Israeli solar inverter supplier SolarEdge reported a sharp drop in shipments in the fourth quarter of 2023 due to slowing demand.
In its most recent earnings call, SolarEdge delivered a total of 901 MW of AC inverters and 133 MWh of batteries in the fourth quarter of 2023. This is a 76.5% decrease from the third quarter, when the company shipped 3,841 MW of AC inverters. In FY2023, inverter shipments totaled 12.6 GW AC and battery shipments totaled 744 MWh.
Ronen Fire, CFO of SolarEdge, commented: “Due to the sudden slowdown in demand, our inventory levels have increased significantly. Inventory days increased from 169 days in the third quarter to 386 days in the fourth quarter. We expect inventory levels to increase slightly in the first quarter as we scale production in the U.S., which, coupled with lower guidance, will result in higher days of inventory.”
Excluding deliveries, SolarEdge’s fourth-quarter 2023 solar revenue was just $282.4 million, down 58% from $676.9 million in the prior quarter and down 66% from $837.0 million in the same period. last year.
Solar revenues were $2.8 billion in fiscal 2023, down just 4% from $2.9 billion in the previous year.
The company’s business worsened in the second half of 2023, with a net loss of $162.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to a net loss of $61.2 million in the third quarter of 2023 and a net income of $20.8 million in the fourth quarter. . 2022. For fiscal 2023, SolarEdge recorded net income of $34.3 million, down 63% from $93.8 million.
“Installation reached a record level in the first half of 2023 and is expected to continue to rise, but the market softened in the second half as rising interest rates and lower electricity prices led to higher inventories and a slowdown in our deliveries,” said SolarEdge CEO. – Zvi Lando said.
Looking ahead, SolarEdge expects first-quarter 2024 revenue to be between $175 million and $215 million, down 32% to 44.6% from the prior quarter. Revenue from the solar business will be between $160 million and $200 million, down 29.2% to 43.3% from the prior-year quarter.
“The trend of increasing inventory days is expected to begin to reverse in the second quarter of 2024 as revenue growth returns and we produce less product,” Fire said.
In January of this year, SolarEdge announced it would lay off 900 employees to cut operating costs. The company said the layoffs would affect about 16% of its employees worldwide. Among the employees who will be laid off, 500 will come from several of the company’s production bases.
Lando said the company has taken a number of steps to align the company’s cost structure with its projected business outlook, including closing or reducing capacity across its manufacturing base and exiting certain business lines, as well as reducing its workforce by 16%.
“Through these actions, we will ensure that our R&D activities in the development of future products are not impacted, allowing us to maintain a strong position in this market,” he added.
Post time: Apr-08-2024