Chinese inverter manufacturers reported mixed first-half 2026 results, as energy storage emerged as a key growth driver, offsetting weaker demand across some traditional inverter segments.
Sungrow reported first-half 2026 revenue of CNY 30.91 billion ($4.34 billion), down 29.0% year on year, while net profit attributable to shareholders fell 32.0% to CNY 5.26 billion. Adjusted net profit declined 43.0% to CNY 4.28 billion. Operating cash flow, however, rose 8.8% to CNY 3.74 billion, while gross margin increased by 1.56 percentage points to 35.92%. Energy storage system revenue fell 13.2% to CNY 15.46 billion but accounted for 50% of total sales, overtaking PV inverters and other power conversion products, where revenue declined 19.2% to CNY 12.39 billion. Storage gross margin fell by 7.49 percentage points to 32.43%, while the inverter segment’s margin rose by 6.98 points to 42.72%. Overseas markets accounted for 73.4% of total revenue. At a post-results investor briefing, Sungrow said first-half inverter shipments totaled about 66 GW, down from 76 GW a year earlier, while energy storage system shipments rose about 28% to 25 GWh.
Deye reported first-half 2026 revenue of CNY 10.64 billion, up 92.2% year on year, while net profit attributable to shareholders jumped 78.5% to CNY 2.72 billion. Adjusted net profit rose 75.8% to CNY 2.57 billion, while operating cash flow increased 176.7% to CNY 4.19 billion. Inverter revenue climbed 94.1% to CNY 5.13 billion, while energy storage battery pack revenue surged 244.1% to CNY 4.89 billion, leaving the two businesses with nearly equal shares of sales. Deye sold about 1.15 million inverters during the period, including 570,300 residential storage inverters and 60,500 commercial and industrial (C&I) storage inverters. The company attributed the growth mainly to continued expansion in energy storage and greater synergies between its inverter and battery businesses.
