• Market comes under price pressure in the first half-year
• Sharp growth in revenues and volume in the German market
Sulzemoos 13 August 2009 / Phoenix Solar AG (ISIN DE000A0BVU93), a leading
photovoltaic system integrator listed on the TecDAX,
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is today releasing the
figures as per 30 June 2009. The first half-year was impacted by tumbling
prices on the procurement and selling front which caused earnings before
interest and taxes (EBIT) to fall considerably below the previous year’s
figure. Nonetheless, the volume of modules sold rose by 25 percent to around
53 megawatt peak output, and a year-on-year growth in revenues of 93.7
percent was achieved in the German market.
In the months from 1 April to 30 June 2009, the Phoenix Solar Group
generated total revenues of EUR 115.7 million, which is an increase of 5
percent over the previous year’s quarter (Q2/2008: EUR 110.2 million)
accomplished under much more difficult conditions. Domestic business
delivered the dominant share in revenues, which came to 97 percent, or the
equivalent of EUR 112.2 million. Compared with EUR 40.1 million posted in
the second quarter of 2008, growth came to around 180 percent. As against
the first three months of the financial year 2009, revenues climbed by as
much as 214.7 percent and reflected the greatly changed conditions in the
market this year.
The Components & Systems segment raised revenues by 16.0 percent to EUR 50.7
million (Q2/2008: EUR 43.7 million) in the second quarter of 2009, which
brought its share in total revenues to 43.8 percent (Q2/2008: EUR 39.7
percent). Revenues generated by the Power Plants segment came in at EUR 65.0
million and therefore declined by 2.3 percent in the second quarter of 2009
(Q2/2008: EUR 66.5 million). This segment’s share stood at 56.2 percent
(Q2/2008: 60.3 percent).
EBIT, which came to EUR 0.1 million, approached breakeven in the second
quarter of 2009, having posted a negative figure of EUR -7.4 million in the
first three months of the year. In a year-on-year comparison, however, EBIT
fell significantly short of the previous year’s figure of EUR 11.2 million.
The EBIT margin (ratio of EBIT to revenues) for the quarter came to 0.1
percent as compared with the year-earlier figure of 10.2 percent. The sharp
fall in selling prices exerted pressure on margins in respect of warehouse
stock. Despite a decline in inventories from EUR 108 million as per 31 March
2009 to EUR 81.1 million as per 30 June 2009, downward valuations on
inventories of EUR 3.7 million at the end of the second quarter had to be
carried out. The consolidated result after tax stood at EUR 1.1 million,
which is below the figure of EUR 7.6 million recorded in the previous year’s
quarter.
The total revenues of the Phoenix Solar Group stood at EUR 152.5 million in
the first half of 2009, which is a slight increase compared with a year ago
when they came to EUR 151.8 million. Revenues in the Components & Systems
segment posted EUR 79.1 million at the end of six months, thereby
contributing 51.9 percent to consolidated revenues (H1/2008: EUR 68.8
million, which corresponds to 45.3 percent). The Power Plants segment
recorded revenues of EUR 73.2 million and a share of 48.1 percent in total
revenues (H1/2008: EUR 83.0 million, the equivalent of 54.7 percent).
EBIT came in at EUR -7.3 million at the end of the first six months of 2009
(H1/2008: EUR 11.5 million), and the consolidated result after tax stood at
EUR -4.9 million (H1/2008: EUR 8.2 million). Based on 6,684,500 shares,
earnings per share stood at EUR
-0.73 (H1/2008: EUR 1.27).
The equity ratio climbed from 41.4 percent a year ago to 49.9 percent as per
30 June 2009.
Orders in hand totalled EUR 181.2 million on 30 June 2009, distributed
between the two segments as follows: EUR 95.4 million in the Components &
Systems segment and EUR 85.8 million in the Power Plants segment. At the
start of the third quarter, there were further significant reductions in
inventories and an increase in the deliveries made by the Components &
Systems segment.
The Interim Report as per 30 June 2009 is being released today, 13 August
2009, and can be downloaded from the company’s website at
www.phoenixsolar.com under the heading Investor Relations, Financial
Reports.
