S.A.G. Solarstrom AG achieves significant growth in results in all business segment in 2009
S.A.G. Solarstrom AG achieves significant growth in results in all business segments in 2009
- Sales increased to €152.9 million (+56%)
- EBIT more than tripled to €8.5 million, consolidated profit almost quadrupled to €7.7 million
- Operational result (EBIT) positive in all segments and with strong growth
Freiburg, April 22, 2010. S.A.G. Solarstrom AG (German security identification number: 702 100, ISIN: DE0007021008), Freiburg, surpassed all expectations in fiscal year 2009. The best result in the history of the company was achieved, with an EBIT of €8.5 million (previous year: €2.8 million) and sales of €152.9 million (previous year: €97.7 million). The consolidated profit increased to €7.7 million after taxes (previous year:
€2 million). The main driver of this extremely successful development was the business area Project Planning and Plant Construction, which generated around 71% of total sales (previous year: 49%). Profitable projects in the Czech Republic and Italy made notable contributions to the leap in revenue. The workforce increased by 41% due to the expansion in business activities.
Details on the individual business segments:
Project Planning and Plant Construction
In the top-selling business segment, the S.A.G. Solarstrom Group also achieved the highest operating income (EBIT) in 2009 with €4.9 million following €1.8 million in the previous year. The corresponding margin improved during this period to 4.5%, following 3.7% in the previous year. The reasons for the increase in earnings were twofold – the extremely positive development in sales from €47.4 million to €108.2 million in fiscal year 2009 and the successes of the S.A.G. Solarstrom Group in major projects, such as Stribro in the Czech Republic, which are reflected in the higher margin.
Partner Sales and Distribution
In Partner Sales and Distribution, the S.A.G. Solarstrom Group increased the EBIT by €0.5 million to €0.7 million in 2009 and thus improved the margin to 2%, despite a decline in sales to €33.8 million (previous year: €41.5 million). The decline in sales by €7.7 million can be attributed to the discontinuation of pure wholesale trade. In Partner Sales and Distribution, the focus on selected, high-performance and exclusive sales partners in the German market thus paid off.
Plant Operation and Services
The S.A.G. Solarstrom Group was able to significantly increase their earning power in the business area of Plant Operation and Services in 2009. EBIT almost tripled to €1.2 million, thus enabling the EBIT margin to almost double with increasing sales to 14%, following 7.3% in 2008. This business area improved its sales by 30% to €8.7 million (previous year: €6.7 million). The main reason for this was the expansion of the value added chain through the takeover of the development and production site of IS2E at Moers in 2008, where hardware and software technology for monitoring photovoltaic installations is developed.
Power Production
In the business segment Power Production, the S.A.G. Solarstrom Group obtained an EBIT of €1.7 million following €0.4 million in the previous year and thus achieved a margin of 77.7% (previous year: 19.3%). A one-time revenue of €1.2 million from the scheduled waiver of remaining debt for some of the photovoltaic installations financed as part of the 100,000 Roofs Program must be taken into account here. Sales increased slightly from €2.1 million to €2.2 million. S.A.G. Solarstrom also invested specifically in the expansion of their own farm of solar power plants. One example is the 4.2 MWp of the photovoltaic installation on the roof of the Dehner Garden Center in Rain am Lech.
Reorganization successfully completed
The successfully completed reorganization was very conspicuous in 2009, not just for the S.A.G. Solarstrom Group altogether, but also for S.A.G. Solarstrom AG (individual financial statement). The annual net profit – the definitive factor for the disbursement to the S.A.G. shareholders – increased impressively from €1.6 million to €9 million. The success of the realignment was particularly apparent in S.A.G. Solarstrom Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH, active in Germany, which achieved a clear leap in results in 2009. The EBIT rose to €9.6 million (previous year: €1.6 million), and the annual net profit was €14.5 million (previous year €0.9 million).
Expansion in business generates new jobs
In order to continue stabilization and efficient control of the dynamic corporate growth, 47 new jobs were generated in the reporting year, thus increasing the workforce from 116 employees in the previous year to 163 employees in the reporting year. The focus was on strengthening the areas of Financial Accounting, Controlling, Technology, Sales and Marketing.
Revenue forecasts confirmed, first distribution of dividends
S.A.G. Solarstrom AG confirmed their revenue forecast for 2010. The company anticipated sales of between €190 and €210 million and an EBIT of between €8 and €11 million. The long-term project target margin of the company remains at between 5% and 10%. Bearing in mind the strong consolidated result, a dividend of €0.10 per share will be proposed at the Annual General Meeting for the first time in 2010.
“Our forecast will withstand even the planned changes for the feed-in tariff in Germany“, says Dr. Karl Kuhlmann, CEO of S.A.G. Solarstrom AG. Our broad international alignment and our high level of flexibility, which we demonstrated again in 2009, will enable us to absorb local developments in specific markets.”
About S.A.G. Solarstrom AG
S.A.G. Solarstrom AG (WKN: 702 100, ISIN: DE0007021008) of Freiburg, Germany, are a manufacturer-independent provider of high-quality photovoltaic plants configured to customers’ individual needs. The group constructs efficient plants of all sizes both in Germany and abroad. S.A.G. also produce solar energy at their own plants.
S.A.G. Solarstrom AG’s service portfolio covers the entire life cycle of photovoltaic plants, including forecast and energy services, yield reports, and remote maintenance, as well as insurance and financing. The group thus offers a comprehensive value chain in photovoltaics, from yield reports, planning, construction, operations, and monitoring to optimization, repowering, and deconstruction.
Founded in 1998, S.A.G. Solarstrom AG are considered pioneers in the solar industry. Around 160 specialists work at S.A.G.’s four locations in Germany and in their foreign subsidiaries.
S.A.G. Solarstrom AG are listed on the open market, Entry Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as well as according to the rules and standards M:access of the Munich Stock Exchange.
Further information: www.solarstromag.com
S.A.G. Solarstrom AG
Sasbacher Straße 5
79111 Freiburg
Public Relations / Investor Relations
Jutta Lorberg
Tel.: +49-(0)761-4770-311
E-Mail: pr@solarstromag.com / ir@solarstromag.com