Jul 25, 2012 - The world's photovoltaic (PV) inverter market is forecast to expand by 23% this year, reaching nearly 32 GW, according to a report by IMS Research.
In terms of revenues, the market is expected to resume growth in 2012 after a slight contraction last year. The increase, however, will be small, of 3%, as prices are projected to see another year of double-digit falls. Still, revenues will for the first time hit USD 7 billion (EUR 5.8bn) this year.
In 2011, inverter shipments worldwide were up by over 12% to 27 GW but Europe suffered a considerable decline, IMS Research, which was recently acquired by IHS Inc (NYSE:IHS), says. According to the market research firm, Europe's dominant position is expected to continue to erode, with its share of shipments and revenues falling to below 40% in 2016 from over 80% in 2010. Revenues in Europe are not seen to return to their 2011 levels in the coming five years.
Ash Sharma, director of the IMS Research PV practice, said this was a challenging development for suppliers, most of which were European companies with the bulk of their plants and customers in Europe. The industry will now need to look to emerging regions to drive future growth, IMS Research concludes. Globally, shipments are expected to keep expanding at a double-digit rate for the next five years and revenues are seen to top USD 9 billion by 2016.
The report also shows that German SMA Solar Technology (ETR:S92) kept its top position in 2011, although its market share shrank further. Power-One Inc (NASDAQ:PWER) remained at second place, German Kaco New Energy moved to third from fourth position, outstripping Austria's Fronius International. German Refusol was again fifth. While the members of the top five were unchanged, IMS Research said that the strongest market share gains were observed outside the top 10, indicating that the industry could not be in a consolidation mode yet.
(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.823)
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