The decline in sales was mainly attributable to the general fall-off in demand due to the international financial crisis, the drop in prices and more pronounced seasonal effects than in previous years. The company was unable to offset the seasonal decline in the number of solar system installed in Germany in the past quarter by other markets such as Spain. In addition, there was a noticeable reticence among consumers for photovoltaic systems, who were speculating on a further slump in prices for solar energy products.
Gross profit increased by EUR2.6 million to EUR27.8 million in the reporting period (corresponding period of the previous year: EUR25.2 million) Besides the regressive sales trend, the development of gross profit was also attributable to the significant increase of EUR40.1 million in the inventory of finished goods and work in progress together with the increased expenses for raw materials and supplies and purchased goods due to the expansion of the production volume.
The increase in gross profit was more than offset by increased personnel costs due to the increased payroll and rise in other expenses. To these increased expenses resulting from the expansion of production volume must be added a rise in depreciation due to previous expansion investments. The EBIT margin accordingly fell by 5% points to 9.8% (compared to 14.8% in the same period of the previous year).
Outlook
Due to the international financial crisis and current oversupply the ersol Group anticipates a slackening of the dynamic growth in the solar industry and only a gradual easing of the market situation. “The weak first quarter of 2009 and only hesitant recovery of the market have caused us to adjust our overall forecast for 2009. Contrary to our sales forecast exceeding EUR420 million and an EBIT of EUR80–90 million, we are now anticipating sales of EUR330–380 million and an EBIT of EUR30–60 million. As a result, ersol reduces its forecast for 2010 with revenue of over EUR700 million and EBIT of over EUR150 million. The main reasons for the correction of our forecast are the generally adverse market situation and slacking in demand, combined with a significant drop in prices for solar modules and cells and the weaker project business due to the financial market crisis. This market situation is having an impact on our sales volume and thus our revenue and earnings. On account of our high quality and excellent technological position we nevertheless see ourselves well equipped to tackle the coming years,” Holger von Hebel, chief executive officer of ersol Solar, comments on the outlook for the following months.
