SMA Solar reports declines in H1 sales, earnings in challenging market

German photovoltaic (PV) and battery inverters maker SMA Solar Technology AG (ETR:S92) on Thursday reported expected year-over-year declines in sales and earnings for the first half of 2024 amid a volatile market.

The company said its Home and Commercial & Industrial segments continue to be affected by high inventory levels at distributors and installers. “In addition, electricity prices have gone down, which in many countries is resulting in postponed investments and restrained final demand, as well as excess capacity by Chinese manufacturers, which is putting additional pressure on the market,” added CEO Juergen Reinert.

In contrast, the Large Scale & Project Solutions segment is delivering an above-average operational performance and the company is currently directing capacity into the Large Scale business.

SMA Solar's net profit fell to EUR 44.1 million (USD 48.2m) from EUR 103.5 million a year earlier, while sales declined to EUR 759.3 million from EUR 778.9 million.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were EUR 80.6 million, including EUR 19.1 million from the sale of shares in elexon GmbH, down from EUR 125.3 million a year ago. The decline was attributed to the reduced sales, the change in the product mix, and an increase in the company’s cost base.

Still, SMA Solar said that despite the volatile market, the first half of 2024 showed a solid development and confirmed its recently trimmed-down full-year guidance, foreseeing sales in the range of EUR 1.55 billion-1.7 billion and EBITDA of between EUR 80 million and EUR 130 million.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.092)

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