Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Unidentified Analyst: Okay, thank you. And we also want to know, do you consider any dividend option — dividend for the company?

Xiang Xu: [Foreign Language] [Interpreted] For this year — our priority this year will still be the share repurchase plan. We — as we just stated, will continue to repurchase our shares as much as we can. And for next year, we will contemplate between another share repurchase program or issuing dividends, but that will be contingent upon Board approval and we’ll need to delve deeper into that and consider the plan. But as of now, our primary goal is to complete as much as we can in terms of the share repurchase plan.

Unidentified Analyst: Okay. Thank you. That’s all my questions.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question will be from Gordon Johnson, GLJ Research. Please go ahead.

Gordon Johnson: Hey, guys. Can you hear me? Hello?

Unidentified Company Representative: Yeah, hi, we’re here.

Gordon Johnson: Hey, thanks for taking the questions. So, a lot of my questions have been answered, but there seems to be some concern amongst some of our on-the-ground contacts in China that there could be grid issues with respect to the massive amount of solar that’s been installed this year. I mean, I think over the first nine months, we’re close to 130 gigawatts in China, suggesting we could get 172 gigawatts for the full year 2023. That’s amazing. That’s great for you guys. But what we’re hearing is that could potentially cause issues with respect to grid connects next year, and thus you could get flat to down installs in China. Two questions. Number one, have you heard this? Number two, if you have, what are your thoughts? And then a follow-up. Thank you.

Xiang Xu: [Foreign Language] [Interpreted] Okay, let me translate for Mr. Xu. So, even though this year approximately 130 gigawatts has already been installed, Mr. Xu is still very optimistic about the overall installation here within China. So, it’s the expectation that — again, he’s actually an expert on the grid. So, he’s been a supplier of power equipment to the grid for many, many years. So, he expects that overall next year it could be approximately 200 gigawatts. And what’s happening here in China is — one is it is the Chairman Xi Jinping’s goal and his mandate that China to deploy significant amounts of renewable energy. And also the National Energy Administration is very proactive in terms of allowing and requiring actually local grids to accept as much renewable energy as possible.

At the same time, China is building significant amount of capacity in energy storage. Expect that storage could reach a high of [15%] (ph) of the overall power generation for China over time. Even in the near term, China exploring technology, including not just battery storage but also in terms of hydrogen storage as well as hydro or water-based type of energy storage. So, this is all happening within China. So, I think combining all these factors, including the mandate from Chairman Xi Jinping, we do believe that China will — renewable energy, particularly the solar market, will continue to grow for next year.

Gordon Johnson: Okay. That’s helpful. And then one last one from me. And again, congratulations on your prior execution, guys. Really good in the poly market. So, we’ve heard that there was — in September, there was roughly 60 gigawatts of output, yet the market only absorbed 40 gigawatts. And again, we’re hearing that there could be caps on the market of 200 gigawatts in 2024. So, just wanted to hear your thoughts on, if indeed, those numbers are accurate, is there the potential for some of your competitors to potentially shut down capacity/idle capacity that’s making the market better as we enter the first half of ’24? Thanks again.