Canadian Solar Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
May 18, 2023

There are 10 speakers on the call.

Operator

Greetings, and welcome to thank you for standing by. Welcome to Canadian Solar's First Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Melissa, and I will be your operator for today. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. Later, we will conduct a question and answer session.

Operator

As a reminder, this conference is being recorded for replay purposes. I would now like to turn the call over to Isabel Zhang, IR Director at Canadian Solar. Please go ahead.

Speaker 1

Thank you, operator, and welcome, everyone, to Canadian Solar's Q1 2023 conference call. Please note that we have provided slides to accompany today's conference call, which are available on Canadian Solar's Investor Relations website within the Events and Presentation section. Joining us today are Doctor. Sean Chew, Chairman and CEO Yan Zhuang, President of Canadian Solar's majority owned subsidiary CSI Solar Doctor. Huifeng Chang, Senior VP and CFO And Ismael Barreiro, Corporate VP and President of Canadian Solar's wholly owned subsidiary, Recurrent Energy, formerly Global Energy.

Speaker 1

All company executives will participate in the Q and A session after management's formal remarks. On this call, Sean will go over some key messages for the quarter. Yan and Ismael will respectively review the highlights of the CSI Solar and Recurrent Energy businesses, followed by Huifeng, who will go through the financial results. Sean will conclude the prepared remarks with the business outlook, after which we'll have time for questions. Before we begin, may I remind listeners that management's prepared remarks today as well as The answers to questions will contain forward looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties.

Speaker 1

The company claims the protection of the Safe Harbor for forward looking statements that is contained in the Private and Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ from management's current expectations. Any projections of the company's future Performance represent management's estimates as of today. Canadian Solar assumes no obligation to update these projections in the future unless otherwise required by applicable law. A more detailed discussion of the risks and uncertainties can be found in the company's annual report on Form 20 F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Speaker 1

Management's prepared remarks will be presented within the requirements of SEC Regulation G regarding Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or GAAP. Some financial information presented during the call will be provided on both a GAAP and a non GAAP basis. By disclosing certain non GAAP information, management intends and to establish operational goals. Non GAAP information should not be viewed by investors as a substitute for data prepared in accordance with GAAP. And now, I would like to turn the call over to Canadian Solar's Chairman and CEO, Doctor.

Speaker 1

Sean Chew. Sean, please go ahead.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Isabelle, and hi, everyone. Welcome and thanks for joining us today. Now please turn to Slide 3. We had a very strong start To the year, in what is typically a seasonally soft quarter, we delivered 6.1 gigawatt Our module shipments in Q1 was $1,700,000,000 in revenue And also a solid gross margin at 18.7%. Importantly, this was one of the strongest quarters in Canadian Solar's history In terms of underlying that problem, our team has done an excellent job In executing on our long term strategy, we continue to build Our technology, brand and customer relationships, this is Further strengthening our leadership position and driving high quality profitable growth.

Speaker 2

I'm very thankful to my global team for their focus and outstanding work. Please turn to Slide 4. Canadian Solar is a Canadian company Listed in the U. S, with a global manufacturing base predominantly in Asia, We proudly support customers across the world in their decarbonization efforts As we work to make a more sustainable world for future generation, This is our core motivation. We have developed some of the most Technology advanced and competitive clean energy solutions, And we care about doing business ethically, sourcing our materials responsibly I'm treating our employees fairly.

Speaker 2

We thrive in open and competitive Markets where our renewable product command a premium as we leverage Our competitive advantages, strong brand and long track record. For example, we are strongly committed to the U. S. Market where we have been Building our long term partnerships, we have delivered some of the most Iconic projects in the U. S.

Speaker 2

Market, such as the 1.4 gigawatt hours Queensland Storage Project in California. We are also excited about the 100 Megawatt Solar Virtual Power Purchase Agreement we recently signed in Texas with a consortium of 5 industry leaders in their respective fields. And now, we are also investing in U. S. Manufacturing, further contributing to local communities.

Speaker 2

Over the past week, we have been reviewing the most recent U. S. IRA guidance on domestic content as an initial assessment, We think it is encouraging that the guidance promotes investment in clean Energy capacity across the supply chain and provides incentives for both the demand and supply of clean energy. Our position is to continue to support and deliver value to our customers. Importantly, we believe that this guidance Removes our policy overhang from customers' standpoint.

Speaker 2

As a result, we think This will help them make more informed decisions and move faster in executing their growth plans. Please turn to the next slide. Finally, let me comment on the CSI Solar carve out IPO. The full financial audit have been completed and I have final on the numbers. We expect the updated CSI Solar prospectus to be published on the Shanghai Stock Exchange website soon.

Speaker 2

We hope the IPO can be completed over in the next few weeks before the end of Q2. With that, let me now turn over to Yan, who will provide more details on our CSI Solar business. Yan, please go ahead.

Speaker 3

Thanks, John. Please turn to Slide 6. In Q1, the CSI Solar division delivered 6.1 gigawatt of solar module shipments and $1,700,000,000 in revenue. Gross margin expanded to 18.5%, which represents 110 basis points improvement in profitability quarter over quarter And almost 400 basis points improvement year over year. At operating profit level, Our improvement is even more significant.

Speaker 3

Our operating profit grew over 5 times year over year, With operating margin almost touching 10% during the seasonally soft Q1, I have to say that I'm quite proud of our teams for having achieved this, And it was not easy. Let me go over some key drivers and market dynamics. Please turn to Slide 7. On the solar module business, costs continue to come down, particularly input costs. Polysilicon is the main driver of the decline.

Speaker 3

Although, as we expected, Polysilicon prices are coming down gradually. On the manufacturing cost side, our processing costs are also coming down, although slower as the expansion of our upstream manufacturing in ingot wafer and sell is mostly going to happen in the second half of the year. With greater vertical integration, we expect to further optimize our costs and gain greater control over our supply chain. On the market side, we see significant demand up from customers across Nearly all channels and regions, customers and projects that were held us Over the past couple of years, due to the price inflation are starting to come back given the stronger project economies Economics. This means we're starting to see module prices come down, although also gradually, Given the strong demand and steady trajectory in polysilicon pricing.

Speaker 3

So all these are contributing positively to our margin, even though there are many moving parts. Note that prices remain divergent between the U. S. And the rest of the world, which follow A similar trend to what we see in Europe as strong on the chart in the middle. Below the gross margin line, Unit shipping costs continued to decline for us, helping drive operating leverage and further expansion in operating profitability.

Speaker 3

By now, I think we have pretty much reached the bottom in terms of shipping costs declines. We now expect unit logistic costs to remain relatively stable going forward. So that means while it will grow with volumes, the unit cost should remain relatively unchanged. Please turn to Slide 8. Moving on to our utility scale storage business.

Speaker 3

As we previously communicated, the first half of twenty twenty three is expected To be a relatively small contributor to our utility scale project deliveries as we transition From a white label third party product to our own manufactured proprietary battery storage product. From a development and execution standpoint, our team is preparing for a busy second half of the year, led by deliveries of our Solbank product. The fact that lithium carbonate prices have fallen by over 60% since the peak in Q4 of last year is also a demand driver. On the commercial side, our teams have been actively signing new contracts. Our CSI Energy Storage team expanded our contracted revenues from approximately $1,000,000,000 at the end of January to $1,300,000,000 at the end of March.

Speaker 3

And this number continues to grow, led by our deep understanding of the market and long term customer relationships. For example, yesterday, we announced A follow on transaction with APA Power, a Blackstone portfolio company. We're expanding our relationship with Aper Power from 4.90 Megawatt Hours to 8 50 Megawatt Hours, And we are expanding from an initial project in California to more projects in Texas. This is typical as most of our customers are repeat clients that come back to us after our successful initial collaboration. Since we started our turnkey energy storage business, Our execution has been one of the best in the industry.

Speaker 3

Please turn to Slide 9. On the residential energy storage side, we continue to make good progress on our EPQ product. We are delivering significant growth and continue to capture new contract opportunities. DP Cube is an all in 1 LFP based residential energy storage solution with integrated hybrid inverter. The product is both AC and DC coupled, with an AC round trip efficiency of just under 94%.

Speaker 3

A single system can deliver 7.6 kilowatts of continuous power with solar PV and has a storage capacity from 10 kilowatt hours up to 20 kilowatt hours. As you can see in the picture on the slide, we designed the product in a Lego like manner, Such that we can effortlessly add more EP cube stacks up to 6 in parallel. This means The largest system can reach 45 kilowatts in output power and nearly 120 kilowatt hours in energy storage. This is more than enough for most high load households. Importantly, Each of the tubes we less than £70, which makes the physical work of transportation and installation much easier.

Speaker 3

The commissioning of the EPQ is designed to be seamless Using a mobile phone app with step by step instructions, a first time installer could do it within 30 minutes and much faster in subsequent installations. In addition, we offer 1 of the strongest wearing teeth in the market With at least 80% capacity up to 10 years or 6,000 cycles, our distributor And installer network has embraced our new solution, and we expect to achieve around 100 Megawatt Hour in shipments in 2023. We will be showcasing the EP tube again

Speaker 4

at the

Speaker 3

Intra Solar Conference in Munich next month, and I encourage you to see it for yourself. Now let me pass it on to Ismail. Ismail, please go ahead.

Speaker 5

Thank you, Ian. Please turn to Slide 10. First, let me say a few words on the rebranding of our Global Solar and Battery Energy Storage Project Development Business. In April, we rebranded our business From Global Energy to Recurrent Energy. Recurrent Energy was previously our North American utility scale development business.

Speaker 5

Going forward, it will encompass our entire Global Development and Services businesses. The goal of this rebranding was to strengthen our brand as one of the world's largest energy development platforms and unified under a strong line. Moving on to our quarterly performance, Q1 was a small quarter for us as expected due to the timing of project sales. We monetize around 5 megawatts of products in Japan and delivered $20,000,000 in revenue with a 36% gross margin. As we talked about on the prior call, we are more proactively holding projects longer term in certain markets such as Europe and the U.

Speaker 5

S. We believe we can capture higher value being the long term asset owner and operator. So we continue to transition from developing and selling projects, which is inherently lumpy. And while we've had a few smaller quarters recently, we are in the process of closing a major project sale. As a result, we expect Q2 to be the largest quarter of the year for recovery in energy.

Speaker 5

Sean will provide more color on the guidance. Next slide please. As of March 31, our total pipeline stood 25 gigawatts for solar and 47 gigawatt hours for battery storage projects. This number is unchanged from 2 months ago, Not because we've ceased to originate and develop our new pipeline, but rather because we are rebalancing our pipeline by reducing the weight of the Latin America region and increasing the weight of the EMEA region, where we added 0.5 gigawatt of solar development pipeline in the last 2 months. Our pipeline is large and mature, especially given the 14 gigawatts of solar and 12 gigawatt hours of batteries energy storage interconnections.

Speaker 5

We are being increasingly selective on how we enlarge our portfolio and how we add the most value. We are also focusing our resources towards executing these projects Moving projects from advanced pipeline to backlog and construction. Please turn to Slide 12. Longer term, as we've discussed, our strategy is to retain greater assets ownership in select markets such as North America and Europe, to increase the revenues generated through recurring income, such as power sales, Operations and maintenance and asset management income. This is partially reflected on the shifting of resources towards execution of projects as opposed to the pure development and sale model.

Speaker 5

This means that instead of monetizing the projects in North America and Europe in a series Of one off transactions, we'll monetize these assets over 30 or 40 years periods. This gives us higher visibility on cash flows as 70% to 80% of these cash flows are fully contracted, including the Energy Storage projects. It also means that in the short term, we may see lower revenues. However, the aggregate value retained by recurring energy will be larger and more sustainable than under the previous model. We should start seeing the positive impact as these projects are built out and start operating in 2024 2025.

Speaker 5

Now let me pass it on to Yifan, who will go through the financial results in greater detail. Qifeng, please go ahead.

Speaker 4

Thanks, Ismael. Please turn to Slide 13. In Q1, we delivered $1,700,000,000 in revenue, up 36% year over year. Gross margin was 18.7 percent, a sequential increase of 100 basis points, driven by lower manufacturing costs that were partially offset by lower module averaging selling price. Selling and distribution expenses in Q1 declined by 30% quarter over quarter after 24% sequential decline the previous quarter.

Speaker 4

As Yan mentioned, shipping costs declined further. At this point, we don't think there is much room for further declines, We expect the unit costs to remain relatively stable. General and administrative Expenses declined by 12% quarter over quarter due to OpEx efficiencies and the absence of impairment costs. Overall, total operating expenses were down 19% in Q1 sequentially After a 22% decline in Q4, total OpEx fell to 10.1% of total revenue. As previously guided, We are starting to see operating leverage with economies of scale and normalizing logistics costs.

Speaker 4

Net foreign exchange and the derivative loss in the Q1 was $30,000,000 mainly driven by the weaker U. S. Dollar. Total net income was $107,000,000 With net income attributable to Canadian Solar shareholders at $84,000,000 or diluted EPS of $1.19 Now turning to cash flow and the balance sheet. Next slide, please.

Speaker 4

In Q1, we generated approximately $60,000,000 in operating cash and spent around $230,000,000 in CapEx. Our full year 2023 CapEx expectation remains unchanged at approximately $1,500,000,000 We ended the period with a healthy cash balance of $2,100,000,000 and a total debt of $3,000,000,000 Our leverage, As measured by, net debt to EBITDA, excluding restricted cash, was stable at 2.8x. Lastly, let me make a couple of housekeeping comments On the CSI Solar IPO, we expect to incur a onetime IPO related stock incentive expense contingent upon the successful completion of the IPO, which we expect to occur in June next month. The full year impact is expected to be approximately $50,000,000 or approximately $40,000,000 after allocation to Also note that with the successful completion of the CS ISO IPO, Net income attributable to non controlling interests will increase given that minority investors in CSI Solar will account for a greater ownership share. Please consider this in your models as a delta between total net income and net income Attributable to Canadian Solar's shareholders will be greater after the IPO.

Speaker 4

And now let me pass it back to Sean, We have concluded with our guidance and the business outlook. John, please go ahead.

Speaker 2

Thanks, Huifeng. Let's turn to Slide 15. For the Q2 of 2023, We expect solar module shipment by CSI Solar to be in the range of 8.1 to 8.4 Gigawatt, including approximately 60 Megawatt to recurrent energy projects. Total revenue are expected to be in the range of $2,400,000,000 to $2,600,000,000 Gross margin is expected to be between 19% to 21%, reflecting further margin improvement From low cost, a higher contribution from recurrent energy, partially offset by slightly lower solar module ASPs. For the full year of 2023, We reiterate CSI Solar's total solar module shipment guidance to be in the range of 30 to 35 gigawatt.

Speaker 2

DSO Solar's Battery storage shipments are expected to be between 1.8 to 2 gigawatt hours, Reflecting this year's transition from white label to own manufactured products, As explained by Yan earlier, we expect full year 2023 revenue to be between $9,000,000,000 to $9,500,000,000 towards the upper end of our previous guidance range. As we Come out of a challenging market period, our business and outlook Strong as we continue to focus on our long term market position to deliver sustainable and profitable growth. With that, I would like to open the call to your questions. Operator?

Operator

Thank you. Our first question comes from the line of Colin Rusch with Oppenheimer. Please proceed with your question.

Speaker 6

It's kind of 2 part question related to polysilicon pricing and availability. You've got a pretty wide range of shipment guidance for the year. I just want to understand how much of that is supply related and how much of that is considerations around demand? Then we'd love to understand the margin trajectory as poly prices continue to go lower, how much incremental leverage you think you actually have on the margin side?

Speaker 2

Hi, Collin. Thanks for the question. I would like Yan to answer this question. Yan?

Speaker 3

Hi. Hey, Colin, this is Yan. And so you have two parts of the question. One is

Speaker 4

The volume

Speaker 3

and the shipment volume range. For that question, I would say, we actually have a pretty high Capacitization rate. So for the year, so with our volume guidance, it is more about Available effective capacity. And on margin side, with the silicon price going down, we always as we expected, We also we still believe the same way that silicon price will continue to go down, but in a gradual manner. And module price will also go down, but we believe that module price will go down at a slower pace than the supply chain cost.

Speaker 3

So we're confident that over the year over the course of the year, our margin will continue

Speaker 5

to improve.

Speaker 3

So we're confident on this whole year's performance on margin side.

Speaker 6

Okay. Thanks so much. And then just on the sales side And how to think about that expense? How much of that sales expense is fixed and how much is variable at this point? And how should we think about that kind of fixed Yes, yes, on the OpEx line.

Speaker 5

John?

Speaker 2

Go ahead, Ian.

Speaker 6

Sorry.

Speaker 3

So Yes, the sales expenses actually we believe is going to actually on the downside trend because the shipping cost has reached To a low level and also with the volume increase Q2Q, we believe it will help us to dilute Some part of the overhead and expenses. So we don't expect any upside on the Sales and distribution expenses.

Speaker 6

Okay. I'll try to clarify that offline. Thanks a lot guys.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Philip Shen with Roth MKM. Please proceed with your question.

Speaker 7

Everyone, thanks for taking my questions. Now that the domestic content at our guidance has been released, Can you talk to us about your U. S. Manufacturing plants? Do you expect to ramp up cell and module capacity?

Speaker 7

And Can you talk to us about what's the total capacity timing and any other detail around that? And then also As it relates to your utility scale module customers in the U. S, Do you expect many of them to not pursue the domestic content ITC adder given the complexities? Or what do you think the impact of the guidance has been thus far with your customer base? Thanks.

Speaker 2

Hi, Philip. This is Sean. So let me answer this question. Our plan for U. S.

Speaker 2

Manufacturing, as we explained in the past, What goes through the order of solar module first and then the upstream Now with the release of the new guidance on the domestic content, I think We are still going to follow the same pattern, which is 1st solar modules, then either solar cell Our solar wafers, we are pretty advanced in our U. S.-based Solar module manufacturing plant already. I think in the next while, little while, we are going to make a Clear announcement about that. So please stay tuned. Now the second question It's about our customer.

Speaker 2

To say the truth, we're still waiting for our customer to come back with their reaction After this new guidance on the domestic content. So far, we haven't I heard any customer to back off from their Purchase intention for CSI's U. S.-made solar module yet, But we haven't asked them what are they going to how are they going to handle The domestic content, that's a question we're still waiting for our customer to give us feedback.

Speaker 7

Okay. Thanks for that color, Sean. And then shifting to the China IPO, it Sounds like you're expecting that to be finished in June. I was wondering if you could give us a little more color on how that process is going. Is there a risk that that Could be delayed beyond June.

Speaker 7

And can you guys fund U. S. Capacity expansion with China IPO proceeds. Thanks.

Speaker 2

Well, this is Sean again. At this moment, we don't see any particular risk of Delaying the China IPO after June, behind June. However, as you know, IPO is always There are always some possibility of unexpected events, Even some market uncertainties. So we can't say that for sure. Now the second question, We are not going to fund the U.

Speaker 2

S. Manufacturing through the proceed From the China IPO, for any IPO or public fundraising in the stock market in China, You have to specify the project and we already we have already specified the project. In other words, we have already specified how we are going to use the U. S. No, I use the proceeds from the China IPO, which will be For China project and also for some of our operating cash requirement.

Speaker 2

The U. S. Manufacturing plants are going to fund it with other sources of funding.

Speaker 7

Great. Thanks for the clarity on that, Sean. And then one final question. As I'm coming back to the domestic content and U. S.

Speaker 7

Manufacturing in general, After you guys ramp up U. S. Manufacturing, as you go through your cost structure, Have you guys been able to determine what percentage of your overall U. S. Expected module cost structure could be U.

Speaker 7

S. Content versus Non U. S. And then what is your estimated cost per watt using Southeast Asia cell? Thanks.

Speaker 2

Wow. Huifeng, do you want to handle this question?

Speaker 4

Hi, Phil. First of all, we our U. S. Module Actually, we will maximize the sourcing in the U. S.

Speaker 4

For other components. 2nd, We are still working on the details, put all the cost numbers of different components It's still a moving part. And also, we are talking to our customers. We have received a very, very strong Interest and forward orders for our module, but also many of our customers, they are willing to place We have paid the forward payment to partially fund our manufacturing facility. So we look forward to next few weeks New developments and also working with all other components manufacturers coming out of the U.

Speaker 4

S. And eventually to reach the goal for U. S.-made solar modules. Thank you.

Speaker 7

Great. Thank you, Wei Feng. Thank you, Sean. I'll pass it on.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Brian Lee with Goldman Sachs. Please proceed with your question.

Speaker 8

Hi, everyone. This is Miguel on for Brian. My first question was just on The guidance, so you raised the low end of the revenue guidance this year, but you kept the module and battery shipment guidance unchanged. What's giving you the confidence to tighten the range for the year? Is it just better expected pricing?

Speaker 8

Is it better timing on the projects business? Just Hoping to get some color there. Thank you.

Speaker 2

Hi, Isabelle. You are our guidance Master, do you want to answer this question?

Speaker 1

Sure. Hi, Mikhail. This is Isabelle. So we had previously given a pretty wide range for the revenue guidance considering certain uncertainties on both volume and pricing side. At this point, we've left the module shipment number unchanged.

Speaker 1

But overall, we think that our ability or confidence to reach the higher end of our previous guidance, $9,000,000,000 to $9,500,000,000 is much higher and therefore that is the reason why we narrowed and increased the overall guidance range to the upper end of where we were before.

Speaker 8

Okay. Thanks. I appreciate that. And then just a follow-up question on the domestic content. I just wanted to touch a bit more On your interpretation today on that guidance, regarding the details, it talks about various sub components, if you will, And helping customers meet a minimum threshold.

Speaker 8

So for module assembly, if you were to do that in the U. S, how much Would you have to set up in terms of new domestic supply for things like aluminum frames, glass, back sheets? And does it change at all how you're thinking about setting up the manufacturing footprint in the U. S? Thanks.

Speaker 2

Hi, this is Sean speaking. First of all, I want to make a comment that We are very open minded. We are looking into all possibilities. We are looking at all the subcomponent Of the solar module, which includes solar cell, but also include other BAW materials. We are Actively accelerating which components can be produced in U.

Speaker 2

S. Now, Huifeng, you want to share more color?

Speaker 4

Yes. Actually, For tractor, all the BOM materials such as aluminum frame and also the solar glass, Relative to sale factory, which probably requires a longer period of time to receive all the permits, etcetera, All the BOM material are much easier to set up, especially solar glass and aluminum frame. We have glass Factory is planned in the U. S. And also a lot of aluminum related factory in the U.

Speaker 4

S. So we are Not only seeing that all these manufacturers, they are moving into the solar supply chain, but also We are talking to them regarding partnership. So it will be a much clearer road map after IRA guidance published earlier. And so I think in the next few weeks, we'll get a lot of the answers were much more clear. Thank you.

Speaker 8

Okay, great. Thanks. I'll pass it on.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Puneet Sotish with Wells Fargo. Please proceed with your question.

Speaker 9

Thanks. Maybe just one more follow-up on the domestic content guidelines. It sounds like now Maybe you're considering cell capacity in the U. S. After modules.

Speaker 9

Can you just maybe give us a ballpark of how long it takes to build a

Speaker 2

That's a very good question. I think The size selection and all the permitting will probably take half year to 1 year And then it will probably be another 2 year before we can We can bring in machines for a Northern Solar Sail Facility because in the good old days, Back 10 years ago or 15 years ago, sometime we can just find a old semiconductor fab and then convert it into our solar cell facility. By now, the Solar cell manufacturing line become so special. And for example, the tube Diffusion machine or PECVD machine is still poor. Usually, it contains 6 tubes Arranging vertically and each tube can take in the 2 10 millimeter wafers, for them that machine is pretty high.

Speaker 2

And then plus all the facilities So I don't think any of the modern solar cell supply and manufacturers I'm going to convert any old buildings for today's solar cell line. So the building, Facility and power supply, everything will probably have to be built from 0. So altogether, I would say Maybe 3 years minimum to bring the state of our solar cell facility Online. So it takes time.

Speaker 9

Okay, got it. No, that's very helpful. And then maybe if you can help us understand roughly the CapEx that's tied to the recent March 2024 expansions. How much of that CapEx will be spent in 2023 versus 2024? Is that included in your $1,500,000,000 of CapEx Guidance for 2023, the portion that would be spent in 2023?

Speaker 2

Yes. Our new Plan, basically, we're going to build 30 gigawatt new solar wafer facility. It's an ingot and wafer facility. I believe altogether, it will take just over RMB10 1,000,000,000, which is maybe about US1.2 dollars to US1.3 dollars CapEx in total. Now that money will be spread out In 2023, 2024 and some in 2025 because the typical Payment term for the machines are 2 years after the machine delivery.

Speaker 2

So I would expect it to be that CapEx to be spent in 20 3, 20 4 and also 20 5.

Speaker 8

Okay. Thank you.

Speaker 2

Thank you.

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our time allowed for questions. I'll turn the floor back to CEO, Sean Kew, for any final comments.

Speaker 2

Okay. Thank you. Now thanks for everyone for joining us today and also for your continued support. If you have any questions or would like to set up a call, please contact our Investor Relations team.

Operator

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

Powered by Quartr
Earnings Conference Call
Canadian Solar Q1 2023
00:00 / 00:00