Chinese PV Industry Brief: Inverter manufacturers post mixed H1 results as storage gains ground

Chinese PV Industry Brief: Inverter manufacturers post mixed H1 results as storage gains ground

Summary

Chinese inverter manufacturers reported mixed first-half 2026 results, as energy storage emerged as a key growth driver, offsetting weaker demand across some traditional inverter segments.

Chinese PV Industry Brief: Inverter manufacturers post mixed H1 results as storage gains ground
PV market
Sungrow reported first-half 2026 revenue of CNY 30.91 billion ($4.34 billion), down 29.0% year on year, while net profit attributable to shareholders fell 32.0% to CNY 5.26 billion. Adjusted net profit declined 43.0% to CNY 4.28 billion. Operating cash flow, however, rose 8.8% to CNY 3.74 billion, while gross margin increased by 1.56 percentage points to 35.92%. Energy storage system revenue fell 13.2% to CNY 15.46 billion but accounted for 50% of total sales, overtaking PV inverters and other power conversion products, where revenue declined 19.2% to CNY 12.39 billion. Storage gross margin fell by 7.49 percentage points to 32.43%, while the inverter segment’s margin rose by 6.98 points to 42.72%. Overseas markets accounted for 73.4% of total revenue. At a post-results investor briefing, Sungrow said first-half inverter shipments totaled about 66 GW, down from 76 GW a year earlier, while energy storage system shipments rose about 28% to 25 GWh.
Deye reported first-half 2026 revenue of CNY 10.64 billion, up 92.2% year on year, while net profit attributable to shareholders jumped 78.5% to CNY 2.72 billion. Adjusted net profit rose 75.8% to CNY 2.57 billion, while operating cash flow increased 176.7% to CNY 4.19 billion. Inverter revenue climbed 94.1% to CNY 5.13 billion, while energy storage battery pack revenue surged 244.1% to CNY 4.89 billion, leaving the two businesses with nearly equal shares of sales. Deye sold about 1.15 million inverters during the period, including 570,300 residential storage inverters and 60,500 commercial and industrial (C&I) storage inverters. The company attributed the growth mainly to continued expansion in energy storage and greater synergies between its inverter and battery businesses.
Ginlong Technologies, which operates the Solis brand, reported first-half 2026 revenue of CNY 3.88 billion, up 2.3% year on year. Net profit attributable to shareholders fell 29.7% to CNY 423 million, while adjusted net profit declined 24.9% to CNY 412 million. Storage inverter revenue more than doubled to CNY 1.64 billion, up 106.7% and accounting for 42.2% of total sales. By contrast, grid-tied inverter revenue fell 42.0% to CNY 1.06 billion. Energy storage system revenue reached CNY 160 million, up sharply from a low base. Overseas revenue rose 31.6% to CNY 2.34 billion, representing 60.3% of total sales. Ginlong sold about 392,800 inverters during the period, reflecting the growing contribution of storage products and overseas markets to its sales mix.
GoodWe reported first-half 2026 revenue of CNY 6.25 billion, up 53.0% year on year, and returned to profitability with net profit attributable to shareholders of CNY 286 million, compared with a CNY 16.6 million loss a year earlier. Adjusted net profit reached CNY 284 million, while operating cash flow turned positive at CNY 152 million. The company sold about 540,200 inverters, comprising 358,500 grid-tied units and 181,700 storage inverters. Overseas markets accounted for about 66.5% of inverter sales. Energy storage battery shipments totaled about 2.40 GWh. GoodWe attributed its revenue growth and earnings recovery mainly to higher sales of storage batteries and storage inverters, underscoring the growing role of storage in its “source-grid-load-storage-intelligence” strategy.
Flat Glass Group reported first-half 2026 revenue of CNY 6.67 billion, down 13.8% year on year, and swung to a net loss of CNY 363 million from a CNY 261 million profit a year earlier. Adjusted net loss stood at CNY 376 million, while operating cash flow remained positive at CNY 1.34 billion. PV glass revenue fell 15.6% to CNY 5.86 billion, accounting for nearly 88% of total sales, as lower prices and weaker sales volumes weighed on the business. The segment’s gross margin fell to about 6.7% amid persistent industry oversupply and prices near cash-cost levels. Flat Glass also booked about CNY 201 million in asset impairment losses. Overseas revenue proved more resilient, rising 2.0% to CNY 2.37 billion and accounting for 35.6% of total sales.
Hangzhou First Applied Material reported first-half 2026 revenue of CNY 6.99 billion, down 12.2% year on year, while net profit attributable to shareholders surged 69.9% to CNY 842 million. Adjusted net profit rose 62.6% to CNY 730 million, while operating cash flow improved to CNY 1.28 billion from an CNY 889 million outflow a year earlier. The company sold about 1.22 billion square meters of PV encapsulant film, down 12.0%, while related revenue fell 15.0% to CNY 6.13 billion. Despite lower volumes and revenue, First Applied Material said profitability in its core encapsulant business improved significantly as industry competition eased, weaker suppliers exited the market, and sales of differentiated products increased. Its electronic materials businesses also continued to expand, providing a modest contribution to diversification.