SMA Solar to cut up to 1,100 jobs as Home, C&I segments struggle

German photovoltaic (PV) and battery inverter maker SMA Solar Technology AG (ETR:S92) will cut up to 1,100 jobs as it tries to respond to continued challenging market conditions for its Home and Commercial and Industrial (C&I) segments.

Reporting results for the first nine months of 2024 on Thursday, the company also lowered its full-year outlook and now expects earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to be between a loss of EUR 20 million (USD 21m) and EUR 20 million in the black.

SMA Solar initiated a restructuring in September, seeking to achieve between EUR 150 million and EUR 200 million in cost savings. The company said today the measures will result in job cuts by the end of 2025, impacting up to 1,100 full-time positions globally, with about two-thirds of these in Germany.

In the nine-month period, SMA Solar’s net profit dwindled to EUR 34.7 million from EUR 180.4 million a year earlier, while EBITDA dropped to EUR 83.5 million from EUR 231.2 million. Group sales fell to EUR 1.06 billion from EUR 1.34 billion, with sales in the Home Solutions segment plunging to EUR 147 million from EUR 486.2 million and in the C&I Solutions segment to EUR 148.7 million from EUR 333.7 million. The Large Scale and Project Solutions business showed resilience, lifting sales to EUR 764 million from EUR 517.5 million.

The company said the performance of the Home and C&I segments highlight the importance of moving ahead with its restructuring and transformation programme. “Our approach will be to make the Home and C&I segments viable for the future and continue building on our competitive edge in the Large Scale & Project Solutions segment,“ said CEO Juergen Reinert.

The company expects to book inventory value adjustments and restructuring expenditures of EUR 100 million to EUR 140 million in the current year and projects an annual EBIT loss of EUR 100 million to EUR 50 million. It also lowered its revenue guidance to EUR 1.45 billion-1.5 billion.

SMA Solar’s previous guidance was for sales of EUR 1.55 billion-1.7 billion and EBITDA of between EUR 80 million and EUR 130 million.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.051)

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