Solar inverter market leader SMA Solar almost reached its production capacity limit as semiconductor component supply constraints eased. Third-quarter sales reached a record €626.7 million and totalled €1.44 billion for the first nine months of the year. SMA reiterated that it still expects newly installed PV power of up to 17GW in 2010, with German solar installations running at about 5.3GW through the end of September.
SMA said that it had a maximum annual production capacity of approximately 11GW worldwide, a doubling of production capacity compared with 2009. However, the inverter manufacturer noted that its output in the quarter of 2.6GW was virtually sold out. In the first nine months, SMA said that inverter output had been 5,738MW.
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Delivery lead times have fallen back to normal shipment cycles of two to three weeks for string inverters of the Medium Power Solutions segment and to six to eight weeks for central inverters of the High Power Solutions segment.
SMA's managing board said it is expecting 2011 industry installed growth of plus 20% to minus 10% in 2011.
Revenue guidance for 2010 was expected to be in the range of €1.5 to €1.9 billion. SMA reported 2009 revenue of €934 million.
