DGAP-News: SMA Solar Technology AG / Key word(s): Forecast
SMA Solar Technology AG: SMA Managing Board Expects Severe Decline in
Sales in 2013: Forecast is Influenced by the Massive Subsidy Cuts in
the European Market
18.10.2012 / 18:24
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SMA Solar Technology AG Corporate News
SMA Managing Board Expects Severe Decline in Sales in 2013: Forecast is
Influenced by the Massive Subsidy Cuts in the European Market
- Due to massive subsidy cuts for photovoltaics, steep downturn in Europe
expected
- Global market leader SMA cannot dissociate itself from the market
development
- Managing Board predicts 2013 sales between EUR 0.9 and 1.3 billion
(2012: EUR 1.3 to 1.5 billion) with, at best, a balanced result, but
does not rule out a loss
- Gradual reduction of 450 employees worldwide and 600 temporary
employees
- Focus of technology development on new product platforms and cost
reduction
Due to massive subsidy cuts for photovoltaics in Europe, the Managing Board
of SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA/FWB: S92) expects a steep downturn and
growing price pressure next year as well as projects a significant drop in
sales to between EUR 0.9 billion and EUR 1.3 billion for 2013 (2012: EUR
1.3 to 1.5 billion). 'The growth impulses of the non-European photovoltaic
markets are not sufficient to compensate for the expected decrease in
European demand,' says Pierre-Pascal Urbon, speaker of the Managing Board.
He also states that as world market leader for PV inverters, SMA depends on
global demand development. 'Due to a strongly growing price pressure we
cannot compensate for such a drop in sales in such a short time only
through productivity improvements and technical innovations. In the best
case scenario, we expect a balanced operating result for 2013. At present,
we cannot exclude the possibility of a loss,' says Pierre-Pascal Urbon.
The company plans to adjust the personnel structures to the declining
sales. It is planned that SMA will gradually cut 450 employees worldwide
and end the use of 600 temporary employees. No personnel changes will be
made in development. In the coming year, SMA will invest over EUR 100
million in research and development to drive the key strategic technologies
of tomorrow. Developing completely new product platforms should reduce
production costs significantly by 2014, while at the same time setting new
standards for energy management. According to Pierre-Pascal Urbon,
self-consumption - the portion of electric current from the PV plant
consumed by the household itself - will increase greatly in importance in
Europe and America in the future. 'Particularly in this attractive growth
segment, we can differentiate ourselves from competitors through innovative
technologies and make an efficient energy supply without subsidies
possible. SMA has energy management products such as the Sunny Home Manager
for intelligent increased self-consumption and the Sunny Boy Smart Energy
for temporary storage of solar power that are tailored to the exact
requirements of our future energy supply,' says Pierre-Pascal Urbon.
The Speaker of the Managing Board also sees great opportunities for PV
plants in the power plant class in sunny regions, as well as for
supplementing stationary diesel engines through PV with so-called
solar-diesel-hybrid solutions. With high energy demand, PV is already
economically attractive here, too. According to Urbon, to tap this
potential requires a combination of innovative technologies, quality and
extensive expertise in the areas of system technology, as well as a strong
global presence. SMA has the required know-how and is very well positioned
with subsidiaries in 21 countries on six continents. With the focus on the
appropriate future markets, the company intends to expand in the business
area of solar-diesel-hybrid systems and expand its international sales and
service infrastructure. 'Should we succeed in reducing production costs
through technical innovation and open the market for energy management and
solar-diesel hybrid systems, we will be able to return to profitability
from 2014,' says Pierre-Pascal Urbon, giving his estimation of the
medium-term perspectives.
About SMA
The SMA Group generated sales of EUR1.7 billion in 2011 and is the global
market leader for solar inverters, a key component of all PV plants and, as
an energy management group, offers innovative key technologies for future
power supply structures. It is headquartered in Niestetal, near Kassel,
Germany, and is represented in 21 countries on six continents. The Group
employs more than 5,500 people worldwide, plus a number of temporary
employees that varies on a seasonal basis. SMA's broad product portfolio
includes a compatible inverter for every type of module on the market and
for all plant sizes, as well as monitoring and energy management systems.
The product range includes both inverters for photovoltaic plants connected
to the grid as well as inverters for off-grid systems. SMA is therefore
able to provide ideal technical inverter solutions for all plant sizes and
types. Since 2008, the Group's parent company, SMA Solar Technology AG, has
been listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (S92) and
also in the TecDAX index. In recent years, SMA has received numerous awards
for excellence as an employer and achieved first place in the nationwide
'Great Place to Work(R)' competition in 2011 and 2012.
SMA Solar Technology AG
Sonnenallee 1
34266 Niestetal
Germany
Head of Corporate Communications:
Anja Jasper
Tel.: +49 561 9522-2805
Presse@SMA.de
Press contact:
Susanne Henkel
Manager Corporate Press
Tel.: +49 561 9522-1124
Fax +49 561 9522-421400
Presse@SMA.de
Investor Relations contact:
Julia Damm
Manager Investor Relations
Tel. +49 561 9522-2222
Fax +49 561 9522-2223
IR@SMA.de
Disclaimer:
This corporate news serves only as information and does not constitute an
offer or invitation to subscribe for, acquire, hold or sell any securities
of SMA Solar Technology AG (the 'Company') or any present or future
subsidiary of the Company (together with the Company, the 'SMA Group') nor
should it form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any
contract to purchase or subscribe for any securities in the Company or any
member of the SMA Group or commitment whatsoever. Securities may not be
offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration or an
exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as
amended.
This corporate news can contain future-oriented statements. Future-oriented
statements are statements which do not describe facts of the past. They
also include statements about our assumptions and expectations. These
statements are based on plans, estimations and forecasts which the Managing
Board of SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA or company) has available at this
time. Future-oriented statements are therefore only valid on the day on
which they are made. Future-oriented statements by nature contain risks and
elements of uncertainty. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors can lead to considerable differences between the actual
results, the financial position, the development or the performance of the
corporation and the estimates given here. These factors include those which
SMA has discussed in published reports. These reports are available on the
SMA website at www.SMA.de. The company accepts no obligation whatsoever to
update these future-oriented statements or to adjust them to future events
or developments.
End of Corporate News
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18.10.2012 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
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Language: English
Company: SMA Solar Technology AG
Sonnenallee 1
34266 Niestetal
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)561 / 9522 - 0
Fax: +49 (0)561 / 9522 - 100
E-mail: info@sma.de
Internet: www.sma.de
ISIN: DE000A0DJ6J9
WKN: A0DJ6J
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard);
Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, München, Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service
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189297 18.10.2012
