Corp (昱晶), Taiwan’s biggest solar cell maker by sales, expects shipments this year to more than double as global demand for renewable energy surges.

Shipments of cells used in panels that turn sunlight into electricity will probably rise to 800 megawatts this year from 368 megawatts last year, Becky Yu (俞華), a spokeswoman at the Miaoli-based company, said at a forum in Taipei yesterday.

One megawatt can power about 800 US homes.

Global sales of solar panels will almost double this year as developers seek to install systems and benefit from government incentives, according to market researcher iSuppli.

Panel installations may rise 20 percent a year globally as declining costs spur demand, Yu said.

“There’s an abnormal surge this year in installations,” Yu said. “There won’t be an oversupply, as the market for solar power is huge.”

Gintech’s annual capacity may rise to 1.65 gigawatts next year, from a projected 930 megawatts by the end of this year, Yu said.

The company expects capacity to reach 2.2 gigawatts in 2013, Gintech chairman Wenent Pan (潘文炎) said in July.

The solar cell maker started shipping modules last month from a plant in northern Taiwan, Yu said.

The 50 megawatt-a-year facility can be used to “verify the performance” of Gintech’s solar cells, she said.

Prices of solar power systems could fall by 5 to 10 percent a year as technology advances and global production increases, Yu said.

Gintech shares fell 0.8 percent to close at NT$89.90 yesterday, underperforming the TAIEX, which dropped 0.03 percent.

Gintech to focus on solar cell product, cautious about vertical integration, says company chairman


Nuying Huang, Taipei; Willie Teng, DIGITIMES [Thursday 16 September 2010]

Solar cell maker Gintech Energy will continue to focus on solar cells as its main business, and although players from both sides of the Taiwan Strait have been active in vertical integration, it will remain cautious when making moves up and down the supply chain, company chairman Wenant Pan said during a shareholders meeting on September 15, 2010.

In addition to solar cell operations, the Taiwan-based company also has 50MWp of solar module capacity and began shipments in August. Gintech pointed out that the reason for entering module manufacturing is to provide a real-world testing platform for its solar cells, and the foray downstream was made mainly on customer requests.

However, Gintech will not blindly integrate vertically just because its competitors are, according to Pan, adding that solar cells are the company's focus and that is where its core advantage lies. In the future, Gintech will likely integrate via strategic alliances and will not enter all levels of the supply chain by itself, he indicated.

Currently, no Taiwan-based solar companies have been successful in vertical integration, and some of their investments have actually backfired and seriously impacted their original businesses, Pan noted.

Gintech was the world's tenth-largest solar cell supplier in 2009, and its ranking should rise to the seventh spot 2010 with a 6% market share. The company currently has a solar cell capacity of 930MWp and will ramp up by another 480MWp in the first two quarters of 2011. Total capacity is estimated to reach 1.65GWp in 2011 and 2.37GWp for 2012.

First-half debt ratio dropped to 26% from 31% in 2009, and the company now has NT$16 billion (US$503.69 million) in cash. Capital expenditure in 2010 and 2011 is projected to total NT$1.65 billion and NT$5.35 billion respectively.

Gintech shipped 372MWp in the first half of 2010, and its full-year shipment forecast has been raised to over 800MWp, and 1.2GWp is projected for 2011. Third-quarter monthly shipments should top 75MWp on average and price will remain at a high level into the fourth quarter. The turning point in demand could be around the Thanksgiving holidays since seasonal weather changes and people taking vacations could lower desire to install solar systems. The first quarter of 2011 will be a challenge for the PV market.

The company remains bullish in the long run, citing data indicating that solar energy only accounted for 22GWp or 0.1% of global electricity generated in 2009.

Gintech Energy forecasts high net income

HIGH DEMAND: Strong orders have driven production at solar cell factories on the back of new European subsidies, such as in Germany, the largest solar panel market

By Lisa Wang
STAFF REPORTER
Thursday, Sep 16, 2010, Page 12
Gintech Energy Corp (昱晶能源), one of the nation’s biggest solar cell makers, expects net income to remain at a high level this quarter on the back of sustained demand, a company executive said yesterday.

Strong demand has helped most solar companies’ factories run at full capacity and lifted prices over the past two quarters as solar-cell system installations increased before new but lower subsidies from last year for the solar photovoltaics system in Germany — the world’s biggest solar panel market — and other European countries, took effect in the middle of this year.

THIRD QUARTER KEY

“We believe the third quarter will be a very good quarter for us ... Net profits will be no less than the previous two quarters,” company president Wenwhe Pan (潘文輝) said.

“We are on the road to making total net profits that equal our share capital in the first three quarters,” he said.

Based on Pan’s forecast, Gintech is likely to post more than NT$1 billion (US$31.45 million) in net income this quarter after deducting the NT$1.04 billion and NT$999 million it earned in the first and second quarters from the company’s NT$3.19 billion in share capital.

SHIPMENTS TO RISE

Shipments would rise 11 percent to about 225 megawatts (MW) in the current quarter, from last quarter’s 202MW, Pan said.

Gross margin would be flat from last quarter’s 19.3 percent, he said.

“However, November will be a turning point,” Pan said.

Demand is expected to weaken, as people tend not to install solar panel systems during the Christmas holiday season because of cooler weather, Pan said.

The weakness is expected to worsen in the first quarter of next year as aggressive capacity expansion from its global peers could cause oversupply and price decline, he said.

“The first quarter will be a very challenging period [for the industry],” Pan said. “However, we are okay with orders in the fourth and first quarter of next year.”

Gintech planned to cut price to secure orders beginning in December, Pan said.

“I won’t be surprised by about a cut of 5 to 10 percent [compared with the third quarter],” he said.

SLOWING GROWTH

The overall solar cell industry is expected to experience a slower growth next year, Gintech chairman Wenent Pan (潘文炎) said.

The market would grow 21 percent to 17 gigawatts (GW), from 14GW this year, he projected.

This year, the market could balloon 92 percent from last year’s 7.3GW, he said.

For Gintech, shipments are expected to more than double to 800MW this year and to rise a further 50 percent to 1.2GW next year, the chairman said.

Gintech obtains NT$6.5 billion loan


Nuying Huang, Taipei; Willie Teng, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 3 August 2010]

Gintech Energy, a maker of crystalline silicon solar cells, on August 2 signed a 5-year syndicated loan, the largest syndicated loan to date in Taiwan's solar sector, with 11 banks for NT$6.5 billion (US$202 million) to continue capacity expansion, according to the company.

With the syndicated loan, Gintech is now sitting on NT$10 billion in cash reserve, which will allow the company to execute its plan to ramp capacity up to 2-2.2GWp over the next three to four years.

Gintech will first increase capacity to 930MWp in the third quarter, which should raise its global capacity ranking to seventh, and further expansion to 1.4-1.7GWp is expected for 2011, said company chairman Wenant Pan.

Pan indicated that orders will continue to be in excess of capacity for the rest of 2010. EPS in the first half of 2010 alone should exceed NT$6 versus the NT$8 previously projected for the full year.

Market watchers are bullish on Gintech's second-half profitability largely on successful price negotiation with poly-Si supplier MEMC, which reportedly has agreed to provide materials at prices similar to that of the second quarter.

Poly-Si prices are currently on the rise, with some Chinese suppliers having already hiked quotes to more than US$60/kg from US$50-55/kg in the first half.

Gintech posts record monthly revenues in April


Nuying Huang, Taipei; Willie Teng, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 5 May 2010]

Solar cell maker Gintech Energy posted a monthly record of NT$2.3 billion (about US$73 million) in revenues in April 2010, up 18% from March and 162% on year, according to the company. Its April solar cell shipments of 67MWp were a monthly record as well.

Though Japan accounted for merely a third of the Taiwan-based company's 2009 orders, the proportion will rise to 50% in 2010 to prevent over reliance on demand from Europe, the company said, adding that the US will claim a 10% share this year.

Cumulative revenues from January through April totaled NT$7.9 billion, rising 96% on year, the company said. Market watchers project its first-half EPS could top NT$7.

In related news, executives from Gintech have confirmed the land purchase in the Chunan Science Park, in northern Taiwan. According to industry sources, Gintech will use the land to build a new solar cell facility with ground breaking scheduled for July.

April 22 (Bloomberg) -- Gintech Energy Corp., Taiwan’s second-biggest solar-cell maker, expects to withstand the local dollar’s gains because of rising demand for renewable energy.

The Taiwan currency may reach NT$30 per dollar “in the worst case scenario,” should China’s yuan appreciate by between 3 percent and 5 percent before the end of the year, Andrew Shih, deputy director at the company’s financial division, said in an interview in Taipei yesterday. “Gintech will be OK.”

Taiwan’s dollar has appreciated about 2 percent against its U.S. counterpart this year, partly because of speculation China will allow its currency to advance, spurring fund inflows to Asia. It traded at NT$31.396 at 10:20 a.m., according to Taipei Forex Inc. The mainland is the island’s biggest export market.

Germany is among markets where demand for solar power is boosting Gintech’s sales, helping the company weather Taiwan dollar appreciation that reduces the value of overseas earnings in local-currency terms. The solar-cell maker’s income is mostly in U.S. dollars, euros and yen, according to Shih.

Gintech posted net income of NT$1.04 billion ($33.2 million), in the three months through March 31, on sales of NT$5.59 billion, the company said in a stock exchange filing April 14, citing unaudited figures. It reported a loss of NT$360 million a year earlier.

The Miaoli, northern Taiwan-based company’s shipments may double this year from 368 megawatts in 2009, Shih said. The recovery in the global economy is boosting funding for solar power projects, helping lift Gintech’s sales, he said.

Fund Raising

“We have orders exceeding our capacity,” he said. The company aims to boost its annual production capacity to more than 900 megawatts this year, from 720 megawatts currently, he said. One megawatt is enough to power 800 U.S. homes.

Gintech may raise $200 million through borrowing or equities this year to help fund the expansion, Shih said, without giving details.

Gintech has risen 3.3 percent in Taipei trading this year, outperforming the 3.4 percent decline in the benchmark Taiex index.

To help mitigate the effects of gains in the Taiwan dollar, Gintech may consider measures such as taking out loans in U.S. dollars and sales of currency forwards, Shih said.

Forwards are agreements to buy and sell assets at current prices for future delivery.

Taiwan Dollar Forecasts

Taiwan’s dollar may appreciate 4.6 percent to NT$30 against its U.S. counterpart by the first quarter next year, according to the median of 17 analyst forecasts compiled by Bloomberg.

Motech is the island’s biggest solar-cell maker by market value. The world’s largest include Japan’s Sharp Corp. and Q- Cell SE of Germany.

Global sales of solar power panels will jump 94 percent this year as developers rush to install systems before governments cut back on incentives, according to industry publisher Isuppli.

Solar installations may climb to 13,600 megawatts this year, up from 7,000 megawatts in 2009, with Germany remaining the world’s largest market, Henning Wicht, an analyst at El Segundo, California-based Isuppli, said April 20.

To contact the reporter on the story: Yu-huay Sun in Taipei [e-mail]
Last Updated: April 21, 2010 22:55 EDT

Gintech ranks 10th globally in 2009 solar cell production

Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 1 April 2010]

Taiwan-based solar cell maker Gintech Energy ranked 10th in terms of 2009 output among all makers of solar cells or thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules around the world, according to market research firms Photon International and Solarbuzz. Gintech rolled out 368MWp solar cells in 2009 compared to 360MWp produced by Taiwan-based competitor Motech Industries.

Solar cell maker Gintech sees improved operations

Nuying Huang, Hsinchu; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 2 February 2010]

Solar cell maker Gintech Energy has improved its operations through reducing reliance on long-term contracts for polycrystalline silicon material supply and lowering its debt ratio from as high as 170% to 75% currently, according company chairman Wenent Pan. As a result of the improved operations, Gintech saw net profit of NT$1.098 billion (US$33.4 million) for the fourth quarter of 2009, Pan indicated.

Gintech has been running at full capacity for a while and is expanding its capacity in anticipation of a 30-50% growth in global demand for solar cells in 2010, Pan said. Gintech's annual capacity will increase from 640MWp at the end of 2009 to 720MWp in June, 810MWp in September 2010, and to over 1GWp in 2011, Pan added.

Gintech currently has 50 clients, 10 more than the number in 2009, Pan indicated, adding the top-10 clients currently account for 60% of Gintech's total sales.

Gintech on February 1 released unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter of 2009.

Gintech: Unaudited financial results, 4Q09 and 2009

Item
4Q09
2009
Revenues (NT$b)
5.736
15.711
Gross margin
22.28%
3.49%
Net profit (NT$m)
1,098
72
Net earnings per share (NT$)
4.3
0.28
Source: Company, compiled by Digitimes, February 2010

Gintech president to transfer to subsidiary Eversol


Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Friday 29 January 2010]

Gintech Energy, a Taiwan-based maker of crystalline silicon solar cells, on January 28 announced the resignation of its president Ellick Liao. Liao indicated that he will assume the position of president of Eversol Corporation, Gintech's solar-grade crystalline silicon wafer subsidiary, in March 2010.

Taiwan solar cell makers will expand their annual capacities by a total of 2GWp in 2010, but local solar-grade wafer makers' current total capacity is less than 2GWp in equivalent, Liao indicated. In light of the short supply, Liao said that he will expand Eversol's production capacity by as much as possible.

Eversol currently has an annual capacity of 150MWp crystalline silicon ingots and a slicing capacity of 200MWp wafers, Liao pointed out.

SAS and Gintech post mixed results for December

Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 7 January 2010]

Taiwan-based solar wafer maker Sino-American Silicon Products (SAS) and solar cell maker Gintech Energy on January 6 reported their respective unaudited revenues for December 2009, with the former hittig a record and the latter seeing a sequential decrease.

SAS is expanding its annual capacity, adding 100MWp in first-quarter 2010 and another 100MWp in the next quarter, according to the company.

Gintech is also expanding its capacity to attain an annual total of 810MWp with target output of 660MW in 2010, the company indicated. Japan is Ginteck's largest overseas market currently, followed by Germany, China, the US, South Korea and India, the company said.

SAS, Gintech: Unaudited revenues, December 2009 (NT$ b)



Dec 2009


M/M


Y/Y


2009


Y/Y

SAS


1.157 (US$35.8m)


12.85%


31.48%


10.367


10.51%

Gintech


1.873


(7.28%)


75.57%


15.721


(2.91%)

Gintech to expand solar cell capacity to top 1GWp in 2011

Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 24 December 2009]

Gintech Energy, a Taiwan-based maker of crystalline silicon solar cells, will expand its total annual production capacity from 600MW currently to 1.01GWp in 2011 with total investment of NT$5.71 billion (US$177 million), according to the company.

Gintech currently has two factories in northern Taiwan, one with an annual capacity of 60MWp and the other with that of 540MWp, the company indicated. Gintech is expanding the annual production capacity at the larger factory to 660MWp with an investment of NT$750 million and will additionally invest NT$360 million to further increase annual capacity to 750MWp in 2010, the company pointed out.

In addition, Gintech will invest NT$4.6 billion to set up a third factory next to the existing larger factory in 2010, with operations to kick off in 2011, the company indicated. The new factory will have an initial annual production capacity of 200MWp, bringing Gintech's total capacity to 1.01GWp in 2011, the company noted. The new factory will be able to house several production lines with a maximum total annual capacity of 1.2GWp, Gintech pointed out.

Solar cell maker Gintech to sell Eversol stake to MEMC

Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 9 December 2009]

Taiwan-based solar cell maker Gintech Energy will sell its stake of about 8% in fellow solar wafer maker Eversol Corporation to US-based MEMC Electronic Materials, its main supplier of solar wafers, according to Gintech.

Gintech's representative on Eversol's board of directors already resigned on December 8 to pave the way for MEMC to take over the stake, the solar cell maker said.

The takeover is a string attached to an amendment to a supply contract between Gintech and MEMC in September 2009, with the solar cell maker agreeing to sell the Eversol shares at the original acquisition price of about NT$15 (US$0.47) per unit, industry sources said.

Eversol's share price on Taiwan's emerging stock market closed at NT$50.91 on December 8, meaning that MEMC would book a large capital gain from the deal, the sources added.

MEMC is expected to outsource part of its solar wafer production to Eversol after becoming a shareholder, the sources said.

Antwort auf R-BgO 05.12.09 16:19:12 Uhr

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aDVa9HvY…

Gintech to double solar cell capacity to 1GW in 2011
04 December 2009 | By Mark Osborne | News > Design-BuildSolar, Cell Processing

Citing an expected solar industry growth of 30% or more next year, Taiwan-based Gintech Energy is planning to expand its c-Si solar cell manufacturing capacity to 1GW by 2011. Gintech has a capacity of 560MW, according to a Bloomberg story that cited an interview with Gintech’s Chairman, Wenent Pan.

Gintech expects to invest US$170 million to nearly double its manufacturing capacity. The company is to push for more business from module manufacturers in Europe, USA and Japan.

Gintech also recently announced the launch of its Phoenix series multi-c-Si cells in multiple colours, designed to meet requirements for the BIPV market.

50,7MW allein im Oktober!!!


http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20091110PD202.html

http://digitimes.com/print/a20091015PD201.html

Gintech Energy raises additional funds to improve financial structure

Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 5 November 2009]

Taiwan-based solar cell maker Gintech Energy has raised an additional capital of NT$2.763 billion (US$85.4 million) through the release of 65 million new shares at NT$42.50 per share, according to a company announcement on November 4. The new funds will be used to improve the company's financial structure, it said.