Like all of its peers, JA has seen its margins squeezed sharply as the price of solar modules has crashed over the past year on the back of the financial crisis.

JA pocketed a profit of 106m yuan ($15.5m) in the third quarter, compared with a loss of 142m yuan during the same period last year. Its performance vastly exceeded the expectations of most analysts who expected the company to take longer to rebound after its recent losses.

JA is at the sharp edge of what many expect could be a boomlet within the solar industry, as demand for modules returns with a roar thanks to record-low prices, particularly in Asia.

In an example of what the new pricing structure is doing to companies' sales books, JA’s gross margin fell to 16.7% from 21.6%, even as its shipments soared 79%.

Company executives say that demand for JA’s cells was nearly three times the level of its production capacity, with small- to medium-sized Chinese module makers eating up an ever-larger slice of its customer base.

JA shipped cells totalling 177 megawatts (MW) during the third quarter, compared to 77MW in the second quarter. The company expects to ship 448MW-478MW during the whole of 2009.

Baofang Jin, JA’s chief executive, claims the past quarter was characterised by “improved visibility” and “robust demand”. Baofang says JA has become the “top choice for companies that are purchasing multiple megawatts of [PV cells] in a short time”.