Meyer Burger keeps working on turnaround plan

The Swiss equipment provider Meyer Burger Technology AG posted revenue of CHF 453.1 million ($447.1 million) in 2016, up 40% from a year earlier. The company also improved its order intake by 9% year-on-year to CHF 455.6 million ($449.7 million). Furthermore, Meyer Burger was able to swing from an Ebidta loss of CHF 55.9 million ($55.1 million) in 2015 to a profit of CHF 10.5 million ($10.3 million) last year.

The company’s operating loss also improved YoY from CHF 128.7 million ($127.0 million) to CHF 44.4 million ($43.8 million). Net loss for last year was CHF 97.1 million ($95.8 million), a considerable improvement over the loss of CHF 169 million (166.8 million) which the company registered in 2015.

The net result, the company said, includes one-time depreciation, impairment and provisions to the amount of CHF 11.9 million ($11.7 million), due to the decision to discontinue diamond wire production at the US subsidiary DMT. “With the structural programme, which was already launched at the end of September 2016, and additional optimisations Meyer Burger has laid the basis to also reach the turnaround on net profit level as quickly as possible,” said the company in a press release.

Looking to the future, Meyer Burger said in 2017 it expects to achieve a similar level of net sales as in the previous year, and a substantial improvement in profitability.

The company said that last year’s growth in revenue was mainly due to the fact that several wafer, cell and module manufacturers have made new investments in upgrading technologies or capacity expansion.

In the first months of this year, Meyer Burger’s PV segment has received orders worth approximately CHF 146 million ($144.1 million). In March, the company also successfully completed its recapitalization plan.