Canadian Solar reported gross profits of $141m in the fourth quarter of 2020, down 21% quarter-on-quarter.
Gross margin in the fourth quarter of 2020 was 13.6%, compared to guidance of 8% to 10%, and 19.5% in the third quarter of 2020.
Total module shipments in the fourth quarter of 2020 were 2998MW, an increase of 22% year-over-year and a decrease of 5% quarter-over-quarter.
Of the total, 359MW was shipped to the company’s own utility-scale solar power projects.
The company reported solar module shipments of 3GW at high-end of 2.9GW to 3GW guidance range.
Canadian Solar chairman and CEO Shawn Qu said: “While 2020 was a tough year due to the pandemic, we remained focused on our long-term strategy of growth and delivered a robust set of results.
“Fourth quarter revenue and margins both exceeded our expectations thanks to Canadian Solar’s solid foundations in product and technology innovation and strong customer relationships.
“This allowed us to diversify our income streams, mitigate some of the impact of near-term cost pressures and accelerate the monetization of our solar projects.
“As a result, we are seeing a steep increase in demand for clean power assets across the world, both for solar and battery storage projects, where Canadian Solar has a competitive advantage.
“We have over 20GW of solar project pipeline and nearly 9GWh of battery storage pipeline.
“We are positioned to benefit from robust growth in both areas. We have been developing our technology in system integration and go-to-market capabilities for battery storage solutions in the past few years.
“In 2021, we will start delivering at scale and expect to capture around 10% of the battery storage market in the U.S. alone, based on Wood Mackenzie market estimates.”