China's five biggest PV makers all lost money in H1
Longi, TCL Zhonghuan, GCL, Daqo and Xinte all posted H1 2026 net losses. Longi's widened 43.4% to CNY 3.68 billion on revenue down 17.6%.
China's five biggest upstream PV manufacturers all lost money in the first half of 2026. Longi, TCL Zhonghuan, GCL Technology, Daqo New Energy and Xinte Energy each reported an attributable net loss, according to results summarised by pv magazine on 31 August 2026. Longi's loss widened 43.4% to CNY 3.68 billion on revenue of CNY 27.05 billion, down 17.6% year on year.
H1 2026 results at a glance
| Company | H1 2026 revenue and net result | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Longi | Revenue CNY 27.05bn, down 17.6%; net loss CNY 3.68bn, 43.4% wider; operating cash outflow CNY 5.82bn | pv magazine, 31 Aug 2026 |
| Longi shipments | 48.91 GW wafers (18.98 GW external), 29.93 GW modules; overseas module sales up more than 26%, over 65% of module revenue | pv magazine, 31 Aug 2026 |
| TCL Zhonghuan | Revenue CNY 14.31bn, up 6.8%; net loss CNY 3.20bn, 24.5% narrower; operating cash flow positive at CNY 321m | pv magazine, 31 Aug 2026 |
| TCL Zhonghuan shipments | 53.9 GW wafers; module shipments up 29%; cell and module revenue up about 47% to CNY 5.29bn | pv magazine, 31 Aug 2026 |
| GCL Technology | Revenue CNY 5.78bn, broadly flat; net loss CNY 2.08bn, 17.2% wider; gross loss narrowed 38.1% to CNY 434m | pv magazine, 31 Aug 2026 |
| GCL polysilicon economics | 480,000 t/year granular capacity at end-June; average selling price CNY 31.97/kg vs cash cost CNY 25.23/kg | pv magazine, 31 Aug 2026 |
| Daqo New Energy | Revenue CNY 623m, down 57.6%; net loss CNY 1.60bn, 39.1% wider; about CNY 1.03bn inventory impairment | pv magazine, 31 Aug 2026 |
| Daqo polysilicon economics | Production up 71.3% to 87,077 t; sales down 57.4% to 19,672 t; ASP CNY 30.63/kg vs cash cost CNY 34.75/kg; about CNY 10.42bn cash, no interest-bearing debt | pv magazine, 31 Aug 2026 |
| Xinte Energy | Revenue CNY 10.15bn, up 38.9%; net loss CNY 212m, 17.3% narrower; gross margin 13.13% vs 9.14% | pv magazine, 31 Aug 2026 |
| Market context | Global PV additions forecast at 638 GW in 2026; oversupply described as severe and persistent at every manufacturing stage | Intertek CEA via pv magazine, 28 Aug 2026 |
Why loss-making factories still matter to a buyer in the Gulf
Because the price you pay for a module is currently below what it costs the industry to make it, in parts of the chain. Daqo's average polysilicon selling price of CNY 30.63 per kilogram sat below its own cash production cost of CNY 34.75 per kilogram — the company was losing money on every kilogram it sold, before depreciation. GCL was above water on cash cost at CNY 31.97 against CNY 25.23, and still reported a CNY 2.08 billion net loss.
The response to that is not always a further price cut. Daqo raised production 71.3% and cut sales 57.4%, which is a producer choosing to stockpile rather than sell into a bad market. That is the behaviour that ends a price slide, and it is why the loss reports read as a floor signal rather than a discount signal.
What is diverging inside the numbers
Two of the five are stabilising. TCL Zhonghuan grew revenue 6.8%, narrowed its loss by a quarter and held operating cash flow positive. Xinte narrowed its loss to CNY 212 million on revenue up 38.9%, with gross margin rising to 13.13% from 9.14%. Both did it by changing mix rather than by winning on price — TCL Zhonghuan pushed cell and module revenue up about 47%, Xinte leaned on project construction and electrical equipment including storage.
Longi went the other way on the headline but not on the strategy: overseas module sales rose more than 26% and international markets now account for over 65% of module revenue, and it signed more than 3 GWh of storage orders in the half. Export markets and storage are where all five are looking, which is a straightforward statement about where Chinese domestic demand is not.
The SOLTECH view
The honest reading is that this is a supply-chain story with a delayed and muted effect on anything in the UAE, and we would rather say that than dress it up.
- For a villa owner: do not wait for prices to fall further. The temptation reading these numbers is to postpone. We think that is wrong. Modules are already a minority of a residential system cost in the UAE — labour, mounting, inverters, electrical work, DEWA-side compliance and design take the larger share — so even a further 10% off the module line moves the total by low single digits. Meanwhile the utility tariff you are avoiding is not falling. The cost breakdown for a Dubai villa makes the proportions explicit.
- For a commercial or industrial site: this is a genuine buying window, with a caveat. Module cost is a much larger share of a multi-megawatt C and I project, so upstream distress does reach your capex. The caveat is counterparty risk. A 25-year performance warranty from a manufacturer with a widening loss and negative operating cash flow is worth less than the same document from a profitable one. Longi's CNY 5.82 billion operating cash outflow is not a reason to avoid Longi; it is a reason to read warranty terms as a credit question rather than a technical one.
- For investors: the interesting number is 638 GW, not the losses. Intertek CEA's 2026 additions forecast, with manufacturing capacity exceeding it by wide margins at every stage, describes a structural condition rather than a cycle. Persistent oversupply keeps installed cost low and project returns intact, and it keeps supplier consolidation on the table. Both matter to a 15-year ESCO model, and they pull in opposite directions.
Where we would push back on the framing in most coverage: an industry losing money is routinely reported as an industry in trouble. For a buyer it is the opposite, up to the point where suppliers start failing. Nobody has a public model of where that point is, and we are not going to invent one. The measurable thing to watch is cash, not losses — Daqo holding about CNY 10.42 billion with no interest-bearing debt can absorb a lot of bad quarters, and that is the number to check before signing a long warranty. See also our note on the August 2026 TOPCon cell price move, which sits at the other end of the same chain.
Sources: pv magazine — Chinese PV Industry Brief: another 5 major solar manufacturers announce H1 losses (31 August 2026), EnergyTrend — LONGi, Aiko and HY Solar report H1 2026 financial results (31 August 2026), pv magazine — global PV additions forecast to reach 638 GW in 2026, Intertek CEA (28 August 2026), Longi — investor and news releases.