SMA posts EUR-175.5m loss for 2018

Source: SMA Solar Technology

German firm SMA Solar Technology (ETR:S92) on Thursday posted a 2018 net loss of EUR 175.5 million (USD 197m) versus a profit of EUR 30.1 million a year ago.

Earnings for the year were significantly impacted by EUR 116 million in numerous one-time items, the company said.

As announced in January, revenues for 2018 dropped to EUR 760.9 million from EUR 891 million in 2017, even though the company sold 8.5 GW of photovoltaic (PV) inverters in each of the two years. The fall was due mainly to increased price pressure following China’s decision to cut solar targets and subsidies, because of which Chinese providers advanced into international markets. In the second half of 2018, SMA observed delays in the implementation of projects as developers and investors anticipated a further decline in prices.

The company’s gross margin plunged to 9.5% from 22.4% a year ago, burdened by one-off items of EUR 63 million.

SMA's results are available in the table.

Results in EUR	2018	2017
Sales	760.9m	891m
EBITDA (loss)	(69.1)m	97.3m
EBITDA margin	(9.1%)	10.9%
EBIT (loss)	(151.7)m	44.1m
Net income (loss)	(175.5)m	30.1m
Earnings (loss) per share	(5.06)	0.87

Net cash at the end of 2018 stood at EUR 305.5 million, as compared to EUR 449.7 million at end-2017. The equity ratio is still high at 42.9%.

CEO Juergen Reinert said that SMA enjoyed a high order intake and a positive business development in the first months of 2019. The company’s plan is to explore opportunities in new business fields, such as large-scale storage systems and repowering, and to introduce new, cost-optimised products and system packages.

“We will also seize the opportunities arising from market consolidation and the anticipated growth in the Utility and Storage segment and in the EMEA and Americas regions,” Reinert added.

The company’s forecasts for the first quarter of 2019 and for the full year are available in the next table.