SMA

Sales revenue declined at the start of the year despite steady inverter shipments. The reverse was mainly due to sluggish project business and SMA is predicting significant increases in sales and earnings in the second half.

The Chinese string inverter giant was the world’s biggest supplier for the fourth year in a row, in spite of having lost 4% in global market shares, according to analyst Wood Mackenzie. Asia-Pacific was again the largest inverter market last year, accounting for 64% of global shipments. Sungrow and SMA were, respectively, the second and third largest providers.

TrendForce says the country deployed more than 1 GW of new PV for the first time last year, and predicts this year may see as much as 1.5 GW of new solar capacity. The nation’s cumulative capacity reached 2,618 MW at the end of last year, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.

The German inverter producer’s sales also fell significantly in the past financial year. With its cost reduction program, SMA is now eager to orchestrate a turnaround, but its first-quarter guidance still shows a sustained downward trend.

The solar event in Lyon illustrated how expectations of French solar remain big despite lower-than-expected development and issues related to regulations and carbon footprint requirements. The large participation of international and Chinese players seeking business among installers and distributors is a signal things may improve in the short term, and larger volumes may be deployed in the coming years.

SMA Solar technology AG has announced that around 425 full time jobs or 12.8% of its global workforce will be lost as part of its restructuring efforts. The PV inverter manufacturer will also discontinue operations in China, preferring to refocus its efforts on Germany.

Researchers from Berlin’s College for Technology and Economics have determined a ‘system performance index’ for 16 residential storage systems. The index ranks systems according to economic efficiency. The compilers of the index say many manufacturers lack transparency regarding system performance.

The outlook for sales and operating result has once again been lowered by the inverter maker. EBITDA is now expected to show a mid-to-high double-digit loss.

SMA Solar Technology AG saw its net income fall from €25 million in the first nine months of 2017 to €8 million in the same period this year. Despite the dip, it remains confident of its position in the industry going forward.

German inverter maker SMA has joined forces with China’s BYD after losing US market share to Solaredge, which this year linked up with Kostal to optimize communication interfaces between inverters and storage applications.