Source: Yujian Energy
Shuangliang Eco-Energy, despite halving its fundraising and abandoning silicon wafer projects, managed to turn a profit in the third quarter but remains burdened by a staggering 81.91% debt ratio.
In October, amid the autumn ambiance of Jiangyin, 74-year-old Miao Shuangda gazes thoughtfully out of the window of Shuangliang Eco-Energy's headquarters in the Lingang Development Zone. Forty years ago, he embarked on an entrepreneurial journey with just 9,300 yuan, transforming a small town factory into a powerhouse spanning energy-saving and photovoltaic sectors valued in the hundreds of billions. As the company flourished, he gradually passed the baton to his son Miao Wenbin, hoping for a peaceful retirement. However, the cyclical fluctuations in the photovoltaic industry unexpectedly placed unprecedented pressure on the scion of this Jiangyin tycoon.
This pressure is acutely depicted in the third-quarter financial report and financing adjustment announcement released on the evening of October 23.
On that evening, the once-promising photovoltaic "dark horse" Shuangliang Eco-Energy disclosed its third-quarter report for 2025, revealing that its revenue for the first three quarters reached 6.08 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 41.3%. Its net profit stood at -544 million yuan, significantly narrowing the loss of 1.34 billion yuan from the same period last year by 59.42%, yet still in the red. Combined with the previous year’s loss of 2.134 billion yuan, Shuangliang Eco-Energy has amassed total losses of up to 2.678 billion yuan.
Additionally, the company announced a reduction in its fundraising plan, aiming to raise no more than 1.292 billion yuan—almost a 49.5% cut from the 2.56 billion yuan projected in 2023. Notably, the previously planned 38GW large-size monocrystalline silicon pulling project has been cancelled, with funds redirected towards new areas such as liquid cooling equipment and hydrogen production devices.
From transforming its revenue with photovoltaic silicon wafers from 3.8 billion yuan in 2021 to 23.149 billion yuan in 2024, Shuangliang Eco-Energy's journey has been closely aligned with the Miao family, particularly strategic decisions made by the second-generation leader Miao Wenbin.
From 9,300 Yuan to a Photovoltaic "Dark Horse": The Miao Family's Two Major Leaps The origins of Shuangliang date back to a bold entrepreneurial venture in 1982. After serving in the military, 31-year-old Miao Shuangda left a stable job at a steel plant in his hometown, Jiangyin, after realizing the potential in the air conditioning installation market in Shanghai. Pooling together 9,300 yuan with three brothers and six peers from his hometown, he formed an air conditioning installation team. With dedication to service and sharp market instincts, this small team accumulated hundreds of thousands of yuan in just three years, setting the stage for future transformations.
In 1985, capitalizing on the market pain point of "electricity shortages," Miao Shuangda recognized the opportunity for energy-efficient cooling and led his team back to Jiangyin, investing all his savings of 500,000 yuan to establish a lithium bromide chiller factory, marking the birthplace of Shuangliang Eco-Energy.
The subsequent growth accelerated rapidly. In 1993, Shuangliang Group was established, and in 2003, it listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, gradually establishing itself as a leader in energy-saving and water-saving equipment. Its lithium bromide chillers and air coolers consistently led the domestic market, with heat exchangers achieving a global market share exceeding 50% in the high-end air separation field, making it a key supplier in energy-intensive industries like electric power and petrochemicals.
Miao Shuangda has always viewed innovation as the lifeline of the business, stating, "If a company does not persist in innovation, it will be eliminated. Private enterprises are like riding a tiger — we must push forward bravely." This philosophy has profoundly influenced his son, Miao Wenbin, laying a spiritual foundation for family succession.
In 2021, Shuangliang Eco-Energy reached a peak moment. Its revenue soared from 2.072 billion yuan in 2020 to 23.149 billion yuan in 2023, and net profit jumped from 95.95 million yuan in 2017 to 1.502 billion yuan. With a silicon wafer shipment of 44.6GW, it ranked third in the industry, firmly establishing itself as a bona fide "dark horse" in the photovoltaic sector.
However, this success would not have been possible without Miao Wenbin's decisive strategies. After obtaining a financial MBA in the United States in 2004, he did not directly join the management team but started in the grassroots sales positions of Shuangliang Group, serving as assistant to the sales company, assistant to the president, vice president, and director, experiencing the entire process of the company’s shift from traditional energy-saving equipment to renewable energy exploration.
By 2017, as Miao Shuangda gradually passed leadership, Miao Wenbin assumed the roles of chairman of the group and chairman of the listed company, taking full control of operations.
Contrary to many second-generation successors who "parachute" into positions leading to mismanagement, Miao Wenbin is among the few willing to partake in the "relatively unglamorous manufacturing jobs" his peers often disdain. He started steadily from grassroots roles, gaining a deep understanding of the enterprise. In his first six years at the helm, Shuangliang Eco-Energy saw sustained growth in its traditional business with market share in lithium bromine chillers, air coolers, and heat exchangers rising to first place, with the market share of polysilicon reduction furnaces reaching an impressive 65%, maintaining the top spot for seven consecutive years.
Nonetheless, Miao Wenbin was still relatively young, and his father Miao Shuangda, a veteran of industry battles, was not fully comfortable handing over the reins to his son. At that time, Miao Shuangda still held core equity and had not completely relinquished control.
However, Miao Wenbin did not disappoint his father. After taking the helm in 2017, he initiated a second key transformation. Leveraging the polysilicon reduction furnace business, which had entered in 2015 through asset swapping (with over 65% market share), Miao Wenbin set his sights on the photovoltaic silicon wafer sector, founding Shuangliang Silicon Materials (Baotou) Co., Ltd.
This coincided with a booming photovoltaic industry phase. Shuangliang Eco-Energy capitalized on the large-size silicon wafer capacity release and long-term advantages, with revenue skyrocketing from 2.072 billion yuan in 2020 to 23.149 billion yuan in 2023, while net profits also surged from 95.95 million yuan in 2017 to 1.502 billion yuan.
As the company’s performance climbed, Miao Shuangda began to "let go." In November 2023, he transferred part of his shares to Miao Wenbin at no cost, making the latter the largest shareholder of Shuangliang Eco-Energy. (It's worth noting that as of the first half of 2025, Miao Shuangda still directly and indirectly controlled 45.93% of the company's shares, holding actual control despite nominally ceding some rights.)
Entering the 20th year with the company, Miao Wenbin transitioned from "heir" to "helmsperson." Almost simultaneously, the photovoltaic industry faced cyclical fluctuations, presenting Miao Wenbin with the first major test of his leadership.
From "Silicon Wafer Dependency" to Diverse Breakthroughs In 2024, the photovoltaic industry confronted dual pressures of "overcapacity + technological iterations." The national silicon wafer utilization rate fell below 60%, leading to a significant drop in prices, causing Shuangliang Eco-Energy's photovoltaic products to see gross profit margins plummet to -16.63%, a year-on-year decrease of 24.86%, resulting in an annual net profit loss of 2.134 billion yuan and a debt ratio soaring to 82.77%, significantly surpassing the industry average.
The previous large-scale investment in silicon wafer capacity (over 13 billion yuan) exacerbated financial pressures, as the 40GW project in Baotou had already consumed 5.355 billion yuan without achieving production targets.
Faced with this predicament, Miao Wenbin promptly adjusted course. The 2025 financing plan was slashed from 2.56 billion yuan to 1.292 billion yuan, with the cancellation of the 38GW monocrystalline silicon project, redirecting resources towards hydrogen energy equipment and liquid cooling technologies.
This transition wasn’t a haphazard diversification. In the hydrogen energy sector, Shuangliang relied on over forty years of accumulated heat exchanger technology, launching a 5000Nm³/h alkaline water electrolyzer in 2024 and securing orders for a 20MW electrolyzer from Oman, while participating in a 500,000-ton green hydrogen project in Australia, successfully entering high-potential markets such as the Middle East and Europe.
The third-quarter report for 2025 serves as the first window to assess the effectiveness of these adjustments. In the third quarter, the company reported a profit of 53.18 million yuan, marking a year-on-year turnaround. On one hand, silicon wafer prices rose by 5% sequentially while raw material costs dropped by 30% compared to the prior year, improving the gross profit margin of renewable energy products. On the other hand, the traditional energy-saving equipment business showed steady performance, with lithium bromide chillers and air coolers achieving a gross profit margin of 26.8% in 2024, while their revenue share rose to 23% in the first three quarters of 2025, acting as a crucial profit stabilizer.
Nevertheless, the company's revenue for the first three quarters still saw a year-on-year decline of 41.27%, primarily due to a strategic contraction in the silicon wafer business. Whether profits can be sustained still requires validation from a rebound in industry demand.
The debt structure also exhibits a "mixed" situation. As of the end of September, the company’s debt ratio was 81.91%, a slight decrease of 0.86 percentage points compared to the end of 2024 but still at a high level. The good news is that net cash flow from operating activities surged by 262.63% year-on-year, coupled with an approved borrowing limit of 15 billion yuan, alleviating short-term repayment pressures.
From Miao Shuangda's initial 9,300 yuan startup to a publicly traded company with total assets exceeding 25 billion yuan, Shuangliang Eco-Energy's trajectory epitomizes the exploration of Chinese private enterprises in the energy sector. A small photovoltaic enterprise owner in Yiwu, Zhejiang, candidly stated, "In 2023, we could still grab orders through low prices, but this year we can’t even pay wages." Data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows that the national photovoltaic module utilization rate in 2024 was only 47%, with 15 companies entering bankruptcy liquidation, leading to a surge in industry concentration, with CR5 rising from 68% in 2021 to 89%.
Currently, this transformation is not only a choice made by Miao Wenbin to cope with industry cycles but also an endeavor to balance "inheriting energy-saving foundations" and "exploring new realms in hydrogen energy."
The profitability turnaround in Q3 of 2025 confirms the rationality of the adjustments made; however, the cumulative loss of 544 million yuan over the first three quarters, an 81.91% debt ratio, and the reality that hydrogen energy and liquid cooling sectors have yet to generate significant revenue indicate that the road to recovery remains long. As Miao Wenbin put it, "Root in our main business, strengthen our industry, cut costs and increase efficiency in mature areas, and seek growth in new fields." For a company that has persevered for more than forty years, these current adjustments may indeed be the starting point for the next leap forward.
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