SMA Solar Technology AG-Corporate News

SMA Managing Board presents restructuring plans - global workforce to be reduced by around 425 full-time positions

Niestetal, December 12, 2018 - The Managing Board of SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA/FWB: S92) has presented the restructuring measures announced in September to the employees. One of the main planned measures is the discontinuation of China as a location and the sale of the Chinese companies to the management there. The restructuring will involve a reduction of the global workforce by around 425 full-time positions. The restructuring measures are needed in order to return SMA to profitability quickly in an environment characterized by a sharp decline in prices. In addition, SMA will position itself for the future as a systems and solutions provider.

"Our deliberations with regard to restructuring centered on the issue of location. With the measures that have now been resolved, the SMA Managing Board is demonstrating its commitment to Germany as a business location. The measures are aimed at reducing SMA's fixed costs and making optimal use of our capacity at the headquarters by focusing on our core competencies, outsourcing and automating activities, and reorganizing structures. Unfortunately, the reduction of the global workforce by around 425 full-time positions is unavoidable in this context. It is very important to us to implement the planned staff reduction in a socially responsible way," explains SMA CEO Dr. Jürgen Reinert. "The sale of the business units in China to the management there will create good conditions for the positive further development of business on both sides. In order to secure SMA's success in the long term, we will increasingly press ahead with the process begun to develop the company into a systems and solutions provider and will continue to invest in the future-oriented areas of energy management, storage integration, repowering, and digital business models."

Subject to the approval of the works council, the planned restructuring measures are to be implemented starting from January 2019. Worldwide, the SMA Managing Board plans to cut around 425 of the total 3,307 full-time positions (not including temporary employees) as of December 31, 2018, until 2020. More than 100 of these full-time positions relate to Germany and more than 300 to the foreign locations. The SMA Managing Board is aiming to carry out the staff reduction in a socially responsible way. However, compulsory redundancies cannot be ruled out at present.

The SMA Managing Board is confirming its sales and earnings guidance for the current fiscal year. It anticipates sales of EUR760 million to EUR780 million and negative EBITDA in the mid to high tens of millions of euros. For 2019, the SMA Managing Board is aiming for sales growth and positive EBITDA.
 

About SMA
The SMA Group with sales of around EUR900 million in 2017 is a global leader for solar inverters, a key component of all PV plants. SMA offers a wide range of products and solutions that allow for high energy yields for residential and commercial PV systems and large-scale PV power plants. To increase PV self-consumption efficiently, SMA system technology can easily be combined with different battery technologies. Intelligent energy management and digital energy solutions, comprehensive services and operational management of PV power plants round off SMA's range. The company is headquartered in Niestetal, near Kassel, Germany, is represented in 19 countries and has more than 3,000 employees worldwide, including 500 working in Development. SMA's multi-award-winning technology is protected by more than 1,200 patents and utility models. Since 2008, the Group's parent company, SMA Solar Technology AG, has been listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (S92) and is listed in the SDAX index.

SMA Solar Technology AG
Sonnenallee 1
34266 Niestetal
Germany

Head of Corporate Communications:
Anja Jasper
Tel. +49 561 9522-2805
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Press Contact:
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Tel. +49 561 9522-1124
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Disclaimer:
This corporate news serves only as information and does not constitute an offer or invitation to subscribe for, acquire, hold or sell any securities of SMA Solar Technology AG (the "Company") or any present or future subsidiary of the Company (together with the Company, the "SMA Group") nor should it form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any contract to purchase or subscribe for any securities in the Company or any member of the SMA Group or commitment whatsoever. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

This corporate news can contain future-oriented statements. Future-oriented statements are statements which do not describe facts of the past. They also include statements about our assumptions and expectations. These statements are based on plans, estimations and forecasts which the Managing Board of SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA or company) has available at this time. Future-oriented statements are therefore only valid on the day on which they are made. Future-oriented statements by nature contain risks and elements of uncertainty. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors can lead to considerable differences between the actual results, the financial position, the development or the performance of the corporation and the estimates given here. These factors include those which SMA has discussed in published reports. These reports are available on the SMA website at www.SMA.de. The company accepts no obligation whatsoever to update these future-oriented statements or to adjust them to future events or developments.