Solutronic AG
Fall in demand affects mid-year results of Solutronic
Solutronic AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results Press Release Fall in demand affects mid-year results of Solutronic – Turnover of EUR 2.19m; under last year’s level (EUR 8.53m) – EBIT minus EUR 2.35m (same period last year: plus EUR 1.84m) – Gross profit margin of 34% (41%) in first half-year period Köngen, 4 August 2011 – Solutronic AG was unable to elude the sharp fall in demand in the photovoltaic sector in the first half of 2011 and has posted a loss for the period. With turnover of EUR 2.19m (last year: EUR 8.53m), EBIT in the first half of 2011 was minus EUR 2.35m (EUR 1.84m). The total operating result came to around EUR 2.21m (EUR 8.64m). A gross profit of EUR 0.75m (EUR 3.52m) led to a gross profit margin of 34% (41%). Uncertainties around future feed-in tariffs in the core markets of Germany and Italy have led to sharp falls in orders in the entire photovoltaic sector. ‘Our customers are being very cautious in making new investments because of the current market uncertainties. Many of our buyers have only slowly gone through high 2010 stock levels in the first half of the year because of weak demand so have delayed making new orders’, said Uwe Scobel-Freimüller, Solutronic’s board member for sales. The company, which outsources the production of inverters to partner companies, has reacted to the current market situation by reducing production accordingly in consultation with its partners. ‘The advantages of our scalable business model will become particularly clear in the current situation’, said Wieland Scheuerle, Solutronic’s founder and board member for development and technology. ‘We are able to be very prompt and flexible in reacting to changing demand conditions because of our business model.’ The company’s liquidity is secure despite the fall in demand due to the fact that production is outsourced and as such the company has low fixed costs. To compensate for the weak demand in the core markets, Solutronic is driving forward the company’s international profile. The first successes were already seen in the first half of 2011 with installations in Israel and Greece. Furthermore, in terms of commercial use of photovoltaic installations, the company fitted several industrial roofs with global inverters in Great Britain and Italy. Overall, Solutronic sold global inverters with a capacity of 11 megawatts in the first half of 2011. The Australian market remains a focus of the international strategy. Although the market introduction of Solutronic global inverters was delayed, Uwe Scobel-Freimüller remains optimistic about prospects in Australia: ‘As a result of the flood disaster in Queensland in spring 2011 the technical requirements for global inverters changed. However, we reacted swiftly to these new circumstances and aligned our product portfolio accordingly.’ The introduction of a new global inverter which is customised to the Australian market is planned for the fourth quarter of 2011. In light of the development of demand in the first half of the year, and the market trend in the second half of 2011 which at this stage is hard to predict, Solutronic expects turnover and profit for the full year to be under last year’s levels. Solutronic AG’s results for the first half of 2011 will be published in line with the financial calendar on 31 August 2011 on the company’s website www.solutronic.de. Press contact: Investor Relations contact: About Solutronic AG
End of Corporate News 04.08.2011 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP – a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. DGAP’s Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de |
Language: | English | |
Company: | Solutronic AG | |
Küferstrasse 18 | ||
73257 Köngen | ||
Germany | ||
Phone: | 07024 96128-0 | |
Fax: | 07024 96128-50 | |
E-mail: | info@solutronic.de | |
Internet: | www.solutronic.de | |
ISIN: | DE000A1E8NE7 | |
WKN: | A1E8NE | |
Listed: | Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, München; Entry Standard in Frankfurt | |
End of News | DGAP News-Service |
134401 04.08.2011 |