DGAP-News: SMA Solar Technology AG Meets Sales and Earnings Guidance for 2018 - Managing Board Expects Growth in Sales and Earnings for 2019

DGAP-News: SMA Solar Technology AG / Key word(s): Forecast/Preliminary
Results
SMA Solar Technology AG Meets Sales and Earnings Guidance for 2018 -
Managing Board Expects Growth in Sales and Earnings for 2019

24.01.2019 / 09:09
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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SMA Solar Technology AG - Corporate News

SMA Solar Technology AG Meets Sales and Earnings Guidance for 2018 -
Managing Board Expects Growth in Sales and Earnings for 2019

Niestetal, January 24, 2019 - In 2018, SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA/FWB:
S92) sold PV inverters with a total output of around 8.5 GW. Inverter output
sold in the past fiscal year was thus on a par with the previous year (2017:
8.5 GW). As a result of increased price pressure, however, sales fell to
around EUR761 million (2017: EUR891.0 million) according to preliminary
calculations by the SMA Managing Board and are therefore at the lower end of
the Managing Board's guidance. The expected earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of around -EUR67 million (2017:
EUR97.3 million) are impacted by one-time items as well as provisions for
financing the planned restructuring measures and are within the Managing
Board's guidance. Depreciation and amortization are expected to amount to
more than EUR80 million. For the 2019 fiscal year, the SMA Managing Board is
expecting sales to increase to between EUR800 million and EUR880 million and
positive EBITDA of between EUR20 million and EUR50 million.

"SMA had to contend with considerable difficulties during the last fiscal
year," said SMA Chief Executive Officer Jürgen Reinert. "Due to the sudden
downturn in the photovoltaic market in China, Chinese manufacturers have
made increasing inroads into the international markets, creating massive
price pressure. As a result, project developers and investors have postponed
the construction of PV power plants in anticipation of a further fall in
prices. In addition, business in commercial PV systems, in particular, was
affected by the limited availability of electronic components-a situation
that has since been resolved. The storage business also fell short of
expectations due to a supply shortage from the battery manufacturers. To
quickly return SMA to profitability in the changed market environment of the
PV industry over the long term, the Managing Board has already resolved
measures to reduce costs and increase sales."

The SMA Managing Board therefore expects sales to increase to between EUR800
million and EUR880 million in 2019. Key stimuli for this will be the
expected positive market development in Europe and America and the revival
of the storage market. SMA is excellently positioned in these areas and will
gain additional market share by demonstrating an even greater focus on
customers and introducing new products and system solutions. It can also be
seen from the good order intake that project developers and investors are
abandoning their cautious approach and increasingly implementing large-scale
PV projects again.

The SMA Managing Board anticipates positive EBITDA of between EUR20 million
and EUR50 million in 2019. "We have already started to implement the
resolved measures, which will enable us to reduce our fixed costs, improve
utilization of the available capacity and thus safeguard the future
viability of SMA," said Reinert. "In addition to selling our Chinese
companies to the local management team, we will focus on our core
competencies throughout the entire company and reduce complexity on all
levels. We will simultaneously position ourselves in the key future fields
of energy management, storage integration, repowering and digital business
models."

At the Capital Markets Day on January 25, the Managing Board will discuss
market development and the positioning of SMA along with further details on
the measures currently being implemented. The presentation containing
additional information can be found at
www.sma.de/en/investor-relations/publications from the beginning of the
event. SMA will publish the complete consolidated financial statements for
2018 on March 28, 2019.

About SMA
The SMA Group with sales of around EUR900 million in 2017 is a global leader
for solar inverters, a key component of all PV plants. SMA offers a wide
range of products and solutions that allow for high energy yields for
residential and commercial PV systems and large-scale PV power plants. To
increase PV self-consumption efficiently, SMA system technology can easily
be combined with different battery technologies. Intelligent energy
management and digital energy solutions, comprehensive services and
operational management of PV power plants round off SMA's range. The company
is headquartered in Niestetal, near Kassel, Germany, is represented in 19
countries and has more than 3,000 employees worldwide, including 500 working
in Development. SMA's multi-award-winning technology is protected by more
than 1,200 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 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:
Susanne Henkel
Manager Corporate Press
Tel. +49 561 9522-1124
Presse@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.


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24.01.2019 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - 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
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated
Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Munich,
Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange



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769059 24.01.2019