Solar cell and module maker Motech Industries Inc (茂迪) is expecting improved revenue momentum this year due to increased solar panel installations, snapping three consecutive years of slowdown.
Revenue fell 20.7 percent last year as local solar panel installations dipped 30 percent from 2023 after the government slowed its review process due to a series of scandals linked to land acquisition and solar panel deployment. That dashed the hopes of a recovery by local solar companies, Motech said.
“In 2025, we aim to add 10 megawatts of solar installations, targeting government solar projects and large-scale rooftop projects from the private sector,” Motech chief financial official Ting Wang (王丁召) told investors during a videoconference yesterday.
Photo: Chang Hui-wen, Taipei Times
Motech last year helped customers install 68 megawatts of solar panels, up from 34 megawatts of solar panels installed the year before. That helped boost solar system installation’s revenue contribution to 9 percent last year, from 5 percent the previous year, it said.
The company is cautious about this year’s order visibility, given lukewarm government support. The green energy industry is heavily dependent on government support to expand, it said.
Motech expects to secure orders from this month to May, and would also continue seeking business opportunities in overseas markets, Wang said.
Overseas demand mainly from Japan and Europe contributed about half of the company’s revenue last year, he said.
The company is in discussions about new orders with Japanese customers, he added.
Motech’s net profit expanded 7.9 percent last year to NT$235 million (US$7.15 million), from NT$128 million in 2023. Earnings per share rose to NT$0.61 from NT$0.56.
Gross margin improved to 19.7 percent from 16.7 percent in 2023, as it gained more solar system installation business, which delivered a better margin than its corporate average.
The company hopes to keep gross margin similar to last year’s level, thanks to increases in solar installation orders and stable solar prices in the local market, Wang said.
Local peer TSEC Corp (元晶) reported a net profit of NT$70.5 million during the first three quarters of last year, down from NT$432 million a year earlier.
TSEC has not released full-year financial results.
United Renewable Energy Co’s (聯合再生) losses widened to NT$1.92 billion, or losses per share of NT$1.14, during the first three quarters last year, compared with losses of NT$1.72 billion in the same period of 2023.
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