SMA SOLAR TECHNOLOGY AG GENERATES SALES RECORD IN 2016 AND SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASES OPERATING EARNINGS ACCORDING TO PROVISIONAL FIGURES
SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA/FWB: S92) generated a sales record in 2016 with more than 8 GW of inverter output sold (2015: 7.3 GW). According to provisional estimates by the Managing Board, SMA generated sales of more than €940 million in continuing operations in 2016 (pro-forma 2015: €981.8 million) and substantially increased operating earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) to approximately €65 million (pro-forma 2015: €43.3 million) despite an unexpectedly sharp decline in average selling prices of nearly 20%. Sales and operating earnings are in line with the Managing Board’s forecast. For the fiscal year 2017, the SMA Managing Board expects the continued high price pressure as well as market and segment shifts to reduce sales to between €830 million and €900 million. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) are expected to decline to between €70 million and €90 million. According to estimates by the Managing Board, SMA will generate high operating cash flow thanks to its attractive business model and increase net cash to more than €400 million in 2017. At tomorrow’s Capital Markets Day, the SMA Managing Board will present new products and innovative solutions for the digitization of the energy industry, which will lead to an improvement in profitability and a sustainable boost to SMA’s competitiveness from 2018 onwards.
“In 2016, SMA continued successfully on the path to more profit and higher cash flow. SMA has been the global market leader for more than two decades in one of the most exciting industries of the 21st century. Through enormous technological progress, photovoltaics is now one of the most efficient energy carriers and will therefore push environmentally damaging coal-fired power generation out of the energy mix over the next few years,” said SMA CEO Pierre-Pascal Urbon. “Future energy generation will be decentralized, renewable and digital. This will provide attractive opportunities for specialists in environmental and communication technology. SMA will use digital energy management to create transparency of energy flows across various sectors, such as photovoltaics, heating and e-mobility, and to optimize total energy costs at the local level. With our innovation, we are breaking new technological ground and entering strategic partnerships in a targeted way. With its future service range, SMA will make photovoltaics an integral component of the new energy market.”
Due to the high price pressure, the SMA Managing Board forecasts sales of €830 million to €900 million and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of €70 million to €90 million for the current fiscal year. Net cash will rise to more than €400 million thanks to high operating cash flow.
“The fiscal year 2017 will certainly not be easy for SMA,” explained Pierre-Pascal Urbon. “We have already demonstrated on several occasions in the past that we can counter the enormous price pressure in our industry with technical innovation and the systematic reduction of fixed costs. At tomorrow’s Capital Markets Day, we will therefore present the new products and services with which we will increase SMA’s cross margin from 2018 onwards. In addition, we will provide information about the market and competitive situation and our strategic direction.”
Source:sma
