Meyer Burger posts preliminary first-half sales of €255.6 million

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  Citing the challenging market conditions within the PV industry, major equipment supplier, Meyer Burger posted preliminary first-half sales of CHF 307 million (€255.6 million).

Citing the challenging market conditions within the PV industry, major equipment supplier, Meyer Burger posted preliminary first-half sales of CHF 307 million (€255.6 million). EBITDA is expected to be in the range of CHF 3-5 million (€2.5-€4.1 million). New order intake was approximately CHF 130 million (€108.2 million). However, due to a market driven reduction in customer prepayments Meyer Burger posted a negative operating cash flow of approximately CHF 100 million (€83 million).

Meyer Burger said that it had implemented its optimisation and consolidation plans successfully and that it expected to achieve positive cost reduction effects in the second half of 2012, while the full impact of the measures would be realised in 2013.

The company said that its order backlog stood at CHF 670 million (€557 million) and expected a portion of the backlog, without giving guidance would be recognised as sales this year.

Full-year guidance

Due to poor visibility around the PV industry tackling overcapacity and a return to technology and capacity expansions, Meyer Burger said that it expects to achieve the lower half of its guidance (net sales of between CHF 600-800 million and an EBITDA margin of between 4-8%) in 2012

The company plans to release full financial statements for the first-half of the year on 16 August 2012.