External shipment volume increased from 1,543.6MW in 2016 to 2,427.8MW in 2017, an increase of 57%. Subcontracted processing volume also increased from 484.4MW in 2016 to 695.2MW in 2017, representing an increase of 43%. Both elements were fuelled by upgrades in the upstream ingot and wafer manufacturing capacities as well as greater module shipments, driven by customer support from major state-owned enterprises in China, such as State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) and TW Solar, part of Tongwei Group.

Solargiga reported a gross profit of RMB 657 million (US$104.6 million) and a gross profit margin of 16.4% in 2017, compared to a gross profit of RMB 329 million (US$52.4 million) and a gross profit margin of 10.9% in 2016.

The profit and margin increases were supported by higher demand and therefore higher manufacturing utilisation rates as well as manufacturing cost reduction strategies and the end of high-priced long-term polysilicon supply contracts in 2016.

The increased demand for mono products has led the company to expand both ingot/wafer production as well as module assembly, while limiting in-house cell production to use primarily in its downstream business.

The company reiterated that it planned to expand module assembly capacity by 1GW at its existing manufacturing facilities at a cost of RMB160 million (US$25.2 million). Solar modules sales accounted for over 70% of overall sales in 2017.