EQS-News: SMA Group reports strong sales and earnings growth after first nine months of the year

EQS-News: SMA Solar Technology AG / Key word(s): 9 Month figures
SMA Group reports strong sales and earnings growth after first nine months
of the year

09.11.2023 / 06:59 CET/CEST
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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SMA Group reports strong sales and earnings growth after first nine months
of the year

Overview of 9M 2023:

* Sales increase to €1,337.4 million (9M 2022: €724.1 million)

* EBITDA of €231.2 million considerably higher than in previous year (9M
2022: €50.2 million)

* Improved profitability and positive earnings contribution from all
segments

* Sustained high order backlog of €2.0 billion (September 30, 2022: €1.7
billion)

* Positive free cash flow of €78.6 million increases net cash to €302.8
million

* Managing Board confirms sales and earnings guidance for 2023, as raised
again on October 4:
sales of between €1,800 million and €1,900 million; EBITDA of between
€285 million and €325 million

Niestetal, November 9, 2023 – SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA/ISIN:
DE000A0DJ6J9/FWB: S92) successfully continued its dynamic growth course in
the third quarter of 2023. The performance of the Large Scale & Project
Solutions and Commercial & Industrial Solutions segments was especially
positive, as expected. In the first nine months of 2023, consolidated sales
increased by 84.7% overall to €1,337.4 million (9M 2022: €724.1 million).
The Home Solutions segment more than doubled its sales to €486.2 million
after the first nine months of the year (9M 2022: €229.3 million). The
Commercial & Industrial Solutions segment also increased its sales
significantly by 74.4%, from €191.3 million to €333.7 million. Sales in the
Large Scale and Project Solutions segment were up considerably overall (by
70.5%) at €517.5 million compared with €303.5 million in the same period of
the previous year.

The Group’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization
(EBITDA) also increased significantly by 360.6%, from €50.2 million to
€231.2 million. This equates to an EBITDA margin of 17.3% (9M 2022: 6.9%).
Reasons for this positive performance included an improvement in production
capacity utilization and the associated fixed cost degression as a result of
the increased sales volume. At €201.6 million, the Group’s earnings before
interest and taxes (EBIT) were also significantly higher than in the same
period of the previous year (9M 2022: €21.8 million). This equates to an
EBIT margin of 15.1% (9M 2022: 3.0%).

All segments reported a positive result, with the Home Solutions segment
continuing to lead the way. In addition, the Large Scale & Project Solutions
segment, in particular, significantly improved its profitability performance
once again in the third quarter. EBIT Home Solutions: €136.9 million (9M
2022: €35.4 million); Commercial & Industrial Solutions: €15.8 million (9M
2022: €−16.5 million); Large Scale & Project Solutions: €47.3 million (9M
2022: €−15.3 million).

“We are extremely satisfied with our business performance in the first nine
months of the year,” said Dr. Jürgen Reinert, CEO of SMA. “Our growth across
all segments indicates that we are on the right track with our clear focus
on customer centricity and realignment of SMA along the core processes in
the segments. The same applies for our strategic action areas such as
storage solutions, which are becoming increasingly relevant for our
customers. We’ve already successfully augmented our core business, for
example, with our SMA Home Storage battery, which we unveiled in June at
Intersolar.”

“Following a highly successfully first half of the year, we raised the
Group’s sales and earnings momentum again in the third quarter of 2023,”
said Barbara Gregor, CFO at SMA. “Alongside what is our most profitable Home
Solutions segment, contributions to this performance were made by both the
Large Scale & Project Solutions segment and the Commercial & Industrial
Solutions segment, which both demonstrated an exceptionally strong operating
performance and again tangibly improved their profitability.”

Net income increased significantly to €180.4 million (9M 2022: €11.0
million). Earnings per share rose to €5.20 (9M 2022: €0.32).

The SMA Group continues to have an exceptionally robust financial position,
and generated positive free cash flow of €78.6 million in the first nine
months of 2023. Net cash reached €302.8 million, and so remained well above
the level observed at the end of the year (December 31, 2022: €220.1
million). At 41.1%, the equity ratio remained stable at the same level as
was observed at the end of the year (December 31, 2022: 41.8%).

The order backlog remained at a very high level of €2,020.7 million as of
September 30, 2023 (September 30, 2022: €1,712.8 million). At €1,647.0
million, more than three-quarters of this is attributable to product
business (September 30, 2022: €1,288.9 million). Consequently, the
product-related order backlog has decreased only marginally compared with
December 31, 2022 (€1,700.7 million), despite the strong increase in sales
and thanks to the excellent order intake in the first nine months of the
fiscal year.

The SMA Managing Board confirms its sales and earnings guidance for the 2023
fiscal year, as adjusted upward again on October 4, 2023. It forecasts sales
of between €1,800 million and €1,900 million (previously: €1,700 million and
€1,850 million) and EBITDA of between €285 million and €325 million
(previously: €230 million and €270 million).

Additional information

The quarterly statement for January to September 2023 can be found at
www.sma.de/en/investor-relations/publications. SMA will discuss its business
development during a conference call for analysts and investors at 1:30 p.m.
on November 9, 2023. An overview of analyst estimates (consensus) is
available at Analyst Coverage & Consensus | SMA Solar.

About SMA

As a leading global specialist in photovoltaic and storage system
technology, the SMA Group is setting the standards today for the
decentralized and renewable energy supply of tomorrow. SMA’s portfolio
contains a wide range of efficient PV and battery inverters, holistic system
solutions for PV and battery-storage systems of all power classes,
intelligent energy management systems and charging solutions for electric
vehicles and power-to-gas applications. Digital energy services as well as
extensive services up to and including operation and maintenance services
for PV power plants round off SMA’s range. SMA inverters with a total output
of more than 135 gigawatts have been installed in more than 200 countries
worldwide. They help avoid the emission of around 63 million tons of CO2e
annually. SMA’s multi-award-winning technology is protected by more than
1,600 patents and utility models. 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 is listed in the MDAX index and TecDAX
index.

SMA Solar Technology AG

Sonnenallee 1

34266 Niestetal

Germany

Press Contact:

Dagmar Buth-Parvaresh

Tel.+49 561 9522 421414

Presse@SMA.de

Investor Relations Contact:

Viona Brandt

Tel. +49 175 93 93 320

Investor.Relations@SMA.de

Disclaimer:

This press release 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 press release 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.


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09.11.2023 CET/CEST Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by EQS
News - a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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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
Indices: MDAX, TecDAX
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard);
Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf,
Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange
EQS News ID: 1768853



End of News EQS News Service
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1768853 09.11.2023 CET/CEST