DGAP-News: 2010 sees Solutronic post record earnings
(firmenpresse) - DGAP-News: Solutronic AG / Key word(s): Final Results
2010 sees Solutronic post record earnings
13.04.2011 / 09:30
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2010 sees Solutronic post record earnings
- Sales 2010: quadrupled from EUR4.8m to EUR20.1m
- EBIT 2010: massive increase from around EUR0.2m to EUR4.7m
- EBIT margin 2010: at high level of 22.5% (2009: 3.4%)
- Cautious start to 2011 in line with the general state of the industry
- Wieland Scheuerle, CTO of Solutronic: 'We firmly believe that, on the
basis of our business model, we will continue to grow in terms of sales
and income even under changing underlying conditions.'
Köngen, 13 April 2011: Solutronic AG, headquartered in Köngen, near
Stuttgart, Germany, posted record results in FY 2010. The company
quadrupled its turnover to EUR20.1m (2009: EUR4.8m) and massively increased
it earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to EUR4.7m (2009: EUR0.2m). And
the EBIT margin also rose to 22.5% (2009: 3.4%). Solutronic generated an
annual net profit during the last financial year of EUR2.67m (2009:
EUR0.05m). The level of inverter output sold last year amounted to 83 MW
compared with 17 MW in 2009. The firm's liquid assets increased
significantly as a result of its flotation, from around EUR0.4m to some
EUR6.1m. In the words of Thorsten Soll, CFO at Solutronic, 'We are
extremely pleased that in the year in which we went public - one of the
most important milestones in our corporate history - we have posted such an
excellent result. The capital brought into the company from our flotation
has put us on the right financial footing to allow us to push ahead with
growing the company internationally and further expand our development
activities.'
Core market of Germany and internationalisation both play big part in
result
In its core market, Germany, Solutronic profited in the first six months of
2010 from an overall positive trend in the photovoltaic sector and from a
significant increase in demand for inverters. For 2010 as a whole, the
European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) calculates on there
having been a doubling of the installed capacity to up to 16.5 GW (2009:
roughly 7.5 GW). This trend was basically attributable to the reduction in
the level of the feed-in tariff, which came into effect on 1 July 2010 and
led to an exceptional boom prior to this date. The first half-year of 2010
was also characterised by supply bottlenecks, long delivery dates and to
some extent by heavily rising prices for inverters. During this period,
Solutronic gained new customers and captured a key position as a preferred
secondary supplier of inverters for some customers. 'During a booming
market phase in 2010, we took on an important role for many buyers of
inverters and impressed them greatly with our products. For this reason, we
are optimistic that, on the basis of our business model and our high
quality standards, we will continue to grow in terms of sales and income
even under changing underlying conditions,' says Solutronic's CTO and
company founder, Wieland Scheuerle.
During Q3 and Q4 of 2010, Solutronic focused its attention on supplying its
clients abroad. This move resulted primarily from the slowdown in the boom
and the fall in domestic demand towards the back end of the year. As a
consequence, the company realised some 40% of its turnover in the second
half of the year from foreign customers. The cautious trend in domestic
demand that became apparent towards the end of the year also continued
through into the new year. Demand cooled considerably both at the end of Q4
2010 as well as in Q1 2011. This was due to double the amount of orders
having been placed during the boom phase, a hesitant stance on the part of
customers who were speculating on sinking module prices, and to the early
onset of winter in Germany and Northern Italy. In addition, there is still
a degree of uncertainty with respect to upcoming or already introduced cuts
in state incentives in various European countries, such as France and
Italy.
Serious and reliable alternative to established inverter suppliers
In view of the uncertain regulatory environment, Solutronic is monitoring
current developments in the PV sector very closely. The company sees
long-term development in the PV sector as being positive and it is certain
it will be able to profit sustainably from this trend. This belief also
stems from the realisation on the part of the customers that they want to
steadily reduce their dependence on individual large suppliers. Solutronic
is therefore assuming that it will also gain further market shares in its
core market of Germany. 'Customers are increasingly appreciating us as a
young and growing company that offers a serious and reliable alternative to
the established inverter suppliers. What's more, we are continually
expanding our international sales activities in markets that are extremely
attractive thanks to their regulatory parameters and the number of hours of
sunshine enjoyed there. We have already chalked up initial successes at the
beginning of the year with the signing of two framework agreements in
Australia,' says Uwe Scobel-Freimüller, CSO at Solutronic AG.
In addition to internationalisation, Solutronic continues to focus on
intensive development work. Priority areas in the eyes of the board of
management are seen to be in expansion of the portfolio to incorporate
products in contiguous output classes and in the reduction of production
costs in order to counter rising price pressures resulting from growing
competition from Asia. Moreover, Solutronic is working non-stop on
developing what are known as 'smart-grid applications', because, as the
Company asumes, inverters are increasingly adopting the role of an
intelligent interface in PV installations.
Now, as expected, this current year has started quietly owing to the degree
of uncertainty about the statutory parameters, Solutronic is expecting a
demanding and challenging market for FY 2011. Overall, the management board
sees Solutronic as being very well positioned to continue growth in 2011,
too, and to grow sales and income very significantly.
Due to the current development of the share price it is intended to propose
to shareholders to vote in favour of an authorization to buy back shares up
to 10 per cent of the issued share capital at the annual shareholders'
meeting on 31 May 2011. The shareholders Scheuerle Vermögensverwaltung GmbH
and Dr. Engelhardt, Kaupp, Kiefer Unternehmensbeteiligungen GmbH support
this proposal. However, they do not intend to sell any shares to the
company after expiration of their respective lock-up. The transactions are
intented to be implemented as long as the potential purchase price is below
the issue price of EUR 11.00.
You can find our complete annual report in German language at
http://www.solutronic.de/files/geschaeftsbericht/Geschaeftsbericht2010.pdf
.
An English version of the report will presumably be available by the end of
April.
Investors' Contact
Thorsten Soll
Chief Financial Officer
Tel.: +49 (0)7024 9612874
t.soll(at)solutronic.de
Public Relations Contact
Stefanie Hempel
Tel.: +49 (0)174 3010530
s.hempel(at)solutronic.de
About Solutronic AG
Solutronic AG, founded back in 2004, develops and markets transformerless,
grid-connected inverters for photovoltaic installations. PV inverters
convert the direct current generated by solar modules to alternating
current so that it can be fed into the power supply system. In FY 2010,
Solutronic generated sales of EUR20.1m and posted an EBIT amounting to
EUR4.7m. Solutronic has made a conscious decision not to manufacture the
products it develops itself, but to exploit the expertise of electronic
manufacturing servicers headquartered in Germany. Based in the small town
of Köngen near Stuttgart, Germany, it sees itself as a leading supplier of
top-quality, cutting-edge, grid-connected inverters for photovoltaic
installations. Its inverters, which cover nominal AC power ratings from 2.5
to 30 kW, are software-controlled and therefore facilitate innovative
monitoring and communications functions. Furthermore, they feature high
efficiency levels of up to 98% and extremely low failure rates. Thanks to
its development expertise, innovative business model and sophisticated
quality management regime, Solutronic is in an excellent position to
systematically expand its share of the global inverter market.
End of Corporate News
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Language: English
Company: Solutronic AG
Küferstrasse 18
73257 Köngen
Deutschland
Phone: 07024 96128-0
Fax: 07024 96128-50
E-mail: info(at)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
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119643 13.04.2011
Datum: 13.04.2011 - 09:30 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 33768
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