Ever the optimists, Dresden-based Solarwatt expects a better second-half to the year after posting sales were down 51.3%, compared with the same period a year ago, due to a ‘sluggish’ project business, according to the company. The optimism for the second-half of the year is based on what the company said was ‘attractive’ project business in Italy, France and the UK and partnerships arising from the transition towards renewable energy sources in Germany.
Solarwatt posted sales of around €324 million in 2010 and an EBITDA of €16 million but noted that it incurred losses in first six months of 2011, without releasing figures.
“Our performance over this period ensures that we are still trading in the top third of the market, however. Our solid business model and a forward-looking financing strategy guarantee that we will continue to show a strong presence on the market. However, secure political framework conditions will certainly need to be in place,” commented Dr. Jürgen Bruns, CFO, Solarwatt.
Recently, Solarwatt has completed six PV power plant projects in Italy, including one solar plant with an output of 2MW and 4 solar parks of 1MW were constructed in the Ravenna region of the country. A 2MW plant was also built in San Luri, Sardinia.
The company noted that in August this year, it had completed a 1.3MW project for German energy supplier eins energie in Saxony, and was currently building a 9MW ground-mounted system for the German-based energy supplier ewag.