Chinese solar PV manufacturer JA Solar says overseas markets accounted for around 49% of its total solar module shipments of 79.447 GW in 2024, registering close to 40% year-on-year (YoY) growth over 57 GW in 2023. Of the total, it used 1.544 GW for self-use.

Its home turf, China, was the company’s largest market, accounting for 42.36% of its operating income last year, followed by Americas’ 23.37%, Europe’s 18.15%, Asia and Oceania’s 12.85%, and Africa and others’ 3.27%.

These regions accounted for 45.53%, 16.64%, 21.60%, 13.66%, and 2.57% share of the operating income in 2023, respectively.

Despite the improvement in module shipments, JA Solar’s operating income fell 14.02% to RMB 70.12 billion ($9.62 billion). It reported a net loss of RMB 4.65 billion ($639 million), citing intensified competition, a sharp drop in product prices and an increasingly severe international trade environment that impacted its profitability.  

Meanwhile, the manufacturer invested RMB 3.711 billion ($509 million) in its R&D activities, an amount that accounted for 5.29% of the total operating income. At the end of 2024, it had 1,899 patents, including 1,031 invention patents.

JA Solar reached a total solar module production capacity of 100 GW at the end of 2024. It says its silicon wafer production exceeded 80% and solar cell output more than 70% of the module production capacity. According to the manufacturer’s 2024 annual report, this vertical integration keeps it cushioned against volatile pricing in the solar supply chain while ensuring quality control, which contributes to its overall business growth.  

It currently operates manufacturing bases in China and Vietnam, while the Oman project is currently under construction. In Oman, it plans to operate 6 GW of high-efficiency solar cells and 3 GW high-efficiency solar module production facilities (see China’s JA Solar Heads To Oman With 9 GW Solar Manufacturing Plans).  

JA Solar Vietnam is among the Chinese solar companies listed by the US Department of Commerce for final anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD) tariffs on solar imports from 4 Southeast Asian countries (see US Solar Imports From Cambodia Hit Hardest With Final AD/CVD Duties).

Responding to this and the US reciprocal tariffs on China and other countries, JA management says that it is currently evaluating the impact of the above tariff policy on its export sales and operating performance, and that it may lead to increased production costs.

Looking ahead, the group aims to closely monitor key mature markets such as China, Europe, the US, and Japan, while actively expanding its presence across Southeast Asia, Australia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.