第一太陽能 (FSLR) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to First Solar's Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Earnings and 2024 Financial Guidance Call. This call is being webcast live on the Investors section of First Solar's website at investor.firstsolar.com. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, today's call is being recorded.

大家下午好，歡迎參加 First Solar 2023 年第四季和全年收益以及 2024 年財務指導電話會議。此次電話會議正在 First Solar 網站 Investor.firstsolar.com 的投資者部分進行網路直播。 （操作員說明）謹此提醒，今天的通話正在錄音。

I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Richard Romero from First Solar Investor Relations. Richard, you may begin.

我現在想將電話轉給 First Solar 投資者關係部的理查德·羅梅羅 (Richard Romero) 先生。理查德，你可以開始了。

Hi. Good afternoon and thank you for joining us. Today, the company issued a press release announcing its fourth quarter and full year 2023 financial results as well as its guidance for 2024. A copy of the press release and associated presentation are available on First Solar's website at investor.firstsolar.com.

你好。下午好，感謝您加入我們。今天，該公司發布新聞稿，宣布 2023 年第四季度和全年財務業績以及 2024 年指引。新聞稿和相關簡報的副本可在 First Solar 網站 Investor.firstsolar.com 上取得。

With me today are Mark Widmar, Chief Executive Officer; and Alex Bradley, Chief Financial Officer. Mark will provide a business update and outlook for 2024. Alex will discuss our financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2023 as well as our financial guidance for 2024. Following their remarks, we will open the call for questions.

今天和我在一起的有執行長 Mark Widmar；和首席財務官亞歷克斯布拉德利。 Mark 將提供 2024 年的業務更新和展望。Alex 將討論我們第四季度和 2023 年全年的財務業績以及 2024 年的財務指引。在他們發表演講後，我們將開始提問。

Please note, this call will include forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from management's current expectations. We encourage you to review the safe harbor statements contained in today's press release and presentation for a more complete description.

請注意，本次電話會議將包括前瞻性陳述，這些陳述涉及可能導致實際結果與管理階層目前預期有重大差異的風險和不確定性。我們鼓勵您查看今天的新聞稿和簡報中包含的安全港聲明，以獲得更完整的描述。

It is now my pleasure to introduce Mark Widmar, Chief Executive Officer.

現在我很高興向大家介紹執行長馬克‧維德瑪 (Mark Widmar)。

Thank you, Richard. Good afternoon and thank you for joining us today. I would like to start by noting that this month marks the 25th anniversary of First Solar's founding, making us one of the oldest and most experienced solar module manufacturers in the world. This is a remarkable milestone in a journey that has positioned us as the Western Hemisphere's leading solar module technology and manufacturing company.

謝謝你，理查。下午好，感謝您今天加入我們。首先我想指出的是，本月是 First Solar 成立 25 週年，這使我們成為世界上歷史最悠久、經驗最豐富的太陽能組件製造商之一。這是我們成為西半球領先的太陽能組件技術和製造公司的歷程中的一個非凡里程碑。

While we're not the only American solar manufacturer to come into existence at the end of the last century, we are the only one at scale to remain today. However, this is not simply a story of survival, but one about the value of long-term strategic decision-making underpinned by a differentiated technology and business model, driving value creation for our shareholders and our partners. Ours is a story of innovation, values, competitiveness and perseverance, and we are proud of our work towards leading the world's sustainable energy future.

雖然我們不是上世紀末唯一一家成立的美國太陽能製造商，但我們是唯一一家至今仍保持規模的製造商。然而，這不僅僅是一個生存的故事，而是一個關於以差異化技術和商業模式為基礎的長期策略決策價值的故事，為我們的股東和合作夥伴創造價值。我們的故事是一個關於創新、價值觀、競爭力和毅力的故事，我們為引領世界永續能源未來的工作感到自豪。

As our journey continues, few years have been as consequential to our long-term growth strategy as 2023. Over the past year, we expanded manufacturing capacity, mobilized at our latest announced facility in Louisiana, produced and shipped a record volume of modules, expanded our contracted backlog to historic levels and increased R&D investment and continued to evolve our technology and product road map.

隨著我們旅程的繼續，很少有幾年像2023 年這樣對我們的長期成長策略產生重大影響。在過去的一年裡，我們擴大了製造能力，動員了我們最新宣布的路易斯安那州工廠，生產和運輸了創紀錄的模組數量，擴大了我們的合約積壓訂單達到歷史水平，並增加了研發投資，並繼續發展我們的技術和產品路線圖。

Let's review the key accomplishments in 2023, beginning with Slide 3. From a commercial perspective, 2023 continued the momentum established in 2022 as long-term multiyear procurement continued to drive demand. We added 10 new customers and secured 28.3 gigawatts of net bookings at a base ASP of over $0.30 per watt. Despite industry macro challenges, such as global oversupply and pricing volatility, we continued to see strong mid- to long-term demand, especially in the United States, as shown with 2.3 gigawatts of net bookings since the previous earnings call at an ASP of $0.318 per watt excluding adjusters or $0.334 per watt, assuming the realization of our technology adders. Our total contracted backlog now stands at 80.1 gigawatts with orders stretching to the end of this decade.

讓我們從投影片 3 開始回顧 2023 年的主要成就。從商業角度來看，2023 年延續了 2022 年建立的勢頭，長期多年採購繼續推動需求。我們增加了 10 個新客戶，並以超過每瓦 0.30 美元的基本 ASP 獲得了 28.3 吉瓦的淨預訂量。儘管面臨全球供應過剩和價格波動等行業宏觀挑戰，但我們仍然看到強勁的中長期需求，尤其是在美國，自上次財報電話會議以來淨預訂量為 2.3 吉瓦，平均售價為 0.318 美元每瓦（不包括調節器）或每瓦0.334 美元（假設實現了我們的技術加法器）。目前，我們的合約積壓總量為 80.1 吉瓦，訂單將持續到本世紀末。

While Alex will provide a comprehensive overview of our 2023 financial results, our full year EPS came in at $7.74, which is above the midpoint of our initial and Q3 2023 guidance ranges and included the impact of the sale of our Section 45X tax credits and the impairment of our investment in CubicPV. These items, neither of which were included in our Q3 2023 guidance ranges, adversely impacted our full year EPS by approximately $0.48 per watt.

雖然Alex 將全面概述我們2023 年的財務業績，但我們的全年每股收益為7.74 美元，高於我們最初和2023 年第三季度指導範圍的中點，其中包括出售我們的第45X 節稅收抵免和我們對 CubicPV 的投資減損。這些項目均未包含在我們 2023 年第三季的指導範圍內，對我們的全年每股收益產生了約 0.48 美元每瓦的不利影響。

From a manufacturing perspective, we produced a record 12.1 gigawatts in 2023, representing a 33% increase in production over 2022. As a result, we have now surpassed 60 gigawatts of cumulative production since we first began commercial manufacturing in 2002. This growth was driven by manufacturing excellence at our Series 6 factories, which produced 9.7 gigawatts in 2023, an increase of 600 megawatts compared to 2022, and the successful ramping of our new Series 7 factories in the U.S. and India, which combined to produce more than 2.4 gigawatts in 2023. Our top production bin for Series 6 was 475 watts, and our top production bin for Series 7 was 545 watts.

從製造角度來看，我們在2023 年生產了創紀錄的12.1 吉瓦，比2022 年產量增加了33%。因此，自2002 年首次開始商業製造以來，我們的累計產量現已超過60 吉瓦。這一成長是由我們的6 系列工廠的卓越製造能力，在2023 年生產了9.7 吉瓦，比2022 年增加了600 兆瓦，以及我們在美國和印度的新7 系列工廠的成功擴產，2023年產量總計超過 2.4 吉瓦。2023 年。我們的系列 6 的頂級生產功率為 475 瓦，系列 7 的頂級生產功率為 545 瓦。

We remain committed to progressing our technology and product road map in 2023, having recently achieved a 22.6% world-record CadTel research conversion efficiency based on our CuRe technology and launched the first bifacial, thin-film solar panel. In addition, we successfully completed our manufacturing readiness trial under our CuRe program in the fourth quarter of 2023 and expect to begin manufacturing modules powered by this technology at our lead line in Perrysburg in the fourth quarter of 2024.

我們仍然致力於在 2023 年推進我們的技術和產品路線圖，最近基於我們的 CuRe 技術實現了 22.6% 的 CadTel 研究轉換效率世界紀錄，並推出了首款雙面薄膜太陽能板。此外，我們在 2023 年第四季成功完成了 CuRe 計畫下的製造準備試驗，並預計於 2024 年第四季開始在我們位於佩里斯堡的領先生產線上製造採用該技術的模組。

It's vital that our supply chain and logistics operations keep pace with our manufacturing expansion plans, and we've made meaningful progress on this front in 2023. Key achievements including entering into agreements with Vitro to supply American-made front and back glass for our manufacturing operations in the U.S. and with OMCO and Ice Industries to supply steel back rails for our facilities in Alabama and Louisiana. We also signed agreements with Saint-Gobain to supply the back glass for our modules in India.

我們的供應鏈和物流業務與我們的製造業擴張計畫保持同步至關重要，我們在2023 年在這方面取得了有意義的進展。主要成就包括與Vitro 達成協議，為我們的製造業供應美國製造的前後玻璃我們在美國開展業務，並與 OMCO 和 Ice Industries 合作，為我們位於阿拉巴馬州和路易斯安那州的工廠供應鋼製後軌。我們還與聖戈班簽署了協議，為我們在印度的組件供應背玻璃。

Regarding growth, we exited the year with 16.6 gigawatts of nameplate capacity. This marks an increase of 6.8 gigawatts from 2022 driven by the commencement of operations at our Series 6 factories in Ohio and Indiana. In -- excuse me, in India. In 2023, we announced a $1.1 billion investment in a new manufacturing facility in Louisiana, which is expected to add 3.5 gigawatts to our nameplate capacity in 2026.

就成長而言，我們今年的銘牌容量為 16.6 吉瓦。由於我們位於俄亥俄州和印第安納州的 Series 6 工廠開始運營，這標誌著比 2022 年增加了 6.8 吉瓦。對不起，在印度。 2023 年，我們宣布投資 11 億美元在路易斯安那州建造一座新製造工廠，預計到 2026 年我們的額定產能將增加 3.5 吉瓦。

When combined with our Alabama facility and our Ohio manufacturing footprint expansions, both of which are in progress, we expect 2026 year-end nameplate capacity of approximately 14 gigawatts domestically with another 11 gigawatts internationally for a global nameplate capacity of approximately 25 gigawatts.

結合我們正在進行的阿拉巴馬州工廠和俄亥俄州製造基地擴張，我們預計 2026 年年底國內銘牌產能約為 14 吉瓦，國際產能約為 11 吉瓦，全球銘牌產能約為 25 吉瓦。

We also continue to invest in our technology with our R&D innovation center and our perovskite development line, both under construction in Ohio. These facilities are expected to commence operations in the first half and second half of 2024, respectively. Additionally, in 2023, we acquired Evolar, a European leader in perovskite technology, and has since transitioned its laboratory in Sweden to become our first R&D facility in Europe. These and other investments in R&D allow us to accelerate the cycles of innovation we believe are necessary to extend our leadership in thin-film solar technology.

我們也繼續投資我們的技術，我們的研發創新中心和鈣鈦礦開發線都在俄亥俄州建設中。這些設施預計分別於 2024 年上半年和下半年投入營運。此外，我們於 2023 年收購了歐洲鈣鈦礦技術領導者 Evolar，並將其位於瑞典的實驗室轉變為我們在歐洲的第一個研發機構。這些和其他研發投資使我們能夠加快創新週期，我們認為這對於擴大我們在薄膜太陽能技術方面的領先地位是必要的。

Turning to Slide 4. As of year-end 2022, our contracted backlog totaled 61.4 gigawatts with an aggregate value of $17.7 billion or approximately $0.288 per watt. Through year-end 2023, we entered into an additional 28.3 gigawatts of contracts at an average ASP of $0.305 per watt. After accounting for sales of 11.4 gigawatts in 2023, we began 2024 with a total contracted backlog of 78.3 gigawatts with an aggregate value of $23.3 billion or approximately $0.298 per watt.

轉向幻燈片 4。截至 2022 年底，我們的合約積壓總量為 61.4 吉瓦，總價值為 177 億美元，即每瓦約 0.288 美元。到 2023 年底，我們又簽訂了 28.3 吉瓦合同，平均售價為每瓦 0.305 美元。考慮到 2023 年的銷售量為 11.4 吉瓦，我們在 2024 年伊始的合約積壓總量為 78.3 吉瓦，總價值為 233 億美元，即每瓦約 0.298 美元。

Since the end of 2023, we have entered into an additional 1.8 gigawatts of contracts, resulting in a total backlog of 80.1 gigawatts. These most recent bookings have an average ASP of $0.319 per watt pre-adjuster or $0.339 per watt if contract technology adjusters are realized. Additionally, we have received security against 206 megawatts of previously signed contracts in India, which now move these volumes from contracted subject to conditions precedent grouping within our future opportunities pipeline to our bookings backlog. A substantial portion of our overall backlog includes the opportunity to increase base ASPs through the application of adjusters, if we're able to realize achievements within our current technology road map as to the expected timing for delivery of the product.

自2023年底以來，我們已額外簽訂1.8吉瓦合同，總計積壓80.1吉瓦。這些最新預訂的預調節器平均售價為每瓦 0.319 美元，如果實現合約技術調節器，平均售價為每瓦 0.339 美元。此外，我們還獲得了先前在印度簽署的 206 兆瓦合約的擔保，這些合約現在將這些數量從我們未來機會管道中的先決條件分組轉移到我們的預訂積壓中。如果我們能夠在目前的技術路線圖中實現產品交付的預期時間方面的成就，那麼我們整體積壓的很大一部分包括透過應用調整器來增加基本 ASP 的機會。

As of the end of the fourth quarter, we had approximately 39.1 gigawatts of contracted volume with these adjusters, which if fully utilized -- realized, excuse me, could result in additional revenue of approximately $0.5 billion or approximately $0.01 per watt, the majority of which would be realized between 2025 and 2027. This amount does not include potential adjustments, which are generally applicable to total contracted backlog, both related to the ultimate module bin delivered to the customer, which may adjust the ASP under the sales contract upward or downward, or for increases in sales freight or applicable aluminum or steel commodity price changes.

截至第四季末，我們與這些調節器簽訂了約 39.1 吉瓦的合約容量，如果充分利用的話，對不起，可能會帶來約 5 億美元或每瓦約 0.01 美元的額外收入，其中大部分該金額將在2025 年至2027 年之間實現。該金額不包括潛在的調整，這些調整通常適用於合約積壓總額，兩者都與交付給客戶的最終模組倉有關，這可能會向上或向下調整銷售合約下的平均售價，或銷售運費增加或適用的鋁或鋼商品價格變動。

I'll now turn the call over to Alex, who will discuss our Q4 and full year 2023 results.

我現在將電話轉給 Alex，他將討論我們的第四季和 2023 年全年業績。

Thanks, Mark. Starting on Slide 5, I'll cover our financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2023. Net sales in the fourth quarter were $1.2 billion, an increase of $0.4 million compared to the prior quarter. The increase in net sales was driven by higher volumes sold, including higher net sales of Series 7 modules that we continue to ramp production at our new facility in Ohio.

謝謝，馬克。從投影片 5 開始，我將介紹我們第四季和 2023 年全年的財務表現。第四季的淨銷售額為 12 億美元，比上一季增加了 40 萬美元。淨銷售額的成長是由銷量增加推動的，其中包括我們繼續提高俄亥俄州新工廠產量的 7 系列模組淨銷售額的增加。

For the full year 2023, net sales were $3.3 billion compared to $2.6 billion in the prior year. This increase was driven by $0.9 billion of higher module net sales resulting from increases in both volumes sold and ASPs, which was partially offset by $0.2 billion of lower revenue from our residual business operations primarily related to the sale of our Luz del Norte project in the prior year.

2023 年全年淨銷售額為 33 億美元，而前一年為 26 億美元。這一增長是由於銷量和平均售價雙雙增加而導致組件淨銷售額增加 9 億美元，但部分被主要與出售 Luz del Norte 項目相關的剩餘業務運營收入減少 2 億美元所抵消。去年。

Based on our vertically integrated differentiated manufacturing model and the current form factor of our modules, we expect to qualify for Section 45X tax credits of approximately $0.17 per watt to each module produced in the U.S. and sold to a third party, which is recognized as a reduction to cost of sales in the period of sale.

基於我們垂直整合的差異化製造模式和當前模組的外形尺寸，我們預計在美國生產並出售給第三方的每個模組將有資格獲得每瓦約0.17 美元的第45X 節稅收抵免，該第三方被視為減少銷售期間的銷售成本。

In December, we entered into an agreement with Fiserv, which resulted in the sale of approximately $687 million of 2023 Section 45X tax credits for expected aggregate cash proceeds of $659 million. We received an initial $336 million of cash proceeds in January with the remainder expected by the end of April 2024. In connection with this transaction, we recognized a valuation adjustment of $28 million within cost of sales during the fourth quarter to reduce the carrying value of the credit to the amount expected to be received from the transaction.

去年 12 月，我們與 Fiserv 簽訂了一項協議，出售了約 6.87 億美元的 2023 年第 45X 條稅收抵免，預計現金收益總額為 6.59 億美元。我們於1 月份收到了3.36 億美元的初始現金收益，剩餘部分預計將在2024 年4 月底之前收到。就本次交易而言，我們在第四季度的銷售成本中確認了2800 萬美元的估值調整，以減少帳面價值貸記預期從交易中收到的金額。

For the fourth quarter and full year 2023, we recognized $229 million and $659 million, respectively, of Section 45X tax credits, including the effects of the aforementioned adjustment.

對於 2023 年第四季和全年，我們分別確認了 2.29 億美元和 6.59 億美元的第 45X 條稅收抵免，包括上述調整的影響。

Gross margin was 43% in the fourth quarter compared to 47% in the third quarter. This decrease was primarily attributable to the adjustment associated with the sale of our Section 45X tax credits; a higher mix of modules sold from our non-U.S. factories, which do not qualify for Section 45X tax credits; and the write-off of certain legacy production materials, partially offset by continued module cost reductions.

第四季的毛利率為 43%，而第三季的毛利率為 47%。這一減少主要歸因於與我們的第 45X 節稅收抵免的銷售相關的調整；從我們的非美國工廠銷售的更多模組組合，這些工廠不符合第 45X 條稅收抵免的條件；某些遺留生產材料的註銷，部分被模組成本的持續降低所抵銷。

For the full year 2023, gross margin was 39% compared to 3% in the prior year. The increase in gross margin was primarily due to the recognition of Section 45X tax credits; a decrease in sales freights, demurrage and detention charges; an increase in module ASPs; continued module cost reductions; and the net impairment and sale of our Luz del Norte project in the prior year, partially offset by increased underutilization costs charged in the period in which they are incurred associated with the factory ramp in 2023.

2023 年全年毛利率為 39%，而前一年為 3%。毛利率的增加主要是由於第 45X 條稅收抵免的認可；銷售運費、滯期費和滯留費減少；模組 ASP 的增加；持續降低模組成本；上一年 Luz del Norte 專案的淨減損和銷售，部分被 2023 年工廠產能擴張所產生的未充分利用成本增加所抵銷。

The ramp charges were $16 million in the fourth quarter compared to $25 million in the third quarter. Our ramp costs for the full year 2023 were $89 million compared to $7 million in the prior quarter. Our 2023 ramp costs were primarily attributable to our new Series 7 factories in Ohio and India.

第四季的坡道費用為 1,600 萬美元，而第三季為 2,500 萬美元。我們 2023 年全年的產能提升成本為 8,900 萬美元，而上一季為 700 萬美元。我們 2023 年的產能提升成本主要歸因於我們在俄亥俄州和印度的新 7 系列工廠。

SG&A, R&D and production start-up expenses totaled $111 million in the fourth quarter, an increase of approximately $7 million relative to the prior quarter. This increase was primarily driven by fees associated with the sale of our 2023 Section 45X tax credits and an increase in incentive compensation partially offset by lower-than-expected credit losses resulting from improved collections of our accounts receivable.

第四季SG&A、研發和生產啟動費用總計1.11億美元，較上一季增加約700萬美元。這一增長主要是由於與我們的2023 年第45X 條稅收抵免的銷售相關的費用以及激勵補償的增加所推動，但由於我們的應收賬款催收改善而導致低於預期的信貸損失，部分抵消了這一增長。

For the full year 2023, SG&A, R&D and production start-up expenses, along with litigation losses, were $450 million compared to $351 million in the prior year. As a reminder, we recorded a litigation loss of $36 million during the second quarter related to our legacy systems business. The remaining operating expense increase of $63 million was primarily attributable to higher employee compensation due to additional head count, higher professional fees associated with litigation, the implementation of a new enterprise resource planning system, the sale of our 2023 Section 45X tax credits and higher material and module testing costs for our research and development activities.

2023 年全年，SG&A、研發和生產啟動費用以及訴訟損失為 4.5 億美元，而前一年為 3.51 億美元。提醒一下，我們在第二季記錄了與遺留系統業務相關的訴訟損失 3,600 萬美元。其餘營運費用增加6,300 萬美元，主要歸因於員工人數增加導致員工薪酬增加、與訴訟相關的專業費用增加、實施新的企業資源規劃系統、出售2023 年第45X 條稅收抵免和更高的材料費用。我們的研發活動的模組測試成本。

Our fourth quarter operating income was $398 million, which included depreciation, amortization and accretion of $90 million; ramp costs of $16 million; costs associated with the sale of our 2023 Section 45X tax credits of $35 million; legacy systems-related income of $7 million; production start-up expense of $10 million; and share-based compensation expense of $11 million.

我們第四季的營業收入為 3.98 億美元，其中包括折舊、攤提和增值 9,000 萬美元；坡道成本為 1,600 萬美元；與出售 2023 年第 45X 條稅收抵免額 3,500 萬美元相關的成本；與遺留系統相關的收入為 700 萬美元；生產啟動費用1000萬美元；以及 1100 萬美元的股權激勵費用。

Our full year 2023 operating income was $857 million, which includes depreciation, amortization and accretion of $308 million; ramp costs of $89 million; costs associated with the sale of our 2023 Section 45X tax credits of $35 million; legacy systems business-related costs of $7 million; production start-up expense of $65 million; and share-based compensation expense of $34 million.

我們2023年全年營業收入為8.57億美元，其中包括折舊、攤提和增值3.08億美元；坡道成本為 8,900 萬美元；與出售 2023 年第 45X 條稅收抵免額 3,500 萬美元相關的成本；遺留系統業務相關成本為 700 萬美元；生產啟動費用為 6,500 萬美元；以及 3,400 萬美元的股權激勵費用。

In the fourth quarter, we took a $23 million impairment associated with a strategic investment in CubicPV. Our investment thesis is anchored to their continuing development work on perovskites and tandem technologies. Outside of our investment thesis, they had planned to develop domestic silicon wafer manufacturing capacity. This plan was recently abandoned due to surge in construction costs and declining wafer prices, which triggered an impairment.

第四季度，我們因對 CubicPV 的策略投資而損失了 2,300 萬美元。我們的投資主題是基於他們在鈣鈦礦和串聯技術方面的持續開發工作。除了我們的投資主題之外，他們還計劃發展國內矽片製造能力。由於建設成本激增和晶圓價格下跌引發減值，該計劃最近被放棄。

Interest income in the fourth quarter was $24 million, roughly the same as the prior quarter. And interest income for the full year 2023 was $98 million, an increase of $64 million compared to the prior year, primarily due to higher interest rates on our cash and marketable securities. We recorded an income tax expense of $27 million in the fourth quarter and $61 million for the full year.

第四季利息收入為2,400萬美元，與上一季大致持平。 2023 年全年利息收入為 9,800 萬美元，比上年增加 6,400 萬美元，主要是由於我們的現金和有價證券利率上升。我們第四季的所得稅費用為 2,700 萬美元，全年所得稅費用為 6,100 萬美元。

Fourth quarter income per diluted share was $3.25 compared to $2.50 in the prior quarter. For the full year 2023, income per diluted share was $7.74 compared to a loss per diluted share of $0.41 in 2022.

第四季攤薄後每股收益為 3.25 美元，上一季為 2.50 美元。 2023 年全年，稀釋後每股收益為 7.74 美元，而 2022 年稀釋後每股虧損為 0.41 美元。

Let's turn to Slide 6 to discuss select balance sheet items and summary cash flow information. The aggregate balance of our cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, restricted cash equivalents and marketable securities was $2.1 billion at the end of the year, an increase of $0.3 billion from the prior quarter and a decrease of $0.5 billion from the prior year. Our year-end net cash position, which includes the aforementioned balance less debt was $1.6 billion, an increase of $0.3 billion from the prior quarter and a decrease of $0.8 billion from the prior year. The increase in our net cash balance in the fourth quarter was primarily driven by modules segment operating cash flows, including advanced payments received from future module sales, partially offset by capital expenditures associated with our new plants under construction in Alabama, Louisiana and India. The decrease in our net cash balance for the full year 2023 was primarily due to capital expenditures partially offset by modules segment operating cash flow.

讓我們轉向投影片 6 來討論選定的資產負債表項目和總結現金流量資訊。截至年末，我們的現金、現金等價物、限制性現金、限制性現金等價物和有價證券的總餘額為 21 億美元，比上季增加 3 億美元，比上年減少 5 億美元。我們的年末淨現金部位（包括上述餘額減去債務）為 16 億美元，比上一季增加 3 億美元，比上年減少 8 億美元。第四季淨現金餘額的增加主要是由組件部門的營運現金流推動的，包括從未來組件銷售中收到的預付款，部分被我們在阿拉巴馬州、路易斯安那州和印度在建新工廠相關的資本支出所抵銷。 2023 年全年淨現金餘額減少主要是由於資本支出被模組部門營運現金流量部分抵銷。

Cash flows from operations were $602 million in 2023 compared to $873 million in 2022. This decrease was primarily driven by higher operating expenditures in support of our ongoing manufacturing expansion and lower advanced payments received for future module sales partially offset by higher cash receipts from modules sold during the year. Capital expenditures were $347 million in the fourth quarter compared to $286 million in the third quarter. Capital expenditures were $1.4 billion in 2023 compared to $0.9 billion in 2022.

2023 年營運現金流為6.02 億美元，而2022 年為8.73 億美元。這一下降主要是由於支持我們持續製造擴張的營運支出增加以及未來模組銷售收到的預付款減少，部分被銷售模組現金收入增加所抵消年內。第四季資本支出為 3.47 億美元，而第三季資本支出為 2.86 億美元。 2023 年的資本支出為 14 億美元，而 2022 年為 9 億美元。

Now I'll turn the call back to Mark to provide the business and strategy update.

現在我將把電話轉回給馬克，以提供業務和策略更新。

All right. Thank you, Alex. A word about overall market conditions in the policy environment. As we enter 2024, while we continue to operate from a position of strength, leveraging our points of differentiation and strong contracted backlog, the continuation of Chinese subsidization and dumping practices has caused a significant collapse in cell and module pricing.

好的。謝謝你，亞歷克斯。關於政策環境下的整體市場狀況。進入 2024 年，雖然我們繼續憑藉優勢地位運營，利用我們的差異化點和強大的合約積壓，但中國持續的補貼和傾銷做法導致電池和組件價格大幅下跌。

Last month, Meyer Burger, a European module and cell manufacturer, announced that deteriorating market conditions in Europe resulting from such practices is forcing them to prepare for shutting -- shuttering module assembly in Germany, exemplifying the challenges to the EU's stated goal of creating a self-sustaining renewable manufacturing industry.

上個月，歐洲組件和電池製造商梅耶博格(Meyer Burger) 宣布，此類做法導致歐洲市場狀況惡化，迫使他們準備關閉在德國的組件組裝業務，這反映了歐盟既定目標面臨的挑戰，即創造一個自給自足的可再生製造業。

In India, a sudden and significant reduction in cell pricing in the nondomestic content market segment has blunted the efficacy of the country's measures to address Chinese supply chain imports, distorting market pricing in the country and disincentivizing the ability of local suppliers to help achieve India's ambition to create broad domestic manufacturing to serve its domestic market.

在印度，非國內內容細分市場的手機定價突然大幅下降，削弱了該國解決中國供應鏈進口問題的措施的有效性，扭曲了該國的市場定價，並削弱了當地供應商幫助實現印度雄心的能力創造廣闊的國內製造業來服務國內市場。

And here in the U.S., notwithstanding the U.S. Department of Commerce's general determination of antidumping and countervailing duty circumvention by 4 Southeast Asia countries, the continued record level of cell and module imports from these regions poses a threat to the current administration's ambitions of scaling and securing a robust onshore solar manufacturing base.

在美國，儘管美國商務部總體認定四個東南亞國家存在反傾銷和反補貼稅規避行為，但來自這些地區的電池和組件進口量持續創紀錄水平，對現任政府擴大和確保出口的雄心構成了威脅。強大的陸上太陽能製造基地。

In light of the current and forecasted state of oversupply in these markets and the resulting headwinds to the ability of domestic manufacturers to scale, we call upon governments and policymakers to either reinforce the measures already enacted or move expeditiously to take action. For instance, here in the U.S., we have long taken the position that the Section 201 safeguard bifacial exemption simply opened the door for a multi-gigawatt scale crystalline silicon product to have unfettered access to the American solar market, threatening U.S. solar manufacturing.

鑑於這些市場目前和預計的供應過剩狀況以及由此對國內製造商擴大規模的能力造成的不利影響，我們呼籲各國政府和政策制定者要么加強已經實施的措施，要么迅速採取行動。例如，在美國，我們長期以來的立場是，201條款保護雙面豁免只是為數吉瓦級晶矽產品不受限制地進入美國太陽能市場打開了大門，威脅到美國太陽能製造業。

Indeed, a recent report released by the U.S. International Trade Commission noted that a number of commenters cited the bifacial exclusion, along with the 2022 executive order temporarily blocking the U.S. Department of Commerce from imposing new tariffs on solar imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, is leading to increased availability of foreign-made solar panels. We therefore advocate, as the administration undergoes its current evaluation of the 201 tariffs, that it closes this market-distorting bifacial exemption, which has been exploited to eviscerate the intent of these measures to safeguard the domestic industry.

事實上，美國國際貿易委員會最近發布的一份報告指出，許多評論者提到了雙面排除，以及 2022 年行政命令暫時阻止美國商務部對來自柬埔寨、馬來西亞、泰國和印度的太陽能進口徵收新關稅。越南正在導致外國製造的太陽能電池板的供應增加。因此，我們主張，當政府對 201 關稅進行當前評估時，關閉這一扭曲市場的雙面豁免，該豁免已被用來削弱這些措施保護國內產業的意圖。

In addition, with respect to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which addresses the scourge of utilizing forced labor within the solar supply chain, we similarly advocate for Customs and Border Protection to utilize all of the tools in its toolbox to ensure a comprehensive enforcement strategy of law already on the books and to ensure that regardless of which port product is shipped into, the legal requirements in place are consistently enforced.

此外，關於《維吾爾強迫勞動預防法》，該法解決了太陽能供應鏈中使用強迫勞動的禍害，我們同樣主張海關和邊境保護局利用其工具箱中的所有工具，以確保採取全面的執法策略並確保無論產品運往哪個港口，現行法律要求都一致執行。

In India, while the approved list of module manufacturers (sic) [Approved List of Models and Manufacturers], or ALMM, has been effective in incentivizing domestic manufacturing investment, pauses in the application of this law and the related impacts to domestic pricing have put progress at risk. We are heartened that the ALMM waivers currently in place are expected to expire at the end of Q1 and would encourage the federal government of India to not grant such waivers in the future and to also consider expanding the ALMM equivalent requirements to cell manufacturing. These actions we believe will foster India's ambitions of reducing their dependency on the Chinese solar supply chain and, in our view, incentivize further capital investment in this country.

在印度，雖然批准的模組製造商名單（原文如此）[批准的型號和製造商名單]（ALMM）在激勵國內製造業投資方面一直有效，但暫停適用該法律以及對國內定價的相關影響已經使進展面臨風險。我們感到欣慰的是，目前實施的 ALMM 豁免預計將於第一季末到期，這將鼓勵印度聯邦政府將來不再授予此類豁免，並考慮將 ALMM 等效要求擴大到電池製造。我們相信這些行動將促進印度減少對中國太陽能供應鏈依賴的雄心，並激勵對該國的進一步資本投資。

Turning to the EU. While we are pleased with this month's recent development to establish the Net-Zero Industry Act, which will prioritize permitting and funding for technologies deemed necessary to help the EU achieve its goal of making the region climate-neutral by 2050, much work remains to be done. As we have continuously stated, investment in local manufacturing can only scale when sufficient measures are in place to ensure a long-term, consistent, level playing field. Such measures require addressing loopholes in trade policies that create the current situation, where an oversupply of Chinese modules is being sold at artificially low prices as well as the harmful impacts of the use of forced labor.

轉向歐盟。雖然我們對本月最近制定《淨零工業法案》的進展感到高興，該法案將優先考慮對被認為必要的技術進行許可和資助，以幫助歐盟實現到2050 年使該地區實現氣候中和的目標，但仍有許多工作要做完。正如我們不斷指出的，只有採取足夠的措施來確保長期、一致、公平的競爭環境，對本地製造業的投資才能擴大規模。這些措施需要解決貿易政策中的漏洞，這些漏洞造成了目前中國組件供應過剩、人為壓低價格的情況，以及使用強迫勞動的有害影響。

First Solar has demonstrated the benefits to domestic economies and communities of establishing local solar manufacturing. This is illustrated by an economic impact study commissioned by us and conducted by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette that was released yesterday. This study found that First Solar supported over 16,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs across the U.S. in 2023. This excludes an additional 5,800 construction-related jobs tied to our capital investments in 2023.

First Solar 已經展示了建立本地太陽能製造廠對國內經濟和社區的好處。我們委託路易斯安那大學拉法葉分校昨天發布的一項經濟影響研究就說明了這一點。這項研究發現，First Solar 到 2023 年在美國支持了超過 16,000 個直接、間接和衍生就業機會。這不包括 2023 年與我們的資本投資相關的額外 5,800 個建築相關就業機會。

As we scale to an expected 14 gigawatts of annual nameplate capacity in the U.S., the analysis forecasts that First Solar's operations alone will support approximately 30,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs across the country by 2026, representing approximately $2.8 billion in annual labor income and $10 billion in total economic output to the 2026 U.S. economy. This study estimates that every First Solar job, excluding construction, supported 6 jobs in 2023. And this ratio is forecasted to increase to 7.3 jobs by 2026.

隨著我們將美國的年銘牌容量擴大到14 吉瓦，分析預測，到2026 年，僅First Solar 的業務就將在全國範圍內支持約30,000 個直接、間接和衍生就業崗位，相當於每年約28億美元的勞動力收入和10 億美元的年收入。到 2026 年美國經濟總經濟產出將達到 10 億美元。這項研究估計，到 2023 年，First Solar 的每個工作（建築業除外）可支持 6 個工作機會。預計到 2026 年，這一比例將增至 7.3 個工作機會。

We believe this data defines in tangible terms the value that domestic solar manufacturing delivers to the U.S. economy and should provide a basis for bipartisan political support to establish and maintain the policies and trade measures necessary to provide a domestic solar supply chain and a level playing field.

我們認為，這些數據以有形的方式定義了國內太陽能製造業為美國經濟帶來的價值，並應為兩黨政治支持提供基礎，以建立和維持提供國內太陽能供應鏈和公平競爭環境所需的政策和貿易措施。

We now turn to Slide 7 to examine our pipeline. Despite the current oversupply of Chinese modules and loopholes in trade policies in our key markets, our pipeline of potential bookings remain robust as reflected on Slide 7. Total bookings opportunity stands at 66.5 gigawatts, an increase of approximately 600 megawatts since the previous quarter. Our mid- to late-stage opportunities decreased by approximately 500 megawatts to 32 gigawatts and includes 23.2 gigawatts in North America, 8.5 gigawatts in India and 0.3 gigawatts in the EU.

我們現在轉向幻燈片 7 來檢查我們的管道。儘管目前中國組件供應過剩以及我們主要市場的貿易政策存在漏洞，但我們的潛在預訂管道仍然強勁，如幻燈片7 所示。總預訂機會為66.5 吉瓦，較上一季增加了約600 兆瓦。我們的中後期機會減少了約 500 兆瓦至 32 吉瓦，其中包括北美 23.2 吉瓦、印度 8.5 吉瓦和歐盟 0.3 吉瓦。

Included within our mid- to late-stage pipeline are 3.8 gigawatts of opportunities that have contracted subject to CP precedents, which includes 1.1 gigawatts in India. Given the shorter time frame between contracting and product delivery in India relative to other markets, we would not expect the same multiyear contracted commitments that we are currently seeing in the United States. As a reminder, signed contracts in India are not recognized as bookings until we have received full security against the offtake.

我們的中後期管道包括 3.8 吉瓦的機會，這些機會已根據 CP 先例簽訂合同，其中包括印度的 1.1 吉瓦。鑑於與其他市場相比，印度的合約和產品交付之間的時間較短，我們預計不會出現與目前在美國看到的相同的多年合約承諾。提醒一下，在我們收到承購的全部擔保之前，在印度簽署的合約不會被視為預訂。

Turning to Slide 8. We are pleased with our progress of our Ohio capacity expansions and new Alabama manufacturing facility, which are expected to be completed and begin commercial shipments in the first and second halves of the year, respectively. Once these projects are completed, we expect to exit 2024 with over 21 gigawatts of global nameplate capacity, approximately half of which is forecasted to be local in the U.S. Our new Louisiana facility is also on track and is expected to commence commercial operations in late 2025, bringing our expected total nameplate capacity to over 25 gigawatts by the end of 2026 with 14 gigawatts in the U.S. As a reflection of this expansion road map and continued optimization of the existing fleet, we have summarized our expected exit nameplate capacity and production for 2024 through 2026 on this slide.

轉向幻燈片 8。我們對俄亥俄州產能擴張和阿拉巴馬州新製造工廠的進展感到滿意，預計這些工廠將分別在今年上半年和下半年竣工並開始商業發貨。這些項目完成後，我們預計到 2024 年全球銘牌容量將超過 21 吉瓦，其中約一半預計將位於美國本土。我們的路易斯安那州新工廠也已步入正軌，預計將於 2025 年底開始商業運營，到2026 年底，我們的預期總銘牌容量將超過25 吉瓦，其中美國為14 吉瓦。為了反映這一擴張路線圖和對現有機隊的持續優化，我們總結了2024 年的預期退出銘牌產能和產量這張投影片上的截止時間為 2026 年。

Our strategic expansion of manufacturing capacity in the U.S., which is supported by an extensive domestic value chain, enables our customers' efforts to begin from -- to benefit from the ITC and production tax credit domestic content bonuses under the Inflation Reduction Act. The resulting demand for First Solar's American-made solar technologies, combined with the eligibility of our vertically integrated manufacturing facilities for Section 45X tax credits, is expected to contribute significantly to our financial performance in the coming years.

我們在美國的製造能力的策略擴張得到了廣泛的國內價值鏈的支持，使我們的客戶能夠從通貨膨脹減少法案下的 ITC 和生產稅收抵免國內內容獎金中受益。由此產生的對 First Solar 美國製造太陽能技術的需求，加上我們垂直整合的製造工廠符合第 45X 節稅收抵免的資格，預計將對我們未來幾年的財務業績做出重大貢獻。

In addition to progressing our manufacturing expansion plans, we expect 2024 to be a foundational year from the point of view of accelerating our R&D efforts in pursuit of our goal to develop and commercialize the next generation of photovoltaics. As previously noted, in addition to a new perovskite development line, we expect to commission our Ohio R&D innovation center this year.

除了推動我們的製造擴張計劃外，我們預計 2024 年將是基礎年，加快我們的研發工作，以實現下一代光伏發電的開發和商業化目標。如前所述，除了新的鈣鈦礦開發線外，我們預計今年將啟用俄亥俄州研發創新中心。

Located near our existing Perrysburg manufacturing facility and covering an area of approximately 1.3 million square feet, it will feature a high-tech pilot manufacturing line, allowing for the production of full-size prototypes of thin-film and tandem PV modules. This center will allow us to create an R&D sandbox separate from our manufacturing operations, which we expect will accelerate without taking manufacturing mission-critical tools off-line, which would impact throughput and cost.

該工廠位於我們現有的佩里斯堡製造工廠附近，佔地約 130 萬平方英尺，擁有一條高科技試點生產線，可生產全尺寸薄膜和串聯光伏組件原型。該中心將使我們能夠創建一個與製造業務分開的研發沙箱，我們預計這將在不會使製造關鍵任務工具離線的情況下加速，因為這會影響吞吐量和成本。

To close, as I've mentioned at our recent Analyst Day, we established a goal to exit this decade stronger than we entered it. Reflecting on our progress, we entered -- we ended 2023 in a stronger position than we began it with a record contracted backlog, a significant pipeline of booking opportunities and continued robust demand in our core markets despite some of the current policy landscape challenges.

最後，正如我在最近的分析師日中提到的，我們制定了一個目標，即在結束這個十年時比進入這個十年時更強大。回顧我們的進展，我們在 2023 年結束時處於比年初更有利的地位，儘管當前面臨一些政策環境挑戰，但合約積壓創紀錄、大量預訂機會以及核心市場持續強勁的需求。

We entered 2024 with new capacity of our most advantaged Series 7 product coming online, increased R&D investment and capabilities and continued momentum across the business driven by a focus on our points of differentiation and a balanced business model focused on growth, liquidity and profitability.

進入2024 年，我們最有優勢的系列7 產品的新產能上線，研發投資和能力不斷增加，在關注我們的差異化點和注重增長、流動性和盈利能力的平衡業務模式的推動下，整個業務保持了持續成長的勢頭。

I'll now turn the call over to Alex, who will discuss our 2024 outlook and guidance.

我現在將電話轉給 Alex，他將討論我們 2024 年的展望和指導。

Thanks, Mark. Before discussing our financial guidance, I'd like to reiterate 3 themes from our recent Analyst Day related to our growth and investment thesis, our approach to our backlog and bookings and our expansion into India.

謝謝，馬克。在討論我們的財務指引之前，我想重申最近分析師日的 3 個主題，涉及我們的成長和投資主題、我們處理積壓和預訂的方法以及我們向印度的擴張。

Firstly, from a growth and investment thesis perspective, we continue to focus on differentiation and are guided by an approach to our business model that balances growth, profitability and liquidity. This decision-making framework informs our long-term strategic direction. It guided our strategy to exit the systems business at the end of the last decade and significantly expand our module manufacturing business, evidenced in a doubling of nameplate capacity from 2021 to 2023 and the forecasted increase in nameplate capacity of over 50% from 2023 to 2026.

首先，從成長和投資論點的角度來看，我們繼續關注差異化，並以平衡成長、獲利能力和流動性的商業模式為指導。該決策框架為我們的長期策略方向提供了資訊。它指導我們在過去十年末退出系統業務並大幅擴展我們的模組製造業務的策略，從2021年至2023年銘牌產能翻倍以及預計2023年至2026年銘牌產能成長超過50%就可以看出。

The scaling capacity is supported by optionality in our R&D road map across energy attributes, including efficiency, degradation, temperature coefficient and bifaciality. We've gone from deploying prototypes of early bifacial CadTel modules at a test facility in 2021 to converting our lead line at the end of 2023 with commercial deployment across a significant portion of our fleet plan for 2024. Additionally, in the fourth quarter of 2024, we expect to begin production of our first commercial CuRe modules on our lead line in Ohio.

擴展能力得到了我們研發路線圖中跨能源屬性的可選性的支持，包括效率、退化、溫度係數和雙面性。我們已經從 2021 年在測試設施部署早期雙面 CadTel 組件原型，到 2023 年底轉換我們的主導產品線，並在 2024 年機隊計劃的很大一部分中進行商業部署。此外，在 2024 年第四季度，我們預計將在俄亥俄州的領先生產線上開始生產我們的第一個商業CuRe 模組。

As it relates to contracting this volume, we continue to prioritize certainty. Our reported backlog, which includes U.S. and rest of world bookings with our typical contractual security provisions but excludes contracts signed in India unless backed by 100% liquid security, is made up of 2 types of contracts: those related to a specific asset or project; and frameworks, which are typically larger, multiyear and often have less certainty over delivery timing.

由於涉及到簽約這一數量，我們繼續優先考慮確定性。我們報告的積壓訂單包括美國和世界其他地區具有我們典型的合同擔保條款的預訂，但不包括在印度簽署的合同，除非有100% 流動性擔保支持，該訂單由2 種類型的合同組成：與特定資產或項目相關的合約；和框架，這些框架通常規模較大、歷時多年，而且交付時間的確定性往往較低。

Common across these contracts is a fixed price structure, which may include adjusters for technology improvements and which typically include adjusters for bin class, freight risk and commodities. As of December 31, 2023, approximately 95% of the megawatts in our backlog had some form of freight protection and approximately 85% had some form of steel and/or aluminum commodity cost protection.

這些合約的共同點是固定價格結構，其中可能包括技術改進的調節器，通常包括垃圾分類、貨運風險和商品的調節器。截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日，我們積壓的兆瓦中約 95% 具有某種形式的貨運保護，約 85% 具有某種形式的鋼鐵和/或鋁商品成本保護。

As a reminder, a limited number of our contracts contain a termination for convenience provision, often related to customer regulatory requirements or as a portion of large multiyear framework commitment, which generally require substantial advanced notice to be invoked and features a contractually required termination payment to us. This payment is generally set at a substantial percentage of the contract value and backstopped by some form of security.

提醒一下，我們的有限數量的合約包含便利終止條款，通常與客戶監管要求相關或作為大型多年框架承諾的一部分，通常需要大量提前通知才能調用，並以合約要求的終止付款為特色。我們。這筆付款通常佔合約價值的很大一部分，並由某種形式的擔保提供支持。

As of today's call, the percentage of megawatts in our contracted backlog that had a termination for convenience clause with an associated termination payment obligation is roughly equivalent to that given at our Analyst Day in September of 2023. Note, given this provision is one of many deal terms that is negotiated with our customers in the process of a module sale, we do not expect to provide updates on this metric.

截至今天的電話會議，我們的合約積壓中具有便利終止條款及相關終止付款義務的兆瓦百分比大致相當於 2023 年 9 月分析師日給出的百分比。請注意，鑑於此條款是眾多條款之一由於在模組銷售過程中與客戶協商的交易條款，我們預計不會提供此指標的更新。

On our earnings call in February of 2022, we stated that as we significantly increased our nameplate capacity, we believe that this anticipated growth will generate significant contribution margin to drive operating margin expansion. In 2023, that thesis was validated as we saw significant year-over-year operating margin expansion. As we continue our capacity growth, we expect to continue to see operating margin expansion in 2024 as reflected in our guidance provided today.

在 2022 年 2 月的財報電話會議上，我們表示，隨著我們大幅增加銘牌產能，我們相信這一預期成長將產生顯著的邊際貢獻，從而推動營業利潤率擴張。 2023 年，這一論點得到了驗證，因為我們看到營業利潤率同比大幅增長。隨著我們產能的持續成長，我們預計 2024 年營業利潤率將繼續擴大，正如我們今天提供的指導所反映的那樣。

Secondly, as it relates to our contracted backlog, excluding India, we remain cumulatively oversold through 2026. This overallocation position is deliberate. It provides us resilience to the uncertain timing of delivery inherent in some of our larger framework contracts, a natural tendency for delay in the project development process as well as the potential for incremental supply as we start up and ramp new factories.

其次，由於這與我們的合約積壓訂單（不包括印度）有關，因此我們在 2026 年之前仍處於累積超賣狀態。這種超額配置立場是故意的。它使我們能夠適應一些較大框架合約中固有的不確定的交付時間、專案開發過程中延遲的自然趨勢以及我們啟動和擴建新工廠時增量供應的潛力。

The further out the delivery time frame, the more comfortable we are with overallocation. The closer we get to delivery dates and as we enter any given year and undertake our annual planning process, the more we look to ensure that demand is able to be met with available supply. As of late Q4 2023, we have not seen significant customer requests for schedule changes beyond the typical daily and weekly balancing that occurs in our supply-demand forecasting.

交付時間越長，我們就越能接受過度分配。距離交付日期越近，當我們進入任何特定年份並進行年度規劃流程時，我們就越希望確保可用供應能夠滿足需求。截至 2023 年第四季末，除了我們的供需預測中典型的每日和每週平衡之外，我們還沒有看到客戶對計畫變更的重大要求。

As we conclude our planning process for 2024 through the first 2 months of the year, we have seen some requests from customers to shift delivery volume timing out as a function of project development delays. As we stated previously, including at our Analyst Day, we will work with our customers to optimize their project schedules, including moving delivery dates in the short and medium term where possible, balanced by the constraints of our production and shipment needs, including selling our full production in 2024, which we continue to expect to do.

當我們結束 2024 年前 2 個月的規劃流程時，我們看到一些客戶要求根據專案開發延遲推遲交付量。正如我們之前所說，包括在分析師日上，我們將與客戶合作優化他們的專案時間表，包括在可能的情況下在中短期內調整交付日期，並透過我們的生產和運輸需求的限制來平衡，包括銷售我們的產品我們預計將在 2024 年全面投產。

Our contractual business underlie and govern these relationships and discussions. In certain situations, our approach to overselling could expose us contractually should we be unable to manage our overallocated position. This is where the strength of our long-standing customer relationship is key, providing flexibility not just for our customers but also often for First Solar delivery time lines. Given our supply-demand balancing so far and our ability in the near term to supply modules from India to the U.S., we do not forecast any damages associated with overallocation in 2024.

我們的合約業務是這些關係和討論的基礎並管轄這些關係和討論。在某些情況下，如果我們無法管理過度分配的頭寸，我們的超售方法可能會使我們面臨合約風險。這就是我們長期客戶關係的優勢所在，它不僅為我們的客戶提供靈活性，而且還經常為 First Solar 的交付時間提供靈活性。鑑於我們迄今為止的供需平衡以及我們近期從印度向美國供應模組的能力，我們預計 2024 年不會因過度分配而造成任何損害。

Contractual provisions also protects us in the event of long-term customer issues or disputes. For example, we were recently notified by a corporate customer that they are experiencing significant delays to their project. And based on this and their current position of financial distress, we do not intend to take delivery of 381 megawatts of modules scheduled for delivery in 2024. We are working with this customer to optimize the outcome for both the customer and First Solar, but in this and other similar circumstances, we will continue to enforce our contractual rights to termination penalties or other damages in the event of their contractual breach.

合約條款也可以在出現長期客戶問題或爭議時保護我們。例如，我們最近接到一位企業客戶的通知，他們的專案遇到了嚴重的延誤。基於這一點以及他們目前的財務困境，我們不打算接收計劃於 2024 年交付的 381 兆瓦組件。我們正在與該客戶合作，以優化客戶和 First Solar 的結果，但在這種情況和在其他類似情況下，我們將繼續執行我們的合約權利，以便在其違反合約的情況下獲得終止罰款或其他損害賠償。

As previously discussed on recent earnings calls and at our Analyst Day, we believe our approach to forward contracting has been validated in the past through multiple pricing and supply-demand cycles in the industry. We've also previously stated that we expect the pace of bookings to slow after 2 record contracting years.

正如之前在最近的財報電話會議和分析師日上討論的那樣，我們相信我們的遠期合約方法在過去已經通過行業的多個定價和供需週期得到了驗證。我們之前也曾表示，預計在經歷了兩個創紀錄的合約年之後，預訂速度將會放緩。

Our current backlog, cumulatively oversold through 2026 and with bookings extending to the end of the decade, provides us optionality in periods of pricing and policy uncertainty. Put simply, if we did not book any more deals by the end of this year, we would remain sold out 2 years forward through 2025 and 2026. We do not expect this to be the case, and we will continue to contract with customers who prioritize long-term relationships and value our differentiation as reflected in our 2.3 gigawatts of bookings since the previous earnings call.

我們目前的積壓訂單已累積超售至 2026 年，並且預訂量一直持續到本世紀末，這為我們在定價和政策不確定時期提供了選擇餘地。簡而言之，如果我們在今年年底之前沒有預訂更多交易，那麼我們將在2025 年和2026 年之前的兩年內保持售空狀態。我們預計情況不會出現這種情況，並且我們將繼續與符合以下條件的客戶簽訂合約：優先考慮長期關係並重視我們的差異化，這反映在自上次財報電話會議以來我們的 2.3 吉瓦預訂量中。

But given the significant variables in the policy environment that Mark discussed earlier as well as the uncertainty around the 2024 U.S. presidential and congressional elections and their potential impact on the renewable sector, we expect to take advantage of this position of strength and be highly selective in our contracting in 2024.

但考慮到馬克先前討論的政策環境中的重大變量，以及 2024 年美國總統和國會選舉的不確定性及其對可再生能源行業的潛在影響，我們預計將利用這一優勢，並在我們在2024年簽訂合約。

Finally, as it relates to India, from a contracting perspective, as of our Q3 earnings call in October, we had 1.7 gigawatts of signed contracts with our mid- to late-stage pipeline. As a reminder, signed contracts in India will not be recognized as bookings until we have received full security against the offtake. As of today's call, that number is 1.1 gigawatts following a 600-megawatt default by a customer who has recently delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. We are seeking to enforce our contractual rights under this contract and are currently seeking to recover the contractual termination payments owed to us.

最後，就印度而言，從合約角度來看，截至 10 月第三季財報電話會議，我們的中後期管道已簽署 1.7 吉瓦的合約。提醒一下，在我們收到承購的全部擔保之前，在印度簽署的合約不會被視為預訂。截至今天的電話會議，該數字為 1.1 吉瓦，此前一位最近從紐約證券交易所退市的客戶違約了 600 兆瓦。我們正在尋求執行本合約項下的合約權利，目前正在尋求收回欠我們的合約終止付款。

From an ASP perspective, the temporary suspension of the ALMM policy that Mark discussed earlier is having a short-term negative impact on domestic market ASPs and gross margin, which is reflected in our 2024 guidance. We believe the expected reinstatement of the ALMM at the end of Q1, together with the ability to serve the domestic content market segment, which we are uniquely positioned to address given our vertical integration, provides a market opportunity with a gross margin profile, excluding the Section 45X tax credit benefit, comparable to the fleet average given the lower production costs in our Chennai facility.

從平均售價的角度來看，馬克先前討論的 ALMM 政策的暫時中止正在對國內市場平均售價和毛利率產生短期負面影響，這在我們的 2024 年指引中得到了反映。我們相信，ALMM 預計將在第一季末恢復，加上我們有能力為國內內容市場提供服務（考慮到我們的垂直整​​合，我們在解決這一問題上擁有獨特的地位），這將提供一個具有毛利率狀況的市場機會（不包括鑑於我們欽奈工廠的生產成本較低，第 45X 節稅收抵免優惠與車隊平均水平相當。

So with this context in mind, I'll next discuss the assumptions included in our 2024 financial guidance. Please turn to Slide 9. As referenced in 2023, we have effectively completed the transition back to a module-only company. We continue to have certain remaining risks, liabilities, indemnities, warranty obligations, accounts payable, accounts receivable, earnouts, cash collection, dispute resolution and other legacy involvement related to our former systems business. Consistent with 2023 reporting, we no longer provide segment-specific guidance but shall, in the future, note any significant impact from the other segment to our consolidated financials.

因此，考慮到這一背景，我接下來將討論 2024 年財務指南中包含的假設。請參閱投影片 9。正如 2023 年所提到的，我們已經有效地完成了向純模組公司的轉變。我們仍然存在與我們以前的系統業務相關的某些剩餘風險、責任、賠償、保固義務、應付帳款、應收帳款、收益、現金回收、爭議解決和其他遺留問題。與 2023 年報告一致，我們不再提供特定部門的指導，但將來應注意其他部門對我們合併財務狀況的任何重大影響。

As it relates to growth, our factory expansions and upgrades remain on schedule to increase our expected global nameplate capacity to 25 gigawatts by year-end 2026. In 2024, growth-related costs are expected to impact operating income by approximately $125 million to $155 million. This comprises start-up expenses of $85 million to $95 million primarily incurred in connection with our new factory in Alabama and estimated ramp costs of $40 million to $60 million at our factories in India, Ohio and Alabama. The anticipated expansion of upgrades will contribute meaningfully to our production plans in 2025 and beyond.

由於與成長相關，我們的工廠擴建和升級仍按計劃進行，到2026 年底，我們的預期全球銘牌容量將增加至25 吉瓦。到2024 年，與成長相關的成本預計將影響營業收入約1.25 億至1.55 億美元。其中包括8,500 萬至9,500 萬美元的啟動費用，主要與我們在阿拉巴馬州的新工廠有關，以及我們在印度、俄亥俄州和阿拉巴馬州的工廠預計的4,000 萬至6,000 萬美元的升級成本。預期的升級擴展將對我們 2025 年及以後的生產計劃做出重大貢獻。

Operationally, in 2024, we're expected to produce 15.6 to 16 gigawatts of modules. From a sold perspective, we expect to sell 15.6 to 16.3 gigawatts, of which 5.8 to 6.1 gigawatts is produced in the U.S. and 2 to 2.2 gigawatts is assumed to be domestic sales in India.

從營運角度來看，到 2024 年，我們預計將生產 15.6 至 16 吉瓦的組件。從銷售角度來看，我們預計銷售15.6至16.3吉瓦，其中5.8至6.1吉瓦在美國生產，2至2.2吉瓦預計在印度國內銷售。

For the full year, we expect to recognize a fleet ASP sold of approximately $0.282 per watt. This includes India domestic sold volume; a non-India base ASP roughly in line with our expectations from our September Analyst Day; and the benefit of certain technology, commodity and freight adders.

對於全年，我們預計機隊的銷售均價約為每瓦 0.282 美元。這包括印度國內銷量；非印度基地平均售價大致符合我們 9 月分析師日的預期；以及某些技術、商品和運費加成的好處。

From a cost perspective, full year 2024 cost per watt produced is forecast to be in the range of $0.187 to $0.189 per watt, an approximately 2% to 3% improvement versus 2023. This is driven by expected improvements in throughput, yield and reduced inbound freight and variable costs as well as the benefit of an increased mix of lower-cost India production, partially offset by increased costs related to the rollout of our bifacial product. As it relates to cost per watt sold, we are forecasting fleet average sales freight, warehousing ramp and other period costs of approximately $0.03 per watt, resulting in a full year 2024 cost per watt sold reduction of approximately 7% versus the prior year.

從成本角度來看，預計2024 年全年每瓦生產成本將在0.187 美元至0.189 美元每瓦之間，與2023 年相比約提高2% 至3%。這是由於吞吐量、良率的預期改善和入庫量減少所推動的運費和可變成本以及低成本印度生產增加組合帶來的好處，部分被與推出雙面產品相關的成本增加所抵消。由於與每瓦銷售成本相關，我們預測車隊平均銷售運費、倉儲坡道和其他期間成本約為每瓦 0.03 美元，從而導致 2024 年全年每瓦銷售成本比前一年減少約 7%。

As mentioned at our Analyst Day, approximately 3/4 of the cost of our module is derisked given approximately 1/3 of the cost is fixed and approximately 2/3 of the variable costs are subject to forward contracting, long-term agreements or have contractual mechanisms to pass costs through to our customers in the event that these costs change materially. Additionally, over 95% of our backlog has some form of sales freight protection, leading to significant gross margin visibility.

正如我們在分析師日所提到的，鑑於約1/3 的成本是固定的，約2/3 的可變成本受遠期合約、長期協議或已簽訂合約的約束，因此我們模組的約3/4 的成本是消除風險的。如果成本有重大變化，我們將採用合約機制將成本轉嫁給我們的客戶。此外，我們 95% 以上的積壓訂單都有某種形式的銷售運費保護，從而實現顯著的毛利率可見度。

From a capital structure perspective, our strong balance sheet has been and remains a strategic differentiator, enabling us to both weather periods of volatility as well as providing flexibility to pursue growth opportunities, including funding our Series 6 and Series 7 growth.

從資本結構的角度來看，我們強大的資產負債表一直是並且仍然是一個戰略優勢，使我們能夠度過波動時期，並提供靈活性來尋求增長機會，包括為我們的6 輪和7 輪增長提供資金。

We ended 2023 in a strong liquidity position, and coupled with forecasted operating cash flows from module sales, cash from the sale of our 2023 Section 45X tax credits and anticipated module prepayments, we expect to be able to finance our currently announced capital programs without requiring external finance.

截至2023 年，我們的流動性狀況良好，再加上組件銷售的預測營運現金流量、2023 年第45X 節稅收抵免的銷售現金以及預期的組件預付款，我們預計能夠為我們目前宣布的資本計劃提供資金，而無需外部融資。

As it relates to our 2024 Section 45X credits, we are forecasting to elect direct payments and are therefore assuming no discount to the value of these credits for a sale to a third party. But we'll continue to evaluate options and valuations for earlier monetization.

由於它與我們的 2024 年第 45X 條信用有關，我們預計將選擇直接付款，因此假設出售給第三方時這些信用的價值不會有折扣。但我們將繼續評估早期貨幣化的選擇和估值。

I'll now cover the full year 2024 guidance ranges on Slide 10. Our net sales guidance is between $4.4 billion and $4.6 billion. Gross margin is expected to be between $2 billion and $2.1 billion or approximately 46%, which includes $1 billion to $1.05 billion of Section 45X tax credits and $40 million to $60 million of ramp costs. SG&A expenses are expected to total $170 million to $180 million versus $197 million in 2023, demonstrating our ability to leverage our largely fixed operating cost structure while expanding production.

現在，我將在投影片 10 上介紹 2024 年全年指引範圍。我們的淨銷售額指引範圍在 44 億美元到 46 億美元之間。毛利率預計在 20 億至 21 億美元之間，約 46%，其中包括 10 億至 10.5 億美元的第 45X 條稅收抵免和 4,000 萬至 6,000 萬美元的坡道成本。 SG&A 費用預計將達到 1.7 億至 1.8 億美元，而 2023 年為 1.97 億美元，這表明我們有能力在擴大生產的同時利用基本固定的營運成本結構。

R&D expenses are expected to total $200 million to $210 million versus $152 million in 2023. R&D expenses are increasing primarily due to commencing operations at our R&D innovation center and perovskite development line and the expectation of adding head count to our R&D team to further invest in advanced research initiatives. SG&A and R&D expense combined is expected to total $370 million to $390 million. Total operating expenses, which include $85 million to $95 million of production start-up expense, are expected to be between $455 million to $485 million.

研發費用預計總計為 2 億至 2.1 億美元，而 2023 年為 1.52 億美元。研發費用增加主要是由於我們的研發創新中心和鈣鈦礦開發線開始運營，以及預計增加研發團隊人數以進一步投資先進的研究舉措。 SG&A 和研發費用合計預估為 3.7 億至 3.9 億美元。總營運費用（包括 8,500 萬至 9,500 萬美元的生產啟動費用）預計將在 4.55 億至 4.85 億美元之間。

Operating income is expected to be between $1.5 billion and $1.6 billion, implying an operating margin of approximately 34% to 35% and is inclusive of $125 million to $155 million of combined ramp costs and plant start-up expenses and $1 billion to $1.05 billion of Section 45X tax credits. Compared to an operating margin of 26% in 2023, this year-over-year increase demonstrates how we expect to leverage our business model against a largely fixed SG&A cost structure, which shows the value of growth in driving incremental contribution margin and operating margin expansion.

營業收入預計在15 億至16 億美元之間，意味著營業利潤率約為34% 至35%，其中包括1.25 億至1.55 億美元的綜合產能提升成本和工廠啟動費用以及10 億至10.5 億美元的第 45X 節稅收抵免。與2023 年26% 的營業利潤率相比，這一同比增長表明我們期望如何利用我們的業務模式來應對基本固定的SG&A 成本結構，這顯示了增長在推動增量貢獻利潤率和營業利潤率擴張方面的價值。

Turning to nonoperating items. We expect interest income, interest expense and other income to net to $35 million to $50 million. Full year tax expense is forecast to be $135 million to $150 million. This results in a full year 2024 earnings per diluted share guidance range of $13 to $14.

轉向非營運項目。我們預計利息收入、利息支出和其他收入淨額將達到 3,500 萬至 5,000 萬美元。全年稅收支出預估為 1.35 億至 1.5 億美元。這導致 2024 年全年稀釋後每股收益指引範圍為 13 至 14 美元。

So from an earnings cadence perspective, we're expecting net sales and cost of sales profile, excluding the benefit of Section 45X tax credits, of approximately 15% in Q1, 25% in Q2 and 60% in the second half of the year. We forecast Section 45X tax credits of approximately $190 million in Q1, $230 million in Q2 and $600 million in the second half of the year. With an operating expenses profile roughly evenly split across the year, this results in a forecasted operating income and earnings per share profile of approximately 15% in the first quarter, 25% in the second quarter and 60% in the second half of the year.

因此，從獲利節奏的角度來看，我們預期第一季的淨銷售額和銷售成本狀況（不包括第45X 條稅收抵免的好處）約為15%，第二季為25%，下半年為60%。我們預計第一季第 45X 條稅收抵免約為 1.9 億美元，第二季為 2.3 億美元，下半年為 6 億美元。由於全年營運費用分佈大致平均，因此預計第一季營運收入和每股收益約為 15%，第二季為 25%，下半年為 60%。

Capital expenditures in 2024 are expected to range from $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion as we progress the construction of our Alabama and Louisiana Series 7 factories, implement throughput upgrades to the fleet and invest in other R&D-related programs. Approximately 2/3 of our CapEx is associated with capacity expansion and 1/4 are related to our R&D center and technology replication with the remainder mostly related to maintenance and logistics. Our year-end 2024 net cash balance is anticipated to be between $0.9 billion and $1.2 billion.

隨著我們推動阿拉巴馬州和路易斯安那州 Series 7 工廠的建設、對船隊實施吞吐量升級以及投資其他研發相關項目，2024 年的資本支出預計將在 17 億美元至 19 億美元之間。我們大約 2/3 的資本支出與產能擴張有關，1/4 與我們的研發中心和技術複製有關，其餘的則主要與維護和物流有關。 2024 年底，我們的淨現金餘額預計在 9 億至 12 億美元之間。

Turning to Slide 11. I'll summarize the key messages from today's call. Demand has been solid with 2.3 gigawatts of net bookings since the previous earnings call, leading to a contracted backlog of 80.1 gigawatts. Our opportunity pipeline remains strong with a global opportunity set of 66.5 gigawatts, including mid- to late-stage opportunities of 32 gigawatts.

轉向投影片 11。我將總結今天電話會議的關鍵資訊。自上次財報電話會議以來，需求一直穩定，淨預訂量為 2.3 吉瓦，導致合約積壓量達到 80.1 吉瓦。我們的機會管道仍然強勁，全球機會集為 66.5 吉瓦，其中包括 32 吉瓦的中後期機會。

We continue to expand our manufacturing capacity, exiting 2023 with 16.6 gigawatts of nameplate capacity and expect to exit 2026 with approximately 25 gigawatts of nameplate capacity, including approximately 14 gigawatts of nameplate capacity in the U.S. We are, as previously announced, adding a new dedicated R&D facility in Ohio projected to be operational in the first half of 2024, which we believe will allow us to optimize technology improvements with significantly less disruption to our commercial manufacturing lines.

我們繼續擴大我們的製造能力，到 2023 年，銘牌產能將達到 16.6 吉瓦，預計到 2026 年，銘牌產能將達到約 25 吉瓦，其中包括美國約 14 吉瓦的銘牌產能。俄亥俄州的研發設施預計將於2024 年上半年投入運營，我們相信這將使我們能夠優化技術改進，同時顯著減少對我們商業生產線的干擾。

Earnings per diluted share was $7.74 in 2023, including the impact of selling our 2023 Section 45X tax credits and the impairment of our investment in CubicPV, above the midpoint of our initial and Q3 updated guidance. We're forecasting full year 2024 earnings per diluted share of $13 to $14.

2023 年攤薄每股收益為 7.74 美元，包括出售 2023 年第 45X 條稅收抵免的影響以及我們對 CubicPV 投資的減值，高於我們最初和第三季度更新指引的中點。我們預計 2024 年全年稀釋後每股收益為 13 至 14 美元。

Finally, we ended the year with a cash balance of $1.6 billion net of debt and expect to end 2024 with a cash balance of $0.9 million to $1.2 billion net of debt. This net cash position, together with optionality around monetizing our 2024 Section 45X tax credits, places us in a position of strength in which to expand our capacity, invest in research, development and technology improvements and pursue other strategic opportunities as we march forward on our journey to lead the world's sustainable energy future.

最後，我們年底的現金餘額（扣除債務）為 16 億美元，預計到 2024 年底，現金餘額（扣除債務）為 90 萬至 12 億美元。這種淨現金狀況，加上圍繞2024 年第45X 條稅收抵免貨幣化的選擇性，使我們處於有利地位，可以在我們前進的過程中擴大我們的產能，投資於研究、開發和技術改進，並尋求其他策略機會。引領世界永續能源未來的旅程。

With that, that concludes our prepared remarks and open the call for questions. Operator?

我們準備好的演講到此結束，並開始提問。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) We'll take the first question from Moses Sutton, BNP Paribas.

（操作員說明）我們將回答法國巴黎銀行的 Moses Sutton 提出的第一個問題。

Congrats on continued price momentum and just execution. At some point, should we see bookings, I want to say, near 0 in a given quarter? I mean simply can't book more until time passes naturally, and I think investors kind of think of that. Or conversely, would you eventually lower that ASP into like $0.29 range? It went all the way to $0.32, which was great to see. So just curious how that dynamic plays through the year. I know you could book some, but what should we expect more precisely?

祝賀持續的價格勢頭和公正的執行。我想說，在某個時候，我們是否應該看到某個季度的預訂量接近 0？我的意思是，在時間自然流逝之前，根本無法預訂更多，我認為投資者已經想到了這一點。或者相反，您最終會將 ASP 降低到 0.29 美元的範圍嗎？它一路上漲到 0.32 美元，這真是太棒了。所以我很好奇這種動態在這一年中是如何發揮的。我知道您可以預訂一些，但更準確地說我們應該期待什麼？

Yes. So I'll take that one, I guess. In terms of -- as Alex included in his remarks, I mean, our plan is to be patient. The opportunities are there, you can see the pipeline of opportunities that we represent both mid- to late- and obviously, the early-stage pipeline.

是的。所以我想我會選擇那個。正如亞歷克斯在他的演講中所說，我的意思是，我們的計劃是保持耐心。機會就在那裡，你可以看到我們代表的中後期和早期階段的機會管道。

Separating U.S. from India, you're going to continue to bookings in India. Clearly, as we indicated, we've got a conversion that will happen of those contractors subject to CP. So that's going to continue on a cadence that you would expect, call it, hundreds of megawatts, maybe a gigawatt in any particular quarter, to sell through that and position for 2024. So you'll see that momentum continuing.

將美國與印度分開，您將繼續在印度預訂。顯然，正如我們所指出的，那些受 CP 約束的承包商將會發生轉變。因此，這將繼續以您期望的節奏，稱之為數百兆瓦，也許在任何特定季度為一千兆瓦，以銷售到 2024 年。所以您會看到這種勢頭仍在繼續。

As it relates to the U.S., our strategy of being patient is largely how we're going to engage the market and conversations with our customers. I'm very happy with the bookings that we showed up for this last quarter. Great ASPs, good counterparties, technology adders associated with it. So -- and fettered into a period of time that's very constructive for us. A lot of that volume goes out into '27, '28 and '29 and touches '30 even. So happy from that standpoint.

由於它與美國有關，我們的耐心策略很大程度上是我們如何參與市場以及與客戶對話的方式。我對上個季度的預訂感到非常滿意。優秀的 ASP、優秀的交易對手、與之相關的技術補充者。所以——並且被束縛在一個對我們來說非常有建設性的時期。其中大部分內容都出現在 27 年、28 年和 29 年，甚至到了 30 年。從這個角度來看很高興。

We've got right now -- we've got a short window between now and the next earnings call. So you could see maybe a period of softness there outside of the volume that we would expect to continue to recognize for India. But we've -- I've got ongoing commercial conversations right now for north of 3 gigawatts of bookings here for shipments into the U.S. that are in late-stage negotiations. And actually, as this call was ongoing, I got a text that about 10% of that now has been booked and will reflect in the next earnings call.

我們現在——從現在到下一次財報電話會議之間有一個很短的時間窗口。因此，除了我們預計印度將繼續認可的銷售之外，您可能會看到一段疲軟時期。但我們現在正在就 3 吉瓦以上的運往美國的訂單進行持續的商業對話，這些訂單正處於後期談判階段。事實上，當這次電話會議正在進行時，我收到一條短信，其中大約 10% 已經被預訂，並將反映在下一次財報電話會議中。

So the momentum is there. It's available to us. It's how we choose to engage, and our strategy is to try to maintain ASPs and deliver the certainty that we provide to our customers. There's a lot going on right now. When you step back and reflect, I mean, there's a whole policy environment of issues that have to be resolved and uncertainty, and there's potential change in the administration in D.C., which Alex highlighted as well.

所以勢頭就在那裡。我們可以使用它。這就是我們選擇參與的方式，我們的策略是努力維持平均售價並為客戶提供確定性。現在發生了很多事情。當你退後一步反思時，我的意思是，整個政策環境中存在著必須解決的問題和不確定性，而且華盛頓特區的政府可能會發生變化，亞歷克斯也強調了這一點。

And if there was a Republican administration, how would they choose to engage? And there's all kinds of conversations on how they think through IRA, sure. But I don't think that they would be any less lenient on the Chinese, and I think they can get more aggressive in the potential trade barriers that our customers are just concerned about. And so they value the certainty of First Solar and looking to derisk their projects as far out as they can go.

如果有共和黨政府，他們會選擇如何參與？當然，還有各種關於他們如何看待 IRA 的討論。但我不認為他們會對中國人更加寬容，而且我認為他們可以在我們的客戶所擔心的潛在貿易壁壘方面變得更加激進。因此，他們重視 First Solar 的確定性，並希望盡可能降低專案風險。

The other thing that's still driving some uncertainty in the marketplace is, as you've seen recently with -- on an IP standpoint, especially as the market has transitioned to TOPCon. Jinko has indicated that they have a strong IP position for TOPCon, and they're going to enforce that IP. You've seen Maxeon make statements as well that they've got an IP position around TOPCon that they're also going to enforce. And as you know, there is a significant transition towards TOPCon. So our customers also have to think through freedom to operate with their counterparties around intellectual properties.

正如您最近所看到的，另一件事仍然為市場帶來了一些不確定性，那就是從智慧財產權的角度來看，尤其是在市場已經轉向 TOPCon 的情況下。晶科能源表示，他們對 TOPCon 擁有強大的智慧財產權地位，並且他們將強制執行該智慧財產權。您已經看到 Maxeon 也發表聲明，表示他們在 TOPCon 周圍擁有智慧財產權地位，並且也將予以執行。如您所知，向 TOPCon 發生了重大轉變。因此，我們的客戶也必須考慮與對手方圍繞知識產權開展業務的自由度。

So there's a lot that they have to think through, and there's a lot of uncertainty outside of engaging with First Solar. And so we'll be disciplined and measured in our negotiations. But I would not at all be surprised that as we finish out this year, we'll be somewhere around a 1:1 book-to-bill, which will have 16 gigawatts or so. With our shipment profile, I wouldn't be surprised if our bookings is somewhat in that zip code. And largely, that would fill out our pocket of opportunity in 2027. So we could exit this year with a comfortable backlog that we have right now and potentially have a very solid position going in through 2027 and continuing to think about how we book out through the end of the decade.

因此，他們必須考慮很多事情，而且除了與 First Solar 合作之外還有很多不確定性。因此，我們將在談判中遵守紀律並謹慎行事。但當我們今年結束時，我們的訂單出貨比將達到 1:1 左右，即 16 吉瓦左右，我對此一點也不感到驚訝。根據我們的貨運資料，如果我們的預訂在該郵遞區號範圍內，我不會感到驚訝。在很大程度上，這將填補我們在2027 年的機會。因此，我們今年可以帶著目前擁有的充足的積壓訂單退出，並可能在2027 年之前擁有非常穩固的地位，並繼續思考如何在2027年完成預訂。十年末。

We'll take the next question from Philip Shen, ROTH Capital Partners.

我們將回答羅仕資本合夥人 Philip Shen 的下一個問題。

First one is on pricing. Great job on the recent bookings, ASPs at $0.32 almost. And can you talk through the dynamics influencing that pricing? You mentioned a bunch of it earlier, Mark, but I'd love to get a feel for how the customer conversations have inflected. Last year, it was very much an oversupply, kind of price decline environment. And recently, a lot of this policy activity has kind of swung back in your favor as it relates to greater UFLPA enforcement or the potential for the 201 bifacial exemption being removed.

第一個是關於定價。最近的預訂做得很好，平均售價幾乎為 0.32 美元。能談談影響定價的動態嗎？馬克，你之前提到了很多，但我很想了解客戶對話的變化。去年，這是一個供應過剩、價格下跌的環境。最近，許多此類政策活動都對您有利，因為它涉及 UFLPA 的更大執法或 201 雙面豁免被取消的可能性。

Can you just talk through that customer conversation and how that may have inflected recently? And then also, do you expect that pricing momentum to remain steady through '24? Or is there even potential that it could go higher? Or do you think there's a risk that it could go lower?

您能簡單談談客戶對話以及最近可能發生的變化嗎？另外，您是否預期定價動能將在 2024 年保持穩定？或者是否有可能進一步走高？或者您認為有進一步走低的風險嗎？

The second question here is around module volume that you talked about. There's a customer that can't take delivery of 381 megawatts of product. Our checks on this suggest there could be as much as 1.5 gigawatts floating around. And so how many megawatts do you expect the market to transact in the secondary market, if you will, in '24? So I know it's not your risk ultimately, but you do have to manage it at some level, and your customers ultimately have to deal with it. But -- and you should have protections, but it's something that can be an issue to understand better as well.

這裡的第二個問題是關於您談到的模組體積。有一位客戶無法接收 381 兆瓦的產品。我們對此進行的檢查表明，周圍可能有多達 1.5 吉瓦的電量。那麼，如果您願意的話，您預計 24 年二級市場的交易量是多少兆瓦？所以我知道這最終不是你的風險，但你必須在某種程度上管理它，而你的客戶最終必須處理它。但是——你應該有保護措施，但這也可能是需要更好理解的問題。

Yes. So let me -- I'll start with your second one and then I'll go back to the first one. Look, the 380 megawatts was to -- think of it almost as a one-off transaction that I think we booked 2, 3 years ago. I'm not sure of the exact time frame. It was for -- and we specifically stated in the prepared remarks, it was for a corporate customer who basically was going to use it for self-generation, self-consumption, right? And ultimately, it was looking potentially not just from -- to potentially leverage it beyond just the raw form of the electricity generation that it would provide.

是的。那麼讓我——我將從第二個開始，然後再回到第一個。聽著，380 兆瓦幾乎可以看作是我們在兩三年前預訂的一次性交易。我不確定確切的時間範圍。它是為了——我們在準備好的演講中特別指出，它是為了一個企業客戶，他們基本上將用它來自我發電、自我消費，對吧？最終，它不僅僅希望利用它提供的原始發電形式。

That customer has gone into some financial distress and challenges that they're having to deal with. And those megawatts are an obligation to the customer. We will enforce the rights on the contract. We will also work with the customer to recontract that if we -- if that opportunity is available to us. If not, then there's an obligation for them to take delivery and then to pay for that.

該客戶陷入了一些財務困境和他們必須應對的挑戰。這些兆瓦是對客戶的義務。我們將執行合約上的權利。如果我們有這個機會，我們還將與客戶合作重新簽訂合約。如果沒有，那麼他們有義務提貨並付款。

The particular project, it is a project that is cited in the state of permitting and I believe has an interconnection. That project asset itself is being marketed right now. And we'll see how successful that is. To the extent that, that transaction does happen, then the modules will go along with it. There'll be an assignment with -- given our consent, and we'll support that type of consent, again with the spirit of honoring -- enforcing rights underneath our contract. So that one is that issue.

特定項目，它是在國家允許的情況下引用的項目，我相信具有互連性。該項目資產本身目前正在銷售。我們將會看到這有多成功。如果該事務確實發生，那麼模組將隨之發生。在我們同意的情況下，將會有一項任務，我們將再次以尊重的精神支持這種類型的同意，執行我們合約下的權利。所以這就是那個問題。

Phil, to the other question, because I know you've asked this a couple of times, about markets and a product that's out in the secondary market, there are customers who are challenged right now from a development standpoint as it relates to interconnection additions. It's something that you are very well aware of. Our contracts and our customers are aware of the fact that they need to take delivery of those modules. And when I'm talking about this, this is hundreds of megawatts. This is not a lot of volume in 2024.

菲爾，關於另一個問題，因為我知道你已經問過這個問題好幾次了，關於市場和二級市場上的產品，從開發的角度來看，有些客戶現在面臨著挑戰​​，因為這與互連的增加有關。 。這是你非常清楚的事情。我們的合約和客戶都知道他們需要接收這些模組。當我談論這個時，這是數百兆瓦。這對 2024 年來說並不是很多。

Their option is to find a warehouse and to put it into a warehouse or potentially, they could look to try to transact with a third party. We'll try to find the right possible outcome with our customers. We always have worked in the spirit of let's figure out a solution that can work. So I'm aware of that.

他們的選擇是找到一個倉庫並將其放入倉庫，或者他們可能會嘗試與第三方進行交易。我們將盡力與客戶一起找到正確的可能結果。我們始終本著「找到可行的解決方案」的精神開展工作。所以我知道這一點。

I don't believe it will have any significant impact on our ability to continue to book any volumes that may be available in 2024 given scheduled movements and those types of things. But we'll have to keep an eye on it. But I also -- I just want to make sure that the one deal that we talked about was unique in its circumstances and isn't necessarily reflective of maybe the other opportunities that you're hearing about in the marketplace.

考慮到預定的移動和此類事情，我認為這不會對我們繼續預訂 2024 年可能提供的任何卷的能力產生任何重大影響。但我們必須密切注意它。但我也 - 我只是想確保我們談論的一筆交易在其情況下是獨一無二的，並且不一定反映您在市場上聽到的其他機會。

As it relates to pricing and ASP and momentum, policies clearly -- toggles back and forth and trends up and down. And right now, I think there is a lot of uncertainty from that standpoint. But the other thing I want to continue to try to emphasize is the value of certainty of First Solar and the value of our relationship and our value proposition.

由於它與定價、平均售價和動量有關，因此政策很明顯——來回切換以及趨勢上升和下降。現在，我認為從這個角度來看存在著許多不確定性。但我想繼續強調的另一件事是 First Solar 的確定性價值以及我們的關係和價值主張的價值。

I was having a conversation with one of our largest partners just last week, and they couldn't be happier to be partnering with First Solar. And it's -- [the absolutes] we're talking about, the strength of the technology, the certainty of First Solar, but it also gets into the responsible solar aspects as well and our carbon footprint and our water usage and our energy payback and our circular economy. And when you -- that's inherent to their value proposition that they're selling to their contracted offtake customers like data centers, who value that as well.

上週我剛剛與我們最大的合作夥伴之一進行了交談，他們非常高興與 First Solar 合作。我們談論的是[絕對]，技術的實力，First Solar 的確定性，但它也涉及負責任的太陽能方面以及我們的碳足跡、我們的用水量和我們的能源回報以及我們的循環經濟。當你——這是他們的價值主張所固有的，他們將產品賣給資料中心等合約承購客戶，他們也看重這一點。

This work that we're doing around economic impact, no different than that. I mean creating American jobs, I mean, being closely tethered to that, supporting and investing back into America and American manufacturing, American technology, all that plays to our strength. And so yes, policy environment is helpful right now. But these other attributes are almost equally as important.

我們圍繞經濟影響所做的工作與此沒有什麼不同。我的意思是創造美國的就業機會，我的意思是，與此緊密相連，支持並投資於美國和美國的製造業，美國的技術，所有這些都發揮了我們的優勢。所以，是的，政策環境現在很有幫助。但這些其他屬性幾乎同樣重要。

And our partner said, basically, look, I know I may have to pay a little bit more for First Solar. But when I look at the brand and the certainty and the value proposition that they are creating, more than happy to do that. And this is a counterparty that is almost 80-plus percent, 100% sole-sourced into First Solar, and we've got a deep relationship in multi-gigawatts of opportunities still in front of us. And I don't see this as a unique one-off. This is generally the engagement and conversations that we're having with our customers.

我們的合作夥伴說，基本上，看，我知道我可能需要為 First Solar 多付一點錢。但當我看到這個品牌以及他們正在創造的確定性和價值主張時，我非常樂意這樣做。這是一個幾乎 80% 以上、100% 的交易對手，全部由 First Solar 獨家採購，我們在數千兆瓦的機會中建立了深厚的關係。我不認為這是一次獨特的一次性事件。這通常是我們與客戶的互動和對話。

And Phil, you mentioned probably the pricing would stay steady. There's definitely some elasticity of demand related to pricing, which is why we want to be disciplined and why the position of strength that we put ourselves in is so important. We have no need to go out and chase deals.

菲爾，你提到定價可能會保持穩定。與定價相關的需求肯定存在一定的彈性，這就是為什麼我們要遵守紀律，以及為什麼我們所處的優勢地位如此重要。我們沒有必要出去追逐交易。

We -- as I mentioned on the call, we could book nothing between now and the end of the year and still find ourselves 2 years forward sold out. If there is uncertainty in the market, we can afford to step back. And therefore, we can manage to some degree some of that price erosion.

正如我在電話中提到的，從現在到年底，我們無法預訂任何東西，但仍然會發現兩年後的門票已售罄。如果市場存在不確定性，我們可以退後一步。因此，我們可以在某種程度上控制價格侵蝕。

So we'll continue to work with people that value the attributes that Mark brings. And therefore, I think you'll see slower bookings -- lower pace of bookings at pricing that we find acceptable in the long term. Clearly, if we wanted to sell a lot more and drop pricing, that would happen, but that's not the strategy.

因此，我們將繼續與重視馬克所帶來的品質的人合作。因此，我認為您會看到預訂速度變慢——預訂速度降低，而我們認為從長遠來看可以接受的定價。顯然，如果我們想賣得更多並降低價格，這種情況就會發生，但這不是我們的策略。

Yes. And I think as we just tether back to, look, if we can achieve a 1:1 book-to-bill this year, largely sell through our open position in 2027, I think it would be a great result and position the company very well as we exit 2024.

是的。我認為，如果我們今年能夠實現1:1 的訂單出貨比，並在2027 年透過我們的未平倉頭寸進行大部分銷售，我認為這將是一個很好的結果，並且公司的地位非常好。我們也將退出 2024 年。

And everyone, that is all the time we have for questions today. This does conclude today's conference. We would like to thank you all for your participation. You may now disconnect.

大家好，今天的提問時間就到此為止。今天的會議到此結束。我們衷心感謝大家的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。