On Tuesday, May 15th, 2012, Conergy Group (ETR:CGYK), solar system seller and installer, reported results of its first quarter of 2012.
The company reported revenue of €98M ($125M), which was a 39% decrease from the same period last year. Conergy lost €14M ($17M) vs. a loss of €20M in Q1 2011, therefore showing better financial results. On volume, Q1 recorded 70MW of system sales, which was a small decrease over the same period in 2011 with 80MW sold. Conergy described poor weather in January and February as a contributing factor to weaker sales, despite significant recovery in the month of March. On average, system sales in Q1 generated $1.78 per watt in comparison to 2011’s sales of $2.61 per watt, a 31% decrease. The company had manufactured some of its own components like cells and modules until last quarter, but shut down the majority of the cell manufacturing lines, focusing on module assembly, and reduced its workforce by 300 employees last year. Conergy’s gross margin was at 20%, almost a match of results from Q1-2011. This confirms that manufacturing impacts have to a degree omitted installers with limited inventories, without exposure to long-term contracts and fixed pricing. The company delivered its first positive cash flow for the first quarter of the year, since the IPO in 2005.
In April, the company sold its inverter business, voltwerk electronics GmbH to the Bosch Group, generating preliminary income of €4.7M. In Q2 the company added 16MW of projects in Germany, but Conergy expects revenue to be lower for the duration of 2012 in comparison to last year.
Another solar installer, Phoenix Solar (ETR:PS4) reported its Q1 results. Revenue grew in the period by 17% to €37M from €32.1M in Q1 2011. Solar module sales saw an increase from 18MW to 23MW in sales in Q1, 2011. The company predicts to see consolidated revenues of €210 to 240M in fiscal 2012.
