- Sales increase by 78.6% to €1,904.1million (2022: €1,065.9million)
- EBITDA improves from €70.0million to €311.0million
- High demand and normalized delivery situation result in positive development
- Changed market conditions increase volatility in the current fiscal year
- Guidance for 2024: sales of €1,950million to €2,220million; EBITDA between €220million and €290million
All three segments could significantly improve their sales and earnings in 2023 and contributed to the positive result. The Home Solutions segment increased its sales to €580.2 million (2022: €335.0 million) with an EBIT of €148.0 million (2022: €53.8 million); in the Commercial & Industrial Solutions segment, sales rose to €478.9 million (2022: €290.3 million) with an EBIT amounting to €22.7 million (2022: −€26.0 million); the Large Scale & Project Solutions segment increased its sales to €845.0 million (2022: €440.6 million) and achieved an EBIT of €103.8 million (2022: −€13.5 million).
At €1,705.0 million, the order backlog as of December 31, 2023, remains at a high level and, as expected, below the order backlog at the end of the previous year (December 31, 2022: €2,077.4 million). Of this amount, €1,329.8 million was attributable to product business (December 31, 2022: €1,700.7 million). Incoming orders declined, as anticipated, in the second half of the year compared to the first two quarters of 2023, as, on the one hand, the majority of orders in the Home Solutions and Commercial & Industrial Solutions segments had already been placed by the end of the first quarter. On the other hand, incoming orders have slowed down in particular in the fourth quarter due to the changed market conditions.
Net income rose to €225.7 million (2022: €55.8 million) and earnings per share increased accordingly to €6.50 (2022: €1.61). At €283.3 million, net cash was considerably higher than in the previous year (December 31, 2022: €220.1 million).
The preliminary figures are still subject to the auditor’s review.
“In the fourth quarter of 2023, we once again significantly increased sales in the Large Scale & Project Solutions segment and even exceeded the upper end of our sales forecast,” said SMA CEO Jürgen Reinert. “Overall, we can look back on a successful 2023 and are extremely satisfied with our operating performance. The high demand for our products and solutions, good production capacity utilization and our ability to deliver have resulted in an exceptional performance in all three segments. Our segment-specific platform strategy, which we have been consistently driving forward since 2018, will enable us to respond even more quickly and efficiently to changing customer requirements and market changes in the future.”
“We are also optimistic for the 2024 fiscal year,” said SMA CFO Barbara Gregor. “Despite the changed market conditions and the associated higher volatility compared with the previous year, we intend to continue our profitable growth overall. In the Large Scale & Project Solutions segment in particular, we expect further sales and earnings growth as a result of the high order backlog and the level of incoming orders. In the Home Solutions and Commercial & Industrial Solutions segments, we do not anticipate an increase in the order intake before the second quarter. Due to this seasonal development and our increased future investments in new products and solutions, we therefore expect a decline in sales and earnings in the Home Solutions segment compared with 2023. However, in the Commercial & Industrial Solutions segment, we are planning further slight sales growth with earnings development at around the same level as in the previous year.”
Against this backdrop, the Managing Board expects the SMA Group to generate sales of between €1,950 million and €2,220 million and EBITDA1) of between €220 million and €290 million in the current fiscal year 2024.
1) Including €19 million positive one-time effect from the sale of shares in elexon GmbH
Additional information
SMA will publish its audited Consolidated Financial Statements and the Annual Report for 2023 on March 27, 2024, and will explain the contents at the virtual annual press conference at 10:00 a.m. and a conference call for analysts and investors at 1:30 p.m.
Disclaimer:
This press release serves only as information and does not constitute an offer or invitation to subscribe for, acquire, hold or sell any securities of SMA Solar Technology AG (the “Company”) or any present or future subsidiary of the Company (together with the Company, the “SMA Group”) nor should it form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any contract to purchase or subscribe for any securities in the Company or any member of the SMA Group or commitment whatsoever. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
This press release can contain future-oriented statements. Future-oriented statements are statements which do not describe facts of the past. They also include statements about our assumptions and expectations. These statements are based on plans, estimations and forecasts which the Managing Board of SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA or company) has available at this time. Future-oriented statements are therefore only valid on the day on which they are made. Future-oriented statements by nature contain risks and elements of uncertainty. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors can lead to considerable differences between the actual results, the financial position, the development or the performance of the corporation and the estimates given here. These factors include those which SMA has discussed in published reports. These reports are available on the SMA website at www.SMA.de. The company accepts no obligation whatsoever to update these future-oriented statements or to adjust them to future events or developments.
