The German PV company saw income falling almost 20% last year. SMA expects that income and profit will stabilize in 2025, partly due to restructuring measures, which already have an impact.
SMA Solar Technology AG registered a decrease in turnover from 19.7% to € 1.53 billion ($ 1.65 billion) in the past tax year. At the same time, the operating result slipped before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in the ROD, from € 311 million in 2023 to a loss of € 16 million in 2024, according to the provisional, non -GEAUDITED Figures of the PV company, published on Wednesday. The decrease in income before interest and taxes (EBIT) was sharp in the same way and fell from € 269.5 million to a loss of € 93.1 million.
SMA attributed profit development to low sales in the segments of Home Solutions and Commercial & Industrial Solutions. In addition, the company registered cost increases and depreciation on stocks and provisions in connection with the restructuring and transformation program.
In general, SMA saw the sale of inverter 19.5 GW reaching in 2024, only 1 GW less than in 2023. The total lower demand in combination with high stock levels on the part of the distributor led to significant decreases of the sale beyond the Power Plant division. According to SMA, sales in the home solutions segment fell from € 580.2 million to € 170.3 million and in the Commercial & Industrial Solutions segment from € 478.9 million to € 183.8 million. In addition to the fall in turnover, the EBIT for small roof systems was also influenced by increased costs and restrictions on stocks (€ 44.6 million), capitalized development projects (€ 14.5 million) and a production line (€ 4.2 million) and provisions for purchase obligations (€ 10.2 million). It was a loss of € 150.7 million last year. In 2023, SMA was still able to achieve a profit of € 148 million in this segment. The commercial and industrial segment also registered a heavy loss of € 164.3 million in 2024. In 2023, this division also registered a profit of € 22.7 million.
SMA was able to partially compensate for these decreases of sales and income through his large -scale and project solution segment. In the power plant sector, the company significantly increased the turnover from € 845 million to € 1,176 billion, while EBIT had also more than doubled. On an annual basis, it rose from € 103.8 million to € 227 million. The high sales level in combination with a reduction of fixed costs, a profitable product mix and the sale of a battery storage project by SMA Altenenso GmbH had a positive effect. According to SMA, however, limitations of € 19.3 million were also made on stocks in the power plant sector.
At the end of the year, the order behind was considerably below the level of the previous year at € 1,356 billion. However, this was expected because of the challenging situation in the segments for home solutions and commercial and industrial solutions. A good € 1 billion of the order arrears is due to the product industry. SMA’s net liquidity was also considerably under the value at the end of 2023 and fell from € 283.3 million to € 84.2 million.
Only two divisions in the future
SMA has now launched an extensive restructuring and transformation program. Since September 2024, work has been underway to considerably reduce costs and to simplify the structure and management of the company. As a result, the company is planning to merge the segments of Home Solutions and Commercial & Industrial Solutions into a new home & business solutions division in the first half of 2025. The existing large -scale and project solution unit will remain as it is.
“In the future there will be two divisions with strong vertical integration and full profit and loss responsibility,” the company said. It also intends to streamline central departments. Moreover, SMA is planning to withdraw ‘from countries with a low growth potential’.
The company also plants job losses in Germany. In February, negotiations with the Council Council on a so -called voluntary program, or rather, concluded the determination of the conditions for voluntary termination. SMA has already started the implementation. Olaf Heyden, who was appointed main transformation officer in February, is responsible for the program and has also taken over the operations, Human Resources and Digitization Areas as Chief Operating Officer.
“Despite the very good sales and profit development in the large-scale and project solution segment, the tax year 2024 was generally very challenging,” said SMA CEO Jürgen Reinert. “The operational development of the home solutions and commercial and industrial solutions segments was largely formed by the overcapacity in the market and the falling demand in the home and commercial sectors. Due to the deteriorating market situation, we have taken decisive countermeasures from mid-2024 with measures to reduce costs and to increase the sale and to have supplemented these measures with an extensive restructuring and transformation program since September 2024. ”According to the company, about € 150 million should be saved in the future with a successful transformation and restructuring.
Prediction for 2025
SMA expects the programs and measures to have the first positive effects on income in the current tax year. This is also reflected in the prediction. For the newly established Division Home & Business Solutions, SMA expects a stable sales level with a result considerably above the level of the previous year. However, the break-even point has not yet been reached. Further sales growth is expected in the Second Division, although the result is probably slightly lower than the previous year due to higher costs and a changed product and regional mix, SMA CFO Barbara Gregor added.
For the entire group, the board expects a turnover of between € 1.5 billion and € 1.65 billion and a positive EBITDA of between € 70 million and € 110 million this year.
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