- SMA Solar Technology AG has presented preliminary, non-audited figures for 2024 as a whole. On a year-over-year basis, the SMA Group’s sales fell by 19.7% to €1,530.0 million (2023: €1,904.1 million).
- The Group’s earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell from €269.5 million in the 2023 fiscal year to −€93.1 million (EBIT margin in 2024: −6.1%; 2023: 14.2%).
- Inverter output sold in 2024 as a whole was 19.5 GW (2023: 20.5 GW).
The reasons for this development were, among other things, lower fixed cost degression due to low sales in the segments Home Solutions and Commercial & Industrial Solutions, increased costs, and impairments on inventories as well as provisions associated with the restructuring and transformation program.
The SMA Group has been working on significantly reducing its cost base and simplifying the corporate structure and corporate management since September This includes the intention to merge the two segments Home Solutions and Commercial & Industrial Solutions to form the new division “Home & Business Solutions” in the first half of 2025. This segment is intended to complement the existing “Large Scale & Project Solutions” unit. In the future, there will be two divisions with strong vertical integration and complete responsibility for profit and loss. Furthermore, corporate functions will be streamlined to make the strategy and performance of the company as efficient as possible, to ensure the required governance and to give the two divisions operational freedom. SMA will also withdraw from countries showing low growth potential. In Germany, negotiations with the Works Council on a voluntary program (conditions for voluntary termination) were concluded at the beginning of February, and implementation began shortly thereafter. The program is headed by Olaf Heyden who was appointed as Chief Transformation Officer (CTrO) effective from 14 February 2025, and who is also responsible for the areas of Operations, Human Resources and Digitalization as Chief Operating Officer (COO).
“Despite the excellent sales and earnings performance in the Large Scale & Project Solutions segment, the 2024 fiscal year was overall very challenging. “The operating performance of the segments Home Solutions and Commercial & Industrial Solutions was significantly shaped by the overcapacity on the market and the declining demand in the home and commercial sector. Due to the deteriorating market situation, we implemented countermeasures in mid-2024 by cutting costs and increasing sales. Since September 2024, we have supplemented these measures with a comprehensive restructuring and transformation program. In addition to enhancing efficiency and maintaining our strategic focus as a leading global system and solution provider, we plan to save €150 to €200 million starting from 2026,” said SMA CEO Jürgen Reinert.
Against this backdrop, the Managing Board expects the SMA Group to generate sales of between €1,500 million and €1,650 million and EBITDA of between €70 million and €110 million in the current fiscal year 2025.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
