Solar maker Risen Energy makes turnaround from losses to profits

Risen Energy Co., Ltd, one of China’s largest solar makers, said on Friday that its first-quarter result may swing to a net profit this year from a loss of 20.5 million yuan during the same period a year earlier.

The Zhejiang-based company raked in 5.26 billion yuan in 2015, up 78 percent compared to a year earlier. Its net profit rose more than 380 percent to 320 million yuan during the same period, according to Risen Energy’s financial report.

The company has been building solar power stations and expanding its presence in overseas markets such as Italy, Germany, Romania and India.

Though export of solar products of Risen Energy has been expanding 50 percent to 1.45 billion yuan last year, its major business still lies in the domestic market, accounting for 72.5 percent of its total business, the Chinese photovoltaic company said.

The Chinese company is striving to find ways to diversify sales and build its own power projects, after the export-oriented industry suffered huge losses in overseas markets.

Many Chinese panel makers, among the world's biggest producers, were lured back home since 2013 by the government's plans to expand the solar manufacturing industry amid mounting pressure caused by air pollution.

China, the world’s largest energy consumer, installed a total capacity of 43 million kilowatts of photovoltaic power plants by the end of 2015 and the country aims to install about 150 gigawatts of solar PV by 2020.