Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology Co.,Ltd. (SZ:002865) has reported a net loss attributable to shareholders of 1.416 billion yuan for the year 2025, completely erasing the profits accumulated from its successful pivot into the photovoltaic sector. The company's annual revenue was 7.627 billion yuan, representing declines of 23.36% and 139.51% year-on-year respectively, marking the largest loss since its listing. Concurrently, the number of production staff was reduced to 1,090, while overseas revenue surged by over 60%.
The company, originally an automotive trim manufacturer, experienced rapid growth following its cross-sector acquisition of a photovoltaic battery business in 2021. It reported annual net profits exceeding 800 million yuan in both 2022 and 2023, establishing itself as a notable success story in corporate transformation. However, a loss of nearly 600 million yuan in 2024, followed by the substantial 2025 deficit, has entirely depleted the earnings generated from its photovoltaic venture.
Personnel numbers have seen a significant decline. From a peak of 8,267 employees at the end of 2023, the workforce was reduced to 3,163 by the end of 2024. By the end of 2025, the total headcount stood at 2,712, with production personnel specifically falling by one-quarter to 1,090 compared to 1,447 a year earlier.
In its annual report, the company attributed the performance downturn to the persistent challenges within the global PV market. While demand, particularly overseas, remained strong, the industry continued to grapple with capacity rationalization and a downward trend in product prices, placing overall profitability across the supply chain under significant pressure.
The profitability of its core product, photovoltaic cells, was severely impacted. The gross profit margin for the cell business was -1.65% in 2025, a decrease of 2.13 percentage points from 0.48% in 2024. The company noted that the cell manufacturing segment is squeezed by price pressures from both upstream silicon wafers and downstream module makers, influenced by raw material costs, demand from module manufacturers, and policy shifts.
Furthermore, substantial asset impairment losses exacerbated the financial results. In 2025, the company recorded total impairment losses of 437 million yuan, including 266 million yuan from fixed assets and 52.627 million yuan from goodwill, which significantly affected the bottom line.
Despite the overall operational pressures, the company's global expansion emerged as a bright spot. Overseas sales revenue reached 3.864 billion yuan in 2025, a remarkable increase of 62.83% from 2.373 billion yuan in 2024. Consequently, the contribution of international sales to total revenue jumped sharply from 23.85% to 50.66%, establishing overseas markets as the primary source of income.
Historically an automotive parts supplier based in Hainan, the company went public in 2017. While its revenue exceeded 1.1 billion yuan that year, profitability declined steadily afterwards. Faced with significant losses in its original business due to a sluggish automotive industry recovery in 2021, the company strategically acquired a 51% stake in Shangrao Jietai New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., entering the photovoltaic industry. It completed the acquisition of the remaining 49% stake in 2022 and divested its automotive trim business, fully transitioning into a PV cell manufacturer.
This transformation initially fueled rapid growth, with revenue soaring to nearly 11.6 billion yuan in 2022 and surpassing 18.656 billion yuan in 2023, with annual net profits consistently above 800 million yuan. The cumulative net profit attributable to shareholders for those two years exceeded 1.5 billion yuan. The severe losses in 2024 and 2025 have now nullified these gains.
In other financial metrics, the company's financial expenses increased by 41.36% in 2025, while research and development expenses decreased by 44.35%.
A significant corporate development occurred in May 2025, when the company successfully listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, becoming the first "A+H" dual-listed company in the photovoltaic sector. As it navigates 2026, the market is closely watching how Drinda will balance the pressures of mounting losses against the strong growth in its international business and the new opportunities afforded by its dual capital market platform.
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