SMA looks to have turned losses around in a relatively short period of time, today revising upwards its sales forecast for 2015 from 800 – 850 million to 850 – 900 million. Taken with cost reduction efforts, the company expects to register an operating result (EBIT) of between 0 – 10 million.
After sustaining heavy losses in both 2013 (-89.1 million) and 2014 (-164.9 million), SMA now expects to turn this trend around in 2015, with a revised sales forecast of between 850 – 900 million representing an Y/Y increase from 805.4 million.
Given drastic measures the firm has taken to reign in costs, including the cutting of 1,600 jobs largely in Germany in the first six months of this year, SMA now expects to turn losses around in 2015.
Due to the SMA Groups extensive transformation in the current fiscal year, we are emerging stronger from the years of structural change in the solar industry and will generate sales growth again this year for the first time since 2010, said SMA Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer Pierre-Pascal Urbon. Important success factors for gaining market share this year are, in addition to its complete product portfolio for all power ranges and applications, our global presence and extraordinary flexibility, he explained.
The positive signs for SMA come in spite of fierce price competition with rival suppliers that are resulting in rapid price decreases. IHS predicts that inverter prices will continue to fall by 8% through to 2019. Price competition appears most severe in China, where SMA is active through its Zeversolar subsidiary.
SMA will report financial results January through September 2015 on November 12.
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