The company has thus significantly increased its profitability. Between January and June 2021, the SMA Group sold inverters with an accumulated output of around 6.8 GW (H1 2020: 7,1 GW) and generated €488.3 million in sales (H1 2020: €514.2 million).
Sales were slightly lower than in the previous year because small and medium-sized businesses were still reluctant to invest in the first few months of the year due to the continuing uncertainties surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.
Accordingly, demand in the Business Solutions segment fell short of expectations and prices dropped. By contrast, the Home Solutions and Large Scale & Project Solutions segments recorded an increase in sales. The shortage of electronic components had a minor overall impact on the level of sales.
Net income of SMA increased significantly
Net income increased significantly to €13.3 million (H1 2020: €2.7 million). Earnings per share thus increased to €0.38 (H1 2020: €0.08). Net cash decreased to €170.0 million (December 31, 2020: €226.0 million). This is due in particular to increased stockpiling in view of the general shortage of materials.
Stockpiling supports SMA’s delivery capacity for the expected positive business performance to come in the second half of 2021. At 42.4%, the equity ratio remained at the same level as at the end of the previous year (December 31, 2020: 41.8%). In addition, SMA has a credit line of €100 million from domestic banks.
“Compared with the first six months of the previous year, we have increased our earnings (EBITDA) by around 60% in the first half of 2021. This is due in particular to our continuous improvement of the product mix and cost structure,” explains SMA Chief Executive Officer Jürgen Reinert. “In the segments for private residential PV systems and PV power plants, we were able to increase sales and the order backlog compared with the previous year. By contrast, we suffered a significant drop in sales of commercial systems due to lower demand and lower prices.
Bright outlook
„Small and medium-sized businesses were still reluctant to invest in the first few months of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, orders received in this segment increased again in the second quarter. We therefore expect positive sales and earnings development here as well in the second half of the year“, Reinert said.
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The SMA Managing Board confirms its sales and earnings guidance for the 2021 fiscal year as published on February 5, 2021, which forecasts an increase in sales to between €1,075 million and €1,175 million and EBITDA of between €75 million and €95 million. The ongoing strained supply situation for electronic components could lead to delivery capacity constraints for SMA in the second half of the year. The Managing Board is responding to the situation by implementing tighter and more intensive supplier management policies and putting in place a stockpiling strategy. (hcn)
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