(Yicai) Jan. 17 -- Longi Green Energy Technology said the Chinese solar panel giant expects to have swung into the red last year with a net loss of as much as CNY8.8 billion (USD1.2 billion) mainly due to intensifying competition.

Net loss was likely between CNY8.2 billion and CNY8.8 billion last year, compared with a net profit of CNY10.8 billion (USD1.5 billion) in 2023, the Xi'an-based company said yesterday. Investment losses from a stake in a silicon material producer contributed to the temporary operational loss, it noted.

Longi saw a net loss of CNY6.5 billion in the nine months ended Sept. 30, with the loss standing at CNY1.3 billion in the third quarter, according to previous data. Based on these figures, its loss was likely between CNY1.7 billion and CNY2.3 billion in the last three months of the year, or up around 80 percent from a quarter earlier.

Longi's shift from generating more than CNY10 billion in profit to a loss exceeding CNY8 billion within a year was mainly because of industry cycles and internal factors.

Management missteps in operations were the main reason for Longi's significant loss in the third quarter, Chairman Zhong Baoshen said on an earnings conference call. In addition, the firm shipped only 1.6 gigawatts to the US in the first three quarters, a weak performance in this high-margin market, he added.

The initial mass production of Longi's first-generation back contact cell modules faced bottlenecks, resulting in delivery challenges, Zhong noted. However, subsequent technological iterations to the second-generation modules further affected the company's performance due to inventory impairment, he pointed out.

"2024 is the year with the most intense industry adjustment," Zhong previously said. "The imbalance between capacity and demand in the photovoltaic industry will not ease in 2025, but the disparity between output and demand will certainly be alleviated.

The situation may vary for each company, but I believe the overall operating situation in 2025 will improve compared to the average level in the industry in 2024," Zhong noted.

Shares of Longi [SHA: 601012] fell 1.2 percent to CNY15.21 (USD2.08) apiece as of lunch break in Shanghai today.

Editor: Martin Kadiev