Daqo New Energy Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
February 28, 2024

There are 6 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good day, and welcome to the Daqo New Energy 4th Quarter and Fiscal Year 2020 3 Results Conference Call. All participants will be in the listen only mode. Please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by 0. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. I would now like to turn the conference over to Ms.

Operator

Anita Hsu. Please go ahead.

Speaker 1

Thank you. Hello, everyone. I'm Anita Shu, the Investor Relations of Daqo New Energy. Thank you for joining our conference call today. Daqo New Energy just issued its financial results for the Q4 fiscal year 2023, which can be found on our website at www.dqsolar.com.

Speaker 1

Today, attending the conference call, we have our Chairman and CEO, Mr. Xiang Shu our CFO, Mr. Ming Yang and myself. The call today will begin with an update from Mr. Shu on market conditions and company operations, and then Mr.

Speaker 1

Ying will discuss the company's financial performance for the quarter the year. After that, we'll open the floor to Q and A from the audience. Before we begin the formal remarks, I would like to remind you that certain statements on today's call, including expected future operational and financial performance and industry growth, are forward looking statements that are made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the U. S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Speaker 1

These statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the reports or documents we have filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. These statements only reflect our current and preliminary view as of today and may be subject to change. Our ability to achieve these projections is subject to risks uncertainties.

Speaker 1

All information provided in today's call is as of today, and we undertake no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law. Also during the call, we'll occasionally reference monetary amounts in U. S. Dollar terms. Please keep in mind that our functional currency is the Chinese RMB.

Speaker 1

We offer these translations into U. S. Dollars solely for the convenience of the audience. So Mr. Xu will make his remarks regarding current market conditions and company performance in Chinese, which I'll translate into English after he finishes.

Speaker 1

Now I'll turn the call to our CEO.

Operator

Thank you, Anita.

Speaker 1

Hello, everyone. This is Anita. I'll now translate our CEO, Mr. Xu's remarks. 2023 was a year of unforeseen developments and challenges in the solar industry with record installation volumes worldwide, but also record low prices at the end of the year.

Speaker 1

Thanks to the dedication and valuable contribution of our team, we reached an annual polysilicon production volume of 197 831 metric tons in 2023, meeting our guidance of 196,000 to 199,000 metric tons and representing a 47.8 percent year over year growth rate compared to 133,000 812 metric tonne produced in 2022. We sold 200,002 metric tonnes, 50% 50 higher than 1329 metric tons in 2022. Despite robust demand growth for solar PV products globally in 20 23, the high poly prices driven by capacity mismatches between upstream and downstream players and the resulting supply shortages that we have seen in 2022 were alleviated by early 2023. As a result, poly ASPs declined significantly for the year to $11 per kilo from $32.54 per kilogram in 2022. Our revenue was CNY 2,300,000,000 in 20.23 compared to CNY 4,600,000,000 in 2022 due to much lower ASPs.

Speaker 1

The decline was partially offset by the higher sales volume. Despite the challenging market conditions, gross margin still came in strong at 39 0.9% for 2023. The company generated very strong operating cash flow of approximately US1.6 $1,000,000,000 for the year and continue to maintain a healthy balance sheet with no financial debt. By the end of the year, the company had a cash balance of US3 $1,000,000,000 and a combined cash and bank notes receivable balance of US3 $200,000,000 During the 4th quarter, continued optimization of operations and improvements in yields and throughput at our 2 poly facilities resulted in total production volume of 61 and 14 metric tonnes, an increase of 3,350 metric tonnes compared to the previous quarter. 4th quarter saw solid demand from customers for high quality untai poly.

Speaker 1

And as a result, our finished goods inventory was at a very low level, of which will have allowed us to effectively hedge against downside risk. During new capacity was released, the price disparity became more apparent between high quality manufacturers and new engines. Despite Sears' market condition due to the addition of poly supply, we continue to maintain our leadership in both cost and quality. Compared to the end of last year, our production costs trended down quarter over quarter, reducing by approximately $1.2 per kilo from Q4 of 2022 compared to that in Q4 of 2023. During the month of December, our entire product mix reached approximately 60%.

Speaker 1

Overall, we maintained profitable despite the challenging market conditions, generating $128,000,000 in EBITDA for 4th quarter and maintain a strong cash flow. We expect our Q1 2024 total poly production volume to be approximately 60,000 metric tonnes to 62,000 metric tonnes, similar to that for Q4 2023 as the company maintains full production. We plan to begin initial production at our new Inner Mongolia 5B facility in the Q2 of 2024. And as such, we anticipate full year 2024 production volume to be approximately 280,000 metric tons to 300,000 metric tons, approximately 40% to 50% higher than in 2023. With more than a decade of experience in poly production as well as a fully digitalized and integrated production system that optimizes operational efficiency will further increase entire production in the product mix.

Speaker 1

Debriefing on the industry, poly prices in the 4th quarter declined from approximately RMB 87 per kilo for monogray poly in September to approximately RMB 65 per kilo in December, primarily due to a seasonally lower demand. On the demand side, in October, the ingot segment reduced utilization rates due to accumulated inventory and lower wafer prices. In November, N type module prices dropped below RMB 1 per watt for the first time and solar cell manufacturers could hardly make a profit. On the supply side, poly production volumes in China continued to increase on a month over month basis in Q4. And Tier 2 and Tier 3 manufacturers, including new engines, contributed most of the growth in poly supply.

Speaker 1

However, leading high quality manufacturers produced less than anticipated, widening the price gap between high quality manufacturers and Tier 2 companies. Near the end of December, N type and P type poly prices came in at around RMB 65 to RMB 68 per kilogram and RMB 55 to RMB 62 per kilogram, respectively. Going to the Q1 of 2024, we expect poly prices to rebound slightly in Q1, seasonally affected by the Chinese New Year and then stabilized in Q2. The market transition to NTAI products have been accelerating as downstream producers continue to switch to NTAI products, driven by the higher price premium for N type for N type PropCon products over P type PERC products. We expect this trend to continue throughout 2024 with strong demand for higher purity anti poly in a market with tight supply.

Speaker 1

Overall, 2023 was an unprecedented year, marking a step change for renewable energy growth. The global acceleration in the transition to renewable energy was primarily driven by China's booming solar market with new solar PV capacity reaching record high at 216.88 gigawatt, a 148% year over year growth. This surge was particularly evident in December when China added 53 gigawatts, which is roughly a quarter of the entire year's additional capacity. Solar has become one of the most competitive forms of power generation, the continuous cost reduction in solar PV products and the associated reduction in solar energy generation costs are expected to create substantial additional green energy demand. So with 2023 setting the stage for gradually phasing out P type products, we believe that 2024 will mark the year when N type products dominate the industry.

Speaker 1

We are optimistic that we'll capture the long term benefits of the growing global solar PV prop market and maintain our competitive advantage by enhancing our higher efficiency untapped technology and optimizing our cost structure through digital transformation. In 2023 alone, we collected more than 20,000,000,000 manufacturing process data points at each of our poly production facility. We believe that we have one of the largest pools of collected and stored polyproduction data amongst our peers in China. So we have begun to apply AI to this vast amount of data to help increase the proportion of En type in our product mix and reduce our production costs by identifying relationships across discrete processes and ultimately predicting the optimal input and parameters that will yield the best production results. We expect that as we collect more data and further leverage our AI powered analytics to provide additional insights, we'll be able to further reduce cost, achieve higher efficiency and increase productivity.

Speaker 1

So now I'll turn the call to our CFO, Mr. Ming Yang, who will discuss the company's financial performance for the quarter. Ming, please go ahead.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Anita. Hello, everyone. This is Ming Yang, CFO of Daqo New Energy. We appreciate you joining our earnings conference call today. I'll first go over the company's Q4 2023 financial performance, then follow with our full year 2023 financial results.

Speaker 2

Revenue for the Q4 of 2023 were $477,000,000 compared to $484,800,000 in the Q3 of 2023 and $864,300,000 in the Q4 of 2022. The decrease in revenue compared to the Q3 of 2023 was primarily due to decrease in sales volume mitigated by increasing ASP. As Mr. Shi mentioned earlier, ASP for Q4 was $7.90 per kilogram, which was 3.8 percent above Q3 ASP of $7.68 per kilogram. Gross profit was $87,200,000 compared to $67,800,000 in the Q3 of 2023 and $669,000,000 in the Q4 of 2022.

Speaker 2

Gross margin was 18.3% compared to 14% in the Q3 of 2023 and 77% in the Q4 of 2022. The increase in gross margin compared to the Q3 of 2023 was primarily due to higher average selling price and lower production costs. Despite 8% increase in silicon metal procurement costs in Q4 compared to Q3, we managed to reduce costs slightly due to improvements in utilization as well as other improvements in manufacturing efficiency. SG and A expenses were $39,000,000 compared to 89 point $7,000,000 in the Q3 of 2023 $44,000,000 in the Q4 of 2022. SG and A expenses during the Q4 includes 19 $600,000 in non cash share based compensation expense related to the company's share incentive plan compared to $46,300,000 in the Q3 of 2023.

Speaker 2

R and D expenses were $3,300,000 compared to $2,800,000 in the Q3 of 2023 $2,700,000 in the Q4 of 2022. R and D expenses can vary from period to period and reflect R and D activities that take place during the quarter. R and D activities for the quarter were primarily related to quality improvements and anti product research. Foreign exchange loss was $800,000 compared to a gain of $3,100,000 in the Q3 of 2023 and is attributed to the volatility and fluctuation in the USD CNOI exchange rate during the quarter. Income from operations was $83,300,000 compared to $22,500,000 in the Q3 of 2023 and 6 $23,000,000 in the Q4 of 2022.

Speaker 2

Operating margin was 17.5% compared to 4.6% in the Q3 of 2023 and 72.1 percent in the Q4 of 2022. Net income attributable to Daqo New Energy shareholders was $44,900,000 compared to net loss of $6,300,000 in the Q3 of 2023 and net income of 330 $2,700,000 in the Q4 of 2022. Earnings per basic ADS was $0.64 compared to loss per basic ADS of 0.09 dollars in the Q3 and earnings per basic ADS of $4.26 in the Q4 of 2022. Adjusted net income attributable to Daqo New Energy shareholders, which excludes non cash share based compensation costs was $66,000,000 compared to $44,000,000 in the Q3 of 2023 and $363,000,000 in the Q4 of 2022. Adjusted earnings per basic ADS was $0.94 compared to $0.59 in the Q3 of 2023 and $4.65 in the Q4 of 2022.

Speaker 2

EBITDA was $128,200,000 compared to $70,000,000 in the Q3 of 2023 and $649,000,000 in the Q4 of 2022. EBITDA margin was 26.9 percent compared to 14.5% in the Q3 of 2023 and 75% in the Q4 of 2022. Now I will go over the company's the full year 2020 3 financial results. Revenue for 2023 was $2,300,000,000 compared to 4,600,000,000 dollars in 2022. The decrease was primarily due to lower polysilicon average selling prices and partially mitigated by higher sales volume.

Speaker 2

Gross profit was $920,700,000 for 2023, compared to $3,400,000,000 in 2022. Gross margin was 39.9% compared to 74% in 2022. The decrease in gross profit was primarily due to lower average selling price. SG and A expenses were $213,000,000 compared to $354,000,000 in 2022. The decrease was primarily related to a reduction in non cash share based compensation costs related to the company's share incentive plan.

Speaker 2

R and D expenses in 2023 were 10,000,000 dollars compared to $10,000,000 in 2022. And income operations was $783,400,000 compared to $3,000,000,000 in 2022. Operating margin was 33.9% compared to 66% in 2022. Net interest income was $52,300,000 compared to $14,500,000 in 20.22. The increase in interest income for 2023 was due to the company's higher cash balance at banks.

Speaker 2

Income tax expense was 100 and $74,000,000 compared to $577,000,000 in 2022. Net income attributable to Daqo New Energy shareholders for the full year of 2023 was $421,000,000 compared to $1,800,000,000 in 2022. Earnings per basic ADS were $5.64 compared to $24 in 2022. Non GAAP adjusted net income attributable to Alco New Energy shareholders was $554,000,000 compared to $2,100,000,000 in 2022. Adjusted earnings per basic ADS were $7.42 in 2023 compared to $27.97 in 2022.

Speaker 2

EBITDA was $918,600,000 compared to $3,150,000,000 in 20.22. EBITDA margin was 39.8% compared to 68.4% in 2022. And now on the company's financial condition. As of December 31, 2023, the company had $3,000,000,000 in cash, cash equivalents and interest to cash compared to $3,280,000,000 as of September 30, 2023 and RMB3.5 billion as of December 31, 2022. At the end of 2023, the banknotes receivable balance was $116,000,000 compared to $275,800,000 as of September 30, 2020 $3,000,000 $1,130,000,000 as of December 31, 2022.

Speaker 2

Notes receivable represent banknotes with maturity within 6 months. Now on the company's cash flow. For the 12 months ended December 31, 2023, net cash provided by operating activities was 1 point $61,000,000,000 compared to $2,460,000,000 in the same period of 2022. And for 12 months ended December 31, 2023, net cash used in investing activities was RMB1.19 billion compared to RMB998 1,000,000 in the same period of 2022. Net cash used in investing activities in 2023 was primarily due to the company's capital expenditures on the company's 5A and 5B project expansion projects in Baodou City, Inner Mongolia.

Speaker 2

And for the 12 months ended December 31, 2023, Net cash used in financing activities was $795,000,000 compared to $1,470,000,000 of net cash provided by financing activities in the same period of 2022. The net cash used in finance activities in 2023 was primarily related to RMB486 1,000,000 in share repurchases and RMB303 1,000,000 in dividend payments made by the company's subsidiary Xinjiang Daqo to its minority shareholders on the China's Asia market. And that concludes our prepared remarks. We will now open the call to Q and A from the audience. Operator, please begin.

Operator

Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. The first question comes from Phil Shen with Roth MKM. Please go ahead.

Speaker 3

First one is on the outlook for price. You said in your prepared remarks that poly prices could rebound in Q1 and then stabilize in Q2. Can you quantify what n type and p type pricing could be in Q1? When you say rebound slightly, what does that mean? And then would you expect that to just be flat in Q2?

Speaker 3

And then if you have any view on what poly pricing does in the back half of 24, that would be very helpful. Thanks.

Speaker 1

So based on our understanding of the market N type will range between RMB 70 to RMB 73 per kilogram, while P type will be around RMB 65 per kilogram. And in the second half, depending on demand, whether it will exhibit a slight recovery and growth, we expect that Ntide might rebound to RMB 80 per kilogram and P type around RMB 75 per kilogram.

Speaker 2

Got it.

Speaker 3

And can you explain the dynamics for what's going on and why there could be that expansion of price? Is it have you seen from an industry structure standpoint, have you seen many players exit or shut down? And do you expect utilization to be lower as a result of having limited supply? Or do you expect demand to be the offsetting factor resulting in the higher price? Thanks.

Speaker 2

I'll fill it for Mr. Shi. Okay. In terms of dynamic, right. So if we look at the current market, we are actually in a period of relatively low end market demand.

Speaker 2

We think the current end market movements in terms of module production utilization is probably only 60% to 70% compared to say the September level of last year. So and but this already brings us to N type poly in the RMB70 to RMB73 range and P type in the 60s range, right, much improvement from the December level of pricing. So we do think going into the summer when the demand level recovers rather than let's say that we can recover to the level that we saw in the August, September timeframe. That certainly we think N type can easily go back to the 80s RMB level while P type in the seventy RMB level. And in terms of what we're seeing in the market, overall, we are seeing a relative oversupply of poly relative to demand.

Speaker 2

But specifically, we look at the N type poly. Based on industry statistics, we think there's only around 60,000 to 70,000 metric tons of supply per month, while the demand we think actually exceeds 100,000 metric ton a month based on the amount of N type cell capacity that has been put in place in the market. So we do believe we will continue to see a very strong demand, robust demand for N type in a tight supply market going forward. And actually that's what we're seeing today even for N type products.

Speaker 3

Great. Thank you, Ming. Do you think from a capacity standpoint for n type, do you see others trying to ramp up that n type poly capacity? And do you think they can be successful to try to close the gap? Or do you expect this difference between supply and demand the undersupply situation, how long could that last?

Speaker 3

Could that last about a year? Or do you think it's maybe just 6 months or could it last for a number of years? Thanks.

Speaker 1

So our N type production in the product mix is in between 60% to 70% as of now. And based on our awareness, our peers, especially the top players like Tongwei, it's somewhat similar to our entire production level. But for the new players, they have they are almost incapable in producing the N type at the current stage. So we believe that this year, it will still be a market where there's tight supply.

Speaker 3

Okay, great. One last one and then I'll pass it on. The stock is down 30% year to date. What's your view or thinking around another buyback program? Could you add more to the program or restart it?

Speaker 3

And is that something that you're interested in doing? Thanks.

Speaker 1

So thank you, Phil. So we are first of all, we are very confident in our as the market is currently undergoing tremendous challenges and there are a lot of unforeseeable market dynamics happening, The Board is keeping a close eye on the current market conditions and see how it evolves as time goes. And we believe that we still want to maintain a very healthy balance sheet to survive in this market and to undergo the current conditions. That being said, we have we are still considering the share repurchase plan, but that will be contingent upon the Asia dividend plan, which the Asia Board will discuss. And post they decide on the Asia dividend plan for 2023, we believe that we will get back to our investors about whether we'll release another share repurchase program or via other methods to increase shareholder confidence like dividends.

Operator

Thank you. The next question comes from Alan Lau from Jefferies. Please go ahead.

Speaker 4

Thanks a lot for taking my question. And actually the 4 ks result is decent amid the challenging market situation. So a couple of questions. So first of all, so what is the CapEx plan for 2024?

Speaker 2

Hi, Alan, this is Ming. So regarding the CapEx plan this year, so if you look at our ongoing CapEx projects, right. So primarily this year will be for the Inner Mongolia Phase 2. That's where we're spending most of our CapEx as well as some of the remaining payments on the Inner Mongolia Phase 1. And there's some small payments on the semiconductor project that's expected to start production this year.

Speaker 2

And then our silicon metal projects both in the Mongolia and Xinjiang. So from that perspective, our current CapEx budget for the year is around RMB8 1,000,000,000 to RMB9 1,000,000,000 for 2024 to implement the above projects and we're expecting that. So in terms of U. S. Dollars, roughly US1.1 billion dollars to US1.3 billion dollars and certainly the CapEx fully funded.

Speaker 4

Thanks a lot. So following the question from Phil, because some of the investors are also asking as to there's $200,000,000 remaining from the $700,000,000 dollars buyback program last year. So this amount of cash is sitting offshore already and it's not contingent to any of the distribution from the Asia level. So is there any preliminary plans like if dividends is open for consideration because some of the peers, some of the ADRs have also announced dividend payout, which has resulted in good reaction from the market.

Speaker 1

So regarding the 200,000,000 remaining of our 700,000,000 share repurchase program announced, like Mr. Xu has mentioned previously, that will be discussed after the Asia dividend plan is set in stone. And we will definitely consider whether to give off dividends or to roll out another share repurchase. We believe that we will definitely consider these plans to increase confidence in our company and in our management team. Mr.

Speaker 1

Xu is also a Board member in Xinjiang dako, and the payout ratio for 2023 is still not decided yet as they have not convinced to have the Board meeting for the Asia. Given that, we cannot say for sure what program we are going to roll out or what the amount will be, but we hope that our investors could understand. And once the Xinjiang Dao announces their dividend plan for the year, we will announce at the same time and our Board will discuss further on the topic.

Speaker 4

Thanks a lot. That's very clear. So switching gear to some of the technical questions. Since recently there's some trial in the downstream players in regards to cauliflower type anti poly. So I wonder if that may help to relieve the shortage in anti poly or and also are new players able to achieve that type of purity even for the cauliflower type policy?

Speaker 4

Thanks.

Speaker 1

So we have been talking with our downstream players like TCL, Longyear very fervently. Based on our understanding, there's still it's still very difficult to produce and type with other, let's say, cauliflower type poly, there's still a very high barrier to tackle. And we are keeping an eye on the new technology. But based on our understanding, there's still a huge step toward making untyped calls while probably.

Speaker 4

Thank you. That's very clear. My last question is in regards to the power tariff, because I think quite a lot of investors have inquired the power tariff hike in Sichuan. And actually that's a general situation in China. The power prices has been increasing.

Speaker 4

So we'd like to know in relation to our deal in Xinjiang and also our power prices in Inner Mongolia. What is our view on that? And will the further will there be risk of further power hike power tariff hike? And will that lead to increase in production costs? Thanks.

Speaker 1

We are aware of the electricity cost increases in Sichuan. However, because Sichuan uses state grid and the local government has limited power on the electricity cost. And based on our information, the increase in electricity cost will increase production cost for players located in that region up by RMB7000. However, for

Speaker 2

Per tonne.

Speaker 1

Per tonne. Yes, RMB7000 per tonne. So however, for us, Shenzhen uses local grid and we signed an exclusivity agreement with the government, we are not very worried about electricity cost. Similarly, for Inner Mongolia, they rely on local grid as well. Actually, the primary reason why we chose these two location at the first place was because they use local grid.

Speaker 1

So we can enjoy the preferential electricity agreement and the lower electricity cost.

Speaker 4

Thanks a lot, Mr. Xu, Anita and Ming. Very clear answer. I'll pass on. Thanks.

Speaker 2

Great. Thank you, Alan.

Operator

Thank you. The next question comes from Andrew Corporate with Private Investor. Please go ahead.

Speaker 5

Hello. So my question is, when is exactly the Xinjiang A type dividend declared like what month this year? Is it May? Is it April? July?

Speaker 5

This is my first question.

Speaker 1

So based on the Asia regulation and disclosure requirements, we expect to announce sometime near the end of March. And after as we have said previously, after the A share, Shenzhen Daqo announced its fair dividend plan for the year, We will discuss among our Board again whether to roll out another share repurchase program or to distribute dividends.

Speaker 5

Okay. So like in March, April, we should hear also from the DACO New York Stock Exchange listed company a response on the dividend or the extended buyback or special dividend from the cash balance or something like that. So April, let's say, April start to mid April.

Speaker 2

Yes. That will be the likely timeline, yes, after Asia announced their dividend level.

Speaker 5

Okay. Thank you very much. Also, I want to congratulate you for the increase in production. I think it was 50%, 60%, I don't remember and also the guidance very great whilst also decreasing the cost. So very great result.

Speaker 5

My last question is for 2025 CapEx investments, are there any? How much would CapEx be in 2025? So in 2024, we have RMB 8,000,000,000 to RMB 9,000,000,000, so $1,100,000,000 or 1.2, whatever. So what would be 2025? Do you expect to increase CapEx to have huge products like this year or lower CapEx, dollars 500,000,000 downwards?

Speaker 2

Okay. So this is Ming. So I will address the CapEx issue. When the early one. So I think 2025 CapEx is will be mostly the remaining payments on the Inner Mongolia Phase 2.

Speaker 2

And some of the remaining payments on our silicon metal project. The current estimate is roughly RMB3 1,000,000,000 to RMB4 1,000,000,000. So I think that's maybe RMB400 1,000,000 to RMB600 1,000,000. Yes.

Speaker 5

Yes. And considering this, so at the end of 2024, because you're trading at the quick ratio of 5 or 4.5, I don't know if it decreased a bit because you used some of your cash. It's a huge quick ratio. You never had a quick ratio this high. So my question is after this $1,100,000,000 in CapEx in 2024, would the cash decrease?

Speaker 5

Let's say we're staying at current prices or at your current forecast, polysilicon will not increase either on 50% or something. So at the current prices, how much would cash and equivalents decrease this year to $2,500,000,000 So now they're $3,000,000,000 right? To $2,500,000,000 or to $2,100,000,000 After the $1,100,000,000 CapEx this year?

Speaker 2

Yes. There's going to be a really rough estimate because it's very much subject to pricing at the beginning of the year. We think based on our estimate, operating cash flow should be in the range of maybe RMB 4,000,000,000 to RMB 4,500,000,000, something in that ballpark. So we should be close to say RMB2.5 billion yes, yes, dollars 2,500,000,000 is cash on something on that range.

Speaker 5

Okay. And considering the discount from Shanghai listed DACO, which we own 72 point 4%, if I remember, or 73%.

Speaker 3

Yes. Correct.

Speaker 5

Your repurchasing, did you continue it in Q1? Like now we're in February 28, so 50 days past. Did you repurchase any shares at the current DACO prices? So at $21, dollars 24 today?

Speaker 2

For the U. S. Shares?

Speaker 5

For Q1, yes, U. S. Shares, did you repurchase?

Speaker 2

For U. S. So our repurchase program ended at the end of last year, end of 2020 3. So we don't have a repurchase plan right now. But I think the Board is considering a repurchase plan for the full year.

Speaker 2

So that's why we would want to see what the dividend looks like from Xinjiang Dao. So once that come out then the

Speaker 4

full year

Speaker 5

I thought you had 20% left or 30% left out of the first of the $700,000,000 I thought you had $200,000,000 as the other the first analyst said?

Speaker 1

Yes. Regarding the share of personal plan, while it was announced in November 20 22, the expiration date of this program is until the December 31, 2020

Speaker 5

3.

Speaker 1

So that means because of the date, the program ended in 2023. And we have completed the funds for the 700,000,000 share repurchase program.

Speaker 5

Can you repeat again? You have repeated you have completed?

Speaker 1

Before the program expires by the end of 2023, we have completed almost approximately 17% of the enrollment program.

Speaker 5

Okay. And I think just so investors know, I think this was due to not being able to buy more at current prices because you are limited like you can buy only 25% of the volume on your stock exchange, I think. You couldn't have bought more, right?

Speaker 1

Yes, primarily.

Speaker 5

Okay. So you okay. Last question last actually recommendation would be if you could do a special dividend or a dividend yield maybe to attract investors. I think Daco is very underpriced considering you have net debt 0 and you own the Shanghai listed shares. So dividend, a big dividend would a big yield like 10%, 20% special dividend or a normal dividend.

Speaker 5

I think it would attract investors. Yes, that's the last thing.

Speaker 2

Okay. After

Speaker 5

all, of course, you present from the Shanghai.

Speaker 2

Okay. That's well noted. We'll share that with our Board as well.

Speaker 5

Yes. Okay. Because you're trading at a 0.3 price to book, so and you're increasing revenue by 40%, 50% actually volume. So you should issue big dividends to attract investors. Thank you very much and have a wonderful year and continue doing what you do.

Speaker 2

Great. Thank you so much. Thank you for your interest in the company.

Operator

Thank you. So this concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference over back to Ms. Anita Hsu for any closing remarks.

Speaker 1

Thank you, everyone, again for participating in today's conference call. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you, and have an awesome day. Good night. Good night.

Operator

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

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Daqo New Energy Q4 2023
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