GCL-Poly Energy Holdings, the world’s largest producer of polysilicon, the raw material used to make solar panels and wafers, expects consolidation in the severely oversupplied industry to continue until the end of the year before gradually recovering next year. The Jiangsu-based company aims to ride out the downturn through continuous product-cost reduction and quality improvement, Chairman Zhu Gongshan said after its annual shareholders’ meeting. “The solar-equipment industry will continue to undergo consolidation in the year’s second half, and hopefully it will gradually recover next year,” he said. Zhu said that despite a sharp slowdown in demand, the largest and most cost-competitive wafer producers were still reporting healthy sales growth albeit at much lower profit margins. He also expected global solar panel installation to reach at least 35 gigawatt (GW), up from about 27 GW last year, a 30% growth. KGI Securities Analyst Jennifer Liang tipped a 10% increase to about 29.5 GW, while industry consultancy IHS has predicted installations of 29.5 GW to at most 35 GW. Global panel-production capacity is about double this year’s installation. The downturn has hit GCL’s customers, who make solar cells and modules, harder than producers of polysilicon and wafers. Suntech Power, the world’s largest module maker, based in Jiangsu too, has reeled in losses since last year. GCL, which posted a HKD4.3 billion net profit last year, is forecast by 30 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters to see a 67% profit plunge this year to HKD1.4 billion.  GCL-Poly Energy Holdings sold 4.5 GW last year and 1.2 GW in this year’s first quarter. KGI’s Liang estimated that GCL’s overall gross profit margin would sink from 33% in last year’s second half to 11.8% in this year’s first half, before recovering to 14% in the second half, the South China Morning Post reports.