LONGi Posts ¥70.3B Revenue and Narrows Losses by ¥2.2B as BC Cells and Energy Storage Underpin Resilience Through the Cycle

Behind the ¥70.3B Revenue: A 'Loss-Narrowing' Signal Amid the PV Winter

The photovoltaic industry is still enduring its longest-ever capacity shakeout cycle, yet LONGi Green Energy's 2024 scorecard has offered the market a glimmer of warmth. The company achieved full-year revenue of ¥70.3 billion with a net loss of approximately ¥6.4 billion — still a loss-making report, but one that represents a dramatic ¥2.2 billion reduction in losses compared with the previous year. Against a backdrop of industry-wide distress, this qualifies as a notable achievement.

In his annual letter to shareholders, Chairman Zhong Baoshen wrote that the industry is in "the darkest stretch of the tunnel," but expressed firm conviction that "the light at the end of the tunnel is already visible." The significance of this letter lies not only in its effort to sustain shareholder confidence but also in the clear strategic judgment LONGi has articulated regarding its technology roadmap and business positioning.

BC Technology Delivers on Its Premium, Validating a 'Long-Termist' Bet

When LONGi formally designated BC (back-contact) cells as the company's future technology direction in late 2023, industry debate was fierce. At the time, the TOPCon route was in the spotlight with massive capacity ramp-ups underway, while BC cells — with their higher process complexity and greater mass-production challenges — were dismissed by many peers as a distant prospect.

However, 2024 market data is vindicating LONGi's choice. LONGi's BC modules have consistently commanded a significant premium in end markets, particularly in distributed PV and overseas high-end segments, where BC products' superior conversion efficiency and aesthetics have driven proactive customer adoption. At a time when TOPCon product prices have fallen below cost and the entire industry is trapped in a "lose money on every unit sold" predicament, BC's pricing power represents a tangible competitive moat.

In his shareholder letter, Zhong specifically emphasized that BC technology is not merely an efficiency improvement but a "platform-level technological transformation." The back-contact architecture of BC cells can continuously integrate new process enhancements, and its efficiency ceiling is far higher than that of the TOPCon route. LONGi has already broken world records multiple times in BC cell laboratory efficiency, and mass-production efficiency is ramping rapidly.

On the capacity front, LONGi has built and continues to expand BC cell mass-production scale, with yields and costs optimizing rapidly along the learning curve. The narrowing of losses in 2024 is partly attributable to the rising share of BC products and the resulting structural improvement in profitability.

Energy Storage: A Strategic Leap from 'Addition' to 'Multiplication'

If BC technology represents LONGi's vertical deepening within its core PV business, then its energy storage push embodies the strategic ambition of horizontal expansion.

In his shareholder letter, Zhong defined energy storage as the company's "multiplication business" — not simply adding incremental revenue, but creating a synergistic amplification effect with the core PV operations. Under the macro trend of global energy transition, "PV + storage" has become the standard configuration for renewable energy projects, and pure module suppliers are being supplanted by integrated "PV-plus-storage solution providers."

LONGi's energy storage strategy focuses on large-scale ground-mounted power plants and commercial-industrial storage scenarios. By deeply integrating its PV module advantages with energy storage systems, the company delivers a complete value chain — from power generation to power storage — to customers. This model not only raises the per-project ticket size but, more importantly, strengthens customer stickiness and creates differentiated competitive advantages.

In 2024, the global energy storage market continued its rapid expansion, with China's storage installations growing more than 40% year-on-year. Although LONGi was not the earliest entrant, its brand equity, channel network, and R&D synergies have driven impressive growth in energy storage, which is fast becoming a vital second growth curve for the company's future revenue.

Accelerating Industry Shakeout: The Leader's Game of Endurance

To fully appreciate the deeper implications of LONGi's annual report, it must be viewed within the context of the industry's macro cycle.

From 2023 to 2024, the PV industry endured a brutal price war driven by severe overcapacity. Prices across all four major segments — polysilicon, wafers, cells, and modules — were slashed by half or more. A large number of second- and third-tier companies fell into production shutdowns, layoffs, and even bankruptcy. Even an industry leader like LONGi was not immune, recording losses for two consecutive years.

But as Zhong noted, the industry shakeout is accelerating. The exit of outdated capacity, the end of irrational expansion, and policy-level efforts to restore industry order are all building momentum for the next upcycle. In this process, companies with technological leadership, financial safety margins, and global channel networks will be the first to emerge from the tunnel.

While LONGi's balance sheet has come under pressure, the company has maintained relatively healthy cash flow through rigorous capital expenditure controls, inventory optimization, and operational efficiency gains. The ¥70.3 billion revenue scale itself demonstrates that LONGi's market position and shipment capability have not been fundamentally shaken by the industry winter.

Reading Between the Lines of the Shareholder Letter

Zhong Baoshen's shareholder letter has sparked extensive discussion within the industry. Unlike some corporate leaders who opt to accentuate the positive and gloss over difficulties during tough times, Zhong candidly acknowledged the industry's predicament and the company's near-term challenges while devoting substantial space to articulating LONGi's strategic resolve and technological conviction.

Several key judgments in the letter deserve attention:

First, he believes the PV industry's cyclical bottom is very close, and 2025 could bring a substantive improvement in supply-demand dynamics.

Second, he firmly holds that BC technology will become the mainstream technology route for next-generation PV cells, and LONGi's early positioning in this direction will fully deliver dividends within the next two to three years.

Third, he defined the company's competitive strategy as "refusing to participate in price wars devoid of technological substance," instead relying on technological differentiation and product premiums to navigate the cycle.

Whether these judgments will prove correct remains to be validated by time and the market. But at the very least, LONGi is demonstrating a level of strategic clarity befitting its status as an industry leader.

Outlook: Can 2025 Mark the Exit from the Tunnel?

Looking ahead to 2025, the PV industry's key variables are the speed of capacity shakeout and the resilience of end-market demand.

On the supply side, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other agencies have introduced multiple policies to restrict the expansion of outdated capacity, and industry self-regulation mechanisms are gradually taking shape. The exit of numerous small and mid-sized players will free up market space for leading companies.

On the demand side, global PV installation demand continues to grow, with emerging markets in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Latin America experiencing particularly strong momentum, providing Chinese PV companies with vast incremental opportunities. Meanwhile, China's domestic distributed PV market continues to expand with policy support, and BC products' advantages in this segment are poised for further amplification.

For LONGi, the key objectives for 2025 are: continued volume ramp and premium expansion for BC products, a scale breakthrough in energy storage, and a return to profitability ahead of the industry recovery. If all three goals are achieved, the "light at the end of the tunnel" that Zhong Baoshen described will no longer be merely a metaphor.

The industry winter will eventually pass, but those who reach the spring will be the companies that held to the right course in the darkest hour. LONGi's annual report may well be the last examination paper submitted in the darkness before dawn.