The increase came as revenues soared 57% to US$743.7m. The solar company reached a production capacity of 1.6 GW.

For the fourth quarter, Suntech expects a 10% growth in shipments from Q3, and for total shipments to reach over 1.5 GW for the full year.

Acquiring 375 MW capacity

Suntech is also acquiring a 375 MW of ingot and wafer slicing capacity in China through buying the remaining 70% shares in a spin off from Glory Silicon Technology Investments (Hong Kong) Ltd.

Suntech is buying the shares for a total of US$127m, giving the company full ownership.

Chairman and CEO Dr Zhengrong Shi, says: “The acquisition of wafer manufacturing capacity is the next step of our vertical integration, which will enable Suntech to balance dual goals of large scale and low cost. The proximinty of the manufacturing facility, operating expenses and the management team and ample capacity makes this an ideal acquisition for Suntech.

“Over the next 12 months, we intend to expand internal wafer capacity to 25% to 50% of our total cell and module capacity. This should enable us to significantly reduce wafer cost, and improve profitability. Going forward, we also plan to leverage Suntech’s global R&D to drive innovation and efficiency improvements in ingot and wafer manufacturing processes.”