The increase came despite a 13.6% fall in net revenues to US$1693.3m. The decline in net revenues is mainly attributed to the decrease in selling prices of solar PV systems.

Total shipments rose 42% to 704 MW.

2010 outlook

In its 2010 outlook, Suntech says it expects 5-10% increase in shipments in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2009. For the full year, Suntech anticipates to ship more than 1.25 GW.

The solar company also says capacity will be increased to 1.4 GW from the current 1.1 GW by mid-2010.