SMA raises revenue outlook for 2017

According to preliminary estimates, German inverter manufacturer, SMA Solar Technology AG increased its inverter sales from 8.2 GW in 2016 to 8.5 GW last year. This is a new sales record, the company said in a press release on Wednesday.

Sales are expected to exceed € 890 million, a decrease from 2016, when revenue was €946.7 million. Operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell year-on-year from €141.5 million, to just €95 million.

However, EBIT for last year was higher than expected, the company stressed. On the top of this, profit for last year is expected to reach €30 million. As for its net liquidity, SMA said it was at around €450 million, as of the end of December 2017.

Looking forward, SMA said it expects a turnover ranging from €900 million to €1 billion for 2018. Furthermore, the inverter maker said its EBITDA for this year may reach between €90 million and €110 million. This figure already includes expenses for the development of its digital business.

At the end of last week, SMA founded the energy service provider, Coneva for this purpose.

“SMA has completed the 2017 financial year better than originally predicted,” said the board spokesman Pierre-Pascal Urbon. In particular, the good business in Europe and Asia have been responsible for to the new sales record.

“All segments were profitable.” Urbon further stated, “We will leverage our years of experience in photovoltaic inverters, battery storage and energy management to expand into the fast-growing energy services business.”