EQS-News: SMA Group publishes preliminary, non-audited figures for 2024 as a whole and issues guidance for the 2025 fiscal year

EQS-News: SMA Solar Technology AG / Key word(s): Preliminary Results
SMA Group publishes preliminary, non-audited figures for 2024 as a whole and
issues guidance for the 2025 fiscal year

05.03.2025 / 07:00 CET/CEST
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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SMA Group publishes preliminary, non-audited figures for 2024 as a whole and
issues guidance for the 2025 fiscal year

* Sales drop by 19.7% to €1,530.0 million (2023: €1,904.1 million)

* EBITDA reduces from €311.0 million to −€16.0 million

* Earnings significantly impacted by one-time impairment on inventories
and restructuring expenses

* Guidance for 2025: sales of €1,500 million to €1,650 million; EBITDA
between €70 million and €110 million

Niestetal, March 5, 2025 – SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA/ISIN:
DE000A0DJ6J9/FWB: S92) 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). EBITDA amounted to
−€16.0 million [1] and was thus significantly below the previous year’s
level (2023: €311.0 million). This corresponds to an EBITDA margin of −1.0%
(2023: 16.3%). 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 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).

Due to the lower demand situation combined with high inventories at
distributors, the sales in the segments Home Solutions with €170.3 million
(2023: €580.2 million) and Commercial & Industrial Solutions with €183.8
million (2023: €478.9 million) were considerably lower than the previous
year.

The EBIT in the Home Solutions segment deteriorated to −€150.7 million
(2023: €148.0 million) due to the sales decline, increased costs and
impairments on inventories (€44.6 million), capitalized development projects
(€14.5 million) and a production line (€4.2 million), as well as provisions
for purchase commitments (€10.2 million).

The EBIT in the Commercial & Industrial Solutions segment deteriorated to
−€164.3 million (2023: €22.7 million) due to the sales decline, higher
costs, impairments on inventories (€49.5 million) and capitalized
development projects (€7.9 million), as well as provisions for purchase
commitments (€5.4 million).

Sales in the Large Scale & Project Solutions segment were up considerably at
€1,175.8 billion (2023: €845.0 million) and achieved an EBIT of €227.0
million (2023: €103.8 million). The reasons for the positive earnings
development were the high sales level combined with a reduction in fixed
costs, a profitable product mix and the sale of a battery storage project by
SMA Altenso GmbH. The impairments on inventories (€19.3 million) had a
negative impact on the EBIT.

As expected, the order backlog with €1,355.6 million resulting from the
challenging situation in the segments Home Solutions and Commercial &
Industrial Solutions was below the previous year's figure of €1,705.0
million. Of this amount, €1,033.3 million was attributable to product
business (December 31, 2023: €1,329.8 million).

The net income fell to −€117.7 million (2023: €225.7 million) and earnings
per share decreased accordingly to −€3.39 (2023: €6.50). At €84.2 million,
net cash was considerably lower than in the previous year (December 31,
2023: €283.3 million).

The preliminary figures are still subject to the auditor’s review.


Consequent implementation of 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
2024. 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.

"With the group-wide restructuring and transformation program, we are laying
the foundation for profitable growth in the future. We expect to see the
first positive effects from the defined measures in the 2025 fiscal year.
Merging the segments Home and C&I into the division Home & Business
Solutions (HBS) is to occur in the first half of this year. In operational
terms, we expect the new HBS division to maintain a stable sales level in
the current year. Earnings of this division will be significantly higher
than last year but will not yet reach the break-even point. We expect a
slight sales growth in the Large Scale & Project Solutions division.
Earnings will be slightly below the previous year due to higher costs and a
changed product and regional mix," said SMA CFO Barbara Gregor.

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.

[1]Including €19 million positive one-time item from the sale of shares in
elexon GmbH, and a low two-digit million euro amount from the sale of a
battery storage project by SMA Altenso GmbH.


Additional Information

SMA will publish its audited Consolidated Financial Statements and the
Annual Report for 2024 on March 27, 2025, and will explain the contents at a
virtual press conference on financial statements at 10:30 a.m. and a
conference call for analysts and investors at 1:30 p.m.


About SMA

As a leading global specialist in photovoltaic and storage system
technology, the SMA Group is setting the standards today for the
decentralized and renewable energy supply of tomorrow. SMA’s portfolio
contains a wide range of efficient PV and battery inverters, holistic system
solutions for PV and battery-storage systems of all power classes,
intelligent energy management systems and charging solutions for electric
vehicles and power-to-gas applications. Digital energy services as well as
extensive services round off SMA’s range. SMA inverters installed throughout
the world within the last 20 years with a total output of approximately 132
GW help avoid the emission of more than 70 million tons of CO2. SMA’s
multi-award-winning technology is protected by more than 1,600 patents and
utility models. Since 2008, the Group’s parent company, SMA Solar Technology
AG, has been listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
(S92) and is listed on the SDAX index.

SMA Solar Technology AG

Sonnenallee 1

34266 Niestetal

Germany

Press Contact:

Dagmar Buth-Parvaresh

Tel.+49 561 9522 421414

Presse@SMA.de

Investor Relations Contact:

Viona Brandt

Tel. +49 151 277 658 25

Investor.Relations@SMA.de


Disclaimer:

This press release serves only as information and does not constitute an
offer or invitation to subscribe for, acquire, hold or sell any securities
of SMA Solar Technology AG (the “Company”) or any present or future
subsidiary of the Company (together with the Company, the “SMA Group”) nor
should it form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any
contract to purchase or subscribe for any securities in the Company or any
member of the SMA Group or commitment whatsoever. Securities may not be
offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration or an
exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as
amended.

This press release can contain future-oriented statements. Future-oriented
statements are statements which do not describe facts of the past. They also
include statements about our assumptions and expectations. These statements
are based on plans, estimations and forecasts which the Managing Board of
SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA or company) has available at this time.
Future-oriented statements are therefore only valid on the day on which they
are made. Future-oriented statements by nature contain risks and elements of
uncertainty. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors can lead to considerable differences between the actual results, the
financial position, the development or the performance of the corporation
and the estimates given here. These factors include those which SMA has
discussed in published reports. These reports are available on the SMA
website at www.SMA.de. The company accepts no obligation whatsoever to
update these future-oriented statements or to adjust them to future events
or developments.


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05.03.2025 CET/CEST Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by EQS
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The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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Language: English
Company: SMA Solar Technology AG
Sonnenallee 1
34266 Niestetal
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)561 / 9522 - 0
Fax: +49 (0)561 / 9522 - 100
E-mail: info@sma.de
Internet: www.sma.de
ISIN: DE000A0DJ6J9
WKN: A0DJ6J
Indices: SDAX,
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard);
Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf,
Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange
EQS News ID: 2095265



End of News EQS News Service
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2095265 05.03.2025 CET/CEST