EQS-News: SMA Solar Technology AG Increases Sales and Earnings in Fiscal 2022 and has Raised Full Year Guidance for 2023

EQS-News: SMA Solar Technology AG / Key word(s): Annual Results/Forecast
SMA Solar Technology AG Increases Sales and Earnings in Fiscal 2022 and has
Raised Full Year Guidance for 2023

30.03.2023 / 07:00 CET/CEST
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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SMA Solar Technology AG Increases Sales and Earnings in Fiscal 2022 and has
Raised Full Year Guidance for 2023

* Successful year 2022 despite challenges

* Group sales grew by 8.4% to €1,065.9 million

* Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)
increased to €70 million

* Strong sales and EBITDA development for Q1 2023 expected

* Guidance raised for fiscal 2023: Sales of between €1,450 million and
€1,600 million (previously: €1,350 million and €1,500 million) and
EBITDA of between €135 million and €175 million (previously: €100
million and €140 million)

Niestetal, March 30, 2023 – SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA/ISIN:
DE000A0DJ6J9/FWB: S92) has confirmed the provisional figures for 2022 as a
whole published on March 9, 2023 and has raised its full year guidance for
2023 published on March 29, 2023.

Despite delivery bottlenecks and project delays in the Large Scale & Project
Solutions segment in the first half of the year, consolidated sales
increased by 8.4% to €1,065.9 million (2021: €983.4 million) in the past
fiscal year 2022.

“We have successfully concluded the 2022 fiscal year and are very optimistic
about further development in the current year. The supply situation for
electronic components has gradually eased in the past fiscal year, our
measures to improve operating development have taken effect and we are
consistently pushing ahead with our “SMA 2025” strategy. The SMA group is
thus well positioned for further profitable growth. In the C&I and Large
Scale & Project Solutions segments, we are also planning to achieve positive
EBIT as early as fiscal 2023,” says SMA Chief Executive Officer Jürgen
Reinert.

The gross margin was up year-on-year at 21.0% (2021: 17.8%), particularly
driven by increased profitability in the Home Solutions segment.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)
increased significantly to €70.0 million from €8.5 million in the 2021
fiscal year. This corresponds to an EBITDA margin of 6.6% (2021: 0.9%). The
persistently high demand and the gradual improvements in the supply of
electronic components in the second half of the year, as well as the
implementation of price increases, were contributing factors to this
positive performance.

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose from −€33.2 million in the
2021 fiscal year to €31.9 million (EBIT margin in 2022: 3.0%; 2021: −3.4%).
Net income increased to €55.8 million (2021: −€23.2 million). In addition to
the good operating performance, higher deferred tax assets also contributed,
increasing by €25.2 million due to the positive outlook for fiscal 2023.
Inverter output sold in 2022 as a whole was 12.2 GW (2021: 13.6 GW).

At €220.1 million, net cash was nearly at the same level as the previous
year (December 31, 2021: €221.7 million). The equity ratio increased to
41.8% at the end of the reporting year (December 31, 2021: 38.7%).

Double-digit sales growth in the Home Solutions and C&I segments

Net sales in the Home Solutions segment in 2022 were up significantly by
26.2% year-on-year at €335.0 million (2021: €265.4 million). The share of
total sales thus rose to 31.4% (2021: 27.0%). The EMEA region continued to
account for the highest share of sales at 86.7% (2021: 81.1%). 8.3% were
attributable to the Americas region (2021: 10.9%) and 5.0% to the APAC
region (2021: 8.0%). EBIT in the Home Solutions segment increased to €53.8
million (2021: €37.6 million) due to sales growth resulting from the
improved supply situation and the implementation of price increases. This
corresponds to an EBIT margin of 16.1% (2021: 14.2%). The improved delivery
situation was particularly noticeable in a strong fourth quarter.

Sales in the Commercial & Industrial Solutions (C&I) segment rose by 18.3%
to €290.3 million (2021: €245.4 million). The positive development in the
supply of electronic components, particularly in the increase in sales in
the fourth quarter, also made an impact in this respect. Its share of the
SMA group’s total sales was 27.2% (2021: 24.9%). Regionally, the EMEA region
accounted for 79.4% of segment sales, the Americas region for 11.5% and the
APAC region for 9.1% (2021: 71.5% EMEA, 16.1% Americas, 12.4% APAC). EBIT
was −€26.0 million (2021:
−€18.0 million). This was due to higher procurement prices, which could not
be passed on to the same extent as in the Home Solutions segment. In
addition, the weak margins in the first half of the year were not fully
compensated for, despite the good performance in the second half.

Sales in the Large Scale & Project Solutions segment were down 6.8%
year-on-year at €440.6 million in the reporting period (2021: €472.6
million). A major factor for this was project delays as a result of the US
anti-dumping policy toward Chinese module manufacturers in the first half of
2022. The sales situation improved noticeably in the fourth quarter after
tariffs were suspended for four Southeast Asian countries in June 2022. The
share of total sales in the Large Scale & Project Solutions segment was
41.4% (2021: 48.1%) and thus once again accounted for the largest share of
the SMA group’s total sales. 45.3% of segment sales were attributable to the
Americas region (2021: 51.8%), 21.5% to the APAC region (2021: 27.1%) and
33.2% to the EMEA region (2021: 21.1%). EBIT in the Large Scale & Project
Solutions segment amounted to −€13.5 million (2021: −€62.8 million) as a
result of lower sales. The EBIT margin was −3.1% (2021: −13.3%).

Order backlog remains at a very high level

The SMA group’s order backlog as of December 31, 2022 was at a historically
high level of €2,077.4 million (December 31, 2021: €886.6 million). Of this
amount, €1,700.7 million was attributable to the product business,
corresponding to a fourfold increase compared to the product-related order
backlog of the previous year (December 31, 2021: €408.8 million). The strong
demand is reflected in all segments, with the order backlog in the Large
Scale segment rising to €603 million (December 31, 2021: €253 million),
followed by the Home Solutions segment with €589 million (December 31, 2021:
€81 million) and the C&I segment with €508 million (December 31, 2021: €75
million).

Strong operating development expected in Q1 2023 and increase of full year
guidance for 2023

Due to expected strong sales and earnings development in the first quarter
2023 driven by improved delivery capability, increased utilization of the
production capacity and a favorable product mix, the Executive Board has
increased the guidance for the current fiscal year in yesterday's
adhoc-release. The Executive Board now expects sales of between €1,450
million and 1,600 million (previously: €1,350 million and €1,500 million)
and EBITDA of between €135 million and €175 million (previously: €100
million and €140 million).


Additional information

SMA published its audited Consolidated Financial Statements and the Annual
Report for 2022 today, and will explain the business development at a
(hybrid) press conference at 10:00 a.m. and a conference call for analysts
and investors at 1:30 p.m.


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 120 gigawatts have been installed in more than 190 countries
worldwide. Around 63 million tons of CO2e have been avoided thanks to the PV
inverter power sold by SMA over the past 20 years. This is equivalent to
stopping more than €12 billion of environmental damage.

SMA’s multi-award-winning technology is protected by more than 1,700 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 TecDAX index and SDAX index.


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:

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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30.03.2023 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: SDAX, TecDAX
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard);
Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf,
Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange
EQS News ID: 1596315



End of News EQS News Service
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1596315 30.03.2023 CET/CEST