(ADPnews) - Dec 17, 2010 - Slovenian photovoltaic (PV) module maker Bisol expects a tenfold surge in its net profit to EUR 6 million (USD 7.9m) this year on the back of higher sales, company CEO Uros Merc told ADPnews in an interview.
by Hristina Stoyanova
The company projects sales of EUR 55 million in 2010, a 100% rise from a year earlier. This year it has significantly increased exports to Italy, France and the Czech Republic, and achieved stable growth in the Belgian market.
Bisol plans to double sales in 2011 as well, Merc said, adding that the result will depend on the events in the first quarter of next year and mainly on the prices in Germany, which is “the main superpower” in the solar energy industry.
Next year the company expects stable growth on the German market as well as in Italy, France, Belgium and the US. "This year, with the adopted feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme, the UK market has enlivened and it will certainly register a high rise next year," Merc said.
Last month, Bisol received MCS certification from the British Approvals Board for Telecommunications for all its products. A green power stimulus programme, in place since this April, pays UK households or communities which have installed low-carbon electricity, solar included, for the power they generate. In order to be eligible for funding, solar projects must use panels that have MCS certification, installed by MCS-accredited integrators.
“As Bisol’s PV modules are suitable for big industrial projects as well as for small rooftop solar power plants, on the UK market our sales strategies and goals will target distributors, investors and end buyers,” Merc said.
The company has already signed contracts for the sale of its whole production in 2011. “We always have our eyes open for new business opportunities,” Merc said. He added that Bisol is currently in talks with French utility GDF Suez (EPA:GSZ), but gave no further details.
In the long term, the company has just started to build production facilities in Murska Sobota, northeastern Slovenia, and also plans to set up a production unit in the US, Merc said.
Earlier this year, Bisol opened representative offices in Italy and France, while in 2009 it established a subsidiary in Belgium.
Asked about the market in Southeastern Europe, Merc said that its development is hindered by poor legislation for the renewable power industry. “Regarding the development of the PV industry, the experience shows that the most appropriate way for stimulating it is with a FIT scheme.”
(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.321)
Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!
