SMA expects strong 2017 as firm raises annual forecast

The German solar inverter specialist has increased its earnings forecast for the year to between €900m and €950m as orders swell.

SMA's strong sales orders in the APAC region have been noteworthy, the inverter company said.

Image: SMA Solar Technology

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SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA), the German developer of solar inverters, has revised upwards its earnings and sales forecast for 2017 following a strong first half (H1) of the year.

The company now expects sales to reach between €900 million and €950 million this fiscal year, up from a projected €830 million to €900 million, while forecasted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) have also been revised up from €70-€90 million to €85-€100 million.

SMA’s managing board cites high order intake as the chief reason for this upward revision, with the Asia Pacific region singled out for its particularly robust market demand over the first few months of the year.

“In the first half of 2017, incoming orders developed positively at SMA and the book-to-bill ratio was 1.4,” said SMA CEO Pierre-Pascal Urbon. “The order backlog increased by 25% in H1 and amounted to roughly €673 million as of June 30.”

The CEO added that orders have remained high since then, prompting the firm to issue the forecast revision. SMA remains the world’s leading inverter company in terms of revenue, and the third-largest in terms of MW shipments according to the latest IHS Markit data.

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