German inverter manufacturer SMA Solar has reported a first-quarter net loss of €1.6 million (US$1.86 millon), down from a €5.5 million profit in the same period last year.
In its quarterly statement covering January to March 2026, the company said deferred tax expenses had impacted its net Q1 figures, which also saw sales and earnings rise.
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Over the quarter, SMA’s overall revenue was up 4% year on year to €340.9 million. This was driven by the Home and Business Solutions (HBS) division, which saw its sales increase 27.9% year on year to €61.4 million, while sales in the large-scale division remained flat at €279.5 million. Earnings for the quarter rose 67.3% year on year to €24.6 million.
SMA’s overall operating profits were up slightly to €13.3 million, compared with €11.4 million a year ago, giving a margin of 3.9% compared with 3.5% in the same period last year.
The €33.8 million profit from its Large Scale and Project Solutions was lower than the €50.3 million achieved in the same quarter last year, a fact SMA ascribed to higher customs costs and lower capitalisation of development costs.
Profit from its HBS division improved versus last year, but remained negative at minus €19.6 million, compared to minus €46 million in Q1 2025.
As of 31 March, SMA said its order backlog stood at €1.41 billion compared to €1.29 billion last year.
The company confirmed the sales and earnings guidance for 2026, first set out in March, of €1.475 billion-1,675 billion and €50 million-180 million respectively, but said it had refined its expectations to be in the upper third of both these ranges based on its Q1 performance. It said the fine-tuning of its guidance was also due to the prospect of refunds in connection with US IEEPA tariffs, which were recently deemed unlawful by the US Supreme Court.
“We have made a good start in the first quarter and are on track with both sales and earnings,” said SMA’s CFO Kaveh Rouhi.
Rouni said that since the Middle East conflict began, some of SMA’s customers had noticed increased demand for residential and commercial systems.
“However, it is not yet foreseeable whether this demand effect will have a sustained impact on the sales development of the HBS division. In the Large Scale & Project Solutions division, we expect stronger revenue growth in the second half of the year due to the well-filled project pipeline and the planned implementation of key projects later in the year,” Rouni said.
