Swiss-based solar manufacturer Meyer Burger has registered net losses of CHF317 million (US$365 million) in the first half of 2024, a nearly fivefold increase from H1 2023 when it reported net losses of CHF65 million.
Net losses for the half-year results have already exceeded the numbers registered in the fiscal year of 2023 when the company reported CHF292 million in net losses.
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Net sales have also decreased in H1 2024 as the manufacturer continues to shift its business from Germany to the US. During H1 2024, the company registered net sales of CHF48.7 million, nearly half of the CHF96.9 million it made during the same period a year prior.
The publication of the H1 2024 results comes after Meyer Burger announced, last month, the delay of its full publication, while publishing preliminary results.
The company’s shift to the US with its solar module assembly plant in Arizona continues to move forward, with the ramping up of its first production line in June 2024. Preparations to commission the second production line are underway, according to the company. During the second half of 2024, Meyer Burger expects to continue increasing the production volume of its modules in the US and ramp up the second module assembly line, which is scheduled to begin operations by the end of the year.
Once the Goodyear module assembly plant reaches full capacity, with an annual nameplate capacity of 1.4GW, the company expects annual sales to be near CHF350-400 million, while EBITDA will be around CHF70 million from 2026.
Procurement of the solar cells will be done through the plant in Germany, after the Swiss-based PV manufacturer scrapped the construction of a 2GW annual nameplate capacity solar cell plant in Colorado Springs, US, citing a lack of “required third-party financing and to focus on module production in Goodyear”.
This was followed a few weeks later by an operational restructuring programme – with nearly 200 job cuts – and the stepping down of Gunter Erfurt as CEO of Meyer Burger. Soon after it named Franz Richter as its new CEO, who was already part of the company’s board of directors, and brings experience in restructuring industrial companies.
“We are confident that the restructuring programme we have outlined provides a path to profitability, upon receiving the required financing. We are doing everything we can to strengthen the company and establish it as a reliable premium supplier in the USA,” said Richter in a letter to the shareholders in the half-year 2024 report.
During the first six months of 2024, module production capacity decreased to 105.2MW, as the company closed its module assembly plant in Germany. Module inventories also decreased from 365MW at the end of 2023 to 340MW by the end of H1 2024.
