aleo solar AG today published its 2010 annual report, which confirms the preliminary figures announced earlier. Revenue increased by 47.2% to EUR 553.5 million (2009: EUR 376.1 million). EBIT soared to EUR 43.0 million (2009: EUR 16.0 million), generating a very solid EBIT margin of 7.8% (2009: 4.3%). Earnings per share rose to EUR 2.41 (2009: EUR 0.78). aleo solar AG’s plants operated at full capacity in 2010, with production of solar modules almost doubling to 267 megawatts from 139 megawatts in the previous year. The Company is currently setting the stage for further growth with its expansion of production capacity from 250 megawatts to 390 megawatts by the end of 2011, which it began in 2010.
While the first six months of 2010 were dominated by pull-forward effects and high revenue in Germany due to the amendment of the German Renewable Energy Act, aleo solar AG generated over half of its revenue in the second half of the year outside Germany. In 2010 as a whole, the Company’s international operations accounted for 35.8% (2009: 22.7%) of revenue, mostly in Italy, France and Greece. “This shows just how successfully we were able to implement our internationalisation strategy,” says York zu Putlitz, CEO and CFO of aleo solar AG. “A systematic expansion of our international business is on the agenda for 2011. We intend to step up our activities outside Europe in the future.” aleo solar AG already has sales contacts worldwide; modules were delivered to solar markets in the United States as well as to other countries such as Australia, Israel and Mexico.
The Company continues to view its proximity to specialist dealers and fitters and its premium brand as its strengths. The outstanding quality of aleo modules was reaffirmed with the “very good” rating in a test conducted by Öko-Test magazine in April 2010. In the process of optimising its production processes, aleo solar AG increasingly benefits from the technological expertise of its majority shareholder, Robert Bosch GmbH.
Due to the in some cases radical cuts in feed-in tariffs, aleo solar AG assumes that the photovoltaic markets will be even more competitive in the current year than in 2010. aleo solar AG is nevertheless striving for further growth and anticipates revenue of at least EUR 560 million in 2011 together with a comparatively solid EBIT margin.
The Company
aleo solar AG produces and distributes premium solar modules and systems for the international photovoltaic market. Since 2009, the Bosch Group has owned a majority of aleo solar AG (DE000A0JM634), which was originally founded in 2001 and has been listed on the stock exchange since 2006. As a premium manufacturer with 878 employees, aleo solar maintains a strong global presence with subsidiaries active in all important photovoltaic markets. Its main plant in Prenzlau, Germany and two additional plants in Spain and China provide the aleo solar group with an annual production capacity of 250 megawatts, which will be increased to 390 MW by the end of 2011. In 2010, the company’s turnover amounted to € 553.5 million.
