SMA Solar Technology AG

Thank you, operator, and welcome, everyone. We very much appreciate that you are taking the time for this investor and analyst call on our first quarter 2026 results. This conference call is scheduled for up to 60 minutes and will be recorded. After the management presentation, I will be happy to answer your questions. Today's presentation is available on our investor relations website. The replay will also be available on the IR website shortly. Our agenda for today. First, I will review our Q1 figures. Then, we will take a look at the number of external factors currently affecting our business, one of our latest highlight projects, as well as our current order backlog and outlook for the 2026 financial year. I expect the presentation part to last about 30 minutes. I refer to our disclaimer on page two. But let's move to page four, financial highlights for the first quarter 2026. Group sales with 341 million euros were 4% above last year's quarter. In the large scale and project solutions division, sales were stable compared to the previous year. The home and business solutions division increased sales by 27%. Reported group EBITDA increased to 26 million euros after 25 million euros in Q125. Operating group EBITDA before one-offs increased by 67% to 25 million euros compared to 15 million euros the year before. I will provide more insights on the individual divisions in a moment. Pre-cash flow was minus 27 million euros versus positive 96 million euros last year. The negative free cash flow in Q1 this year is due to a buildup of networking capital from increased receivables related to the high sales in March. I will explain this later. Total order backlog increased to 1.41 billion euros at the end of March compared to 1.35 billion euros at the end of December 25. Now, let's go to page five. sales by region and by division. On the left-hand side, you can see that America's revenue share was stable with a 35% share with good uptake of our home and business solutions revenues growth in the U.S. and another strong quarter for our large-scale division in the U.S. EMEA revenue share was slightly up to 45% after 41% in the first quarter 2025, driven by sales growth in Germany and Benelux for both large-scale and home and business solutions. The APEC region share decreased to 20% after 24% in Q1 2025, as large-scale revenues in Australia were below the extraordinary high level of Q1 last year. The main markets for the SMA group in Q1 were the U.S. Germany, and Australia. Now, let me walk you through the sales per division on the right-hand side of the slide. Given a higher demand than the previous year, sales in the division home and business solutions increased by 27% to 61 million euros, after 48 million in Q125. The division's share of total sales has increased to 18% compared to 15 in Q125. Within our transformation program, EMEA continues to be the key focus region. As expected, EMEA remained. Large scale showed a stable revenue development in the first quarter, reaching 280 million euros, which is on the same level as Q1 last year. Americas was the strongest region with 39%, followed by EMEA with 37%, and APEC with 24%. Now, let me provide you with more information on profitability. Operating EBITDA, excluding special items, increased by 67% to 25 million euros, compared to 15 million euros the year before. Reported EBITDA, including all special items, rose to 26 million euros after 25 million euros in Q125. The special items included the reversal of inventory write-downs in connection with the targeted sales measure and related execution costs. Both special items are considered in the home and business solutions Q1 results with a net effect of plus 1.5 million euros. The prior year period was positively affected by a claim settlement in a high single-digit million-euro range, which was reported in our corporate segment. Taking all these effects into account, reported EBITDA margin came in at 7.7% compared to 7.5% in Q125. Depreciation was stable with 13 million euros. Now, let's have a look at the divisions in detail. EBIT for HBS improved significantly, reaching minus 20 million euros compared to minus 46 million euros in Q125. driven by the successful implementation of the first wave of restructuring and transformation measures. This is another proof point of our transformation progress that we just, that with just 30 million euro more net sales, we gained 26 million euro better EBIT. We still expect improvements to take place on quarterly basis during the rest of the year if the net sales stay robust. EBIT in our large-scale division reached 34 million euros, which was below the level of Q125 with 50 million euros. This was driven among other factors by increased tariff costs and less R&D project costs, as well as capitalized development assets. The overall reporting EBIT margin for the SMA group was stable with 4%. Now, I will move on to the balance sheet and networking capital on the next slide. Networking capital, which is shown on the top left of the page, increased to 243 million euros compared to the 25-year end figure of 230 million euros. This leads to a networking capital ratio of 16%, which is slightly above the ratio at the end of last year. Let me walk you through the networking capital positions. Inventories, including advance payments to suppliers on inventories not yet received, We're at 360 million euros at the end of March, which is rather stable compared to end of last year. Trade receivables at the end of March increased to 242 million euros due to higher revenues at the end of the quarter. These are expected to be converted to cash in Q2. Trade payables increased by 40 million euros mainly related to timing of supplier payment. and advance payments received from our customers slightly decreased compared to the end of 25, but are expected to increase in Q2 based on the recently high level of order intake for the large-scale business. Net cash decreased by 16% to 148 million euros at the end of March as a result of the increase in our networking capital, which is related to the high receivables from the strong March sales as just explained. Now, let's have a look on the group balance sheet on the right-hand side of this page, and as I've already explained, the changes in the networking capital positions. I will now focus on the major changes on the other balance sheet positions. Let's start with the changes in total cash and financial liabilities. As we have been able to maintain a good level of cash over the last several months now, we've fully repaid our revolving credit facility. which had been utilized for the amount of 45 million euros per end of December. You will find this under financial liabilities in our balance sheet on the right-hand side of the page. Our total cash is 148 million euros on the same level as our net cash since we paid back our bank loan. Regarding the other balance sheet items, non-current assets have decreased since the end of 25, driven by a scheduled depreciation and amortization of assets, while additions of new investments were on a low level. Other assets are slightly higher than at the end of last year, with 58 million euros primarily related to the increase of prepaid assets. Shareholder's equity was stable with 366 million euros per end of March, leading to an equity ratio of 28%, Provisions likely decreased to 228 million euros in the end of March as provisions for restructuring assets were partly consumed in Q1. And other liabilities decreased likely to 494 million euros from running leasing liabilities, including for the new production. That concludes my explanation of the balance sheet. Let's now have a look at our summary of cash flows on the next slide. Starting with our net income and if we then add back the non-cash P&L items, such as depreciation and amortization and changes in provisions, you can see that we had a solid positive cash flow from our operating profitability in Q1. The non-P&L cash effects are mainly related to payments of prepaid assets, such as annual IT license fees, which are realized as expenses throughout the full year. Net capex amounted to 5 million euros, which is well below the level of Q125, as we are managing our cash spending very closely, including reduced R&D capitalization, and we are currently focusing investments mainly on our new large-scale platform, Sunny Central Flex. Considering our cash flows from operating and investing activities in total, our free cash flow decreased to minus 27 million euros, versus positive 96 million euros in Q125. primarily due to cash effective impact from the restructuring program, as well as an increase in net working capital driven by higher trade receivables, mainly as a result of high revenues toward the end of the quarter. So, let's move to the next page, order backlog. Looking at the left side of this slide, you'll see that our order backlog increased to 1.41 billion euros in the end of March compared to 1.35 billion euros at the end of December 25, and product order backlog nearly reached 1.1 billion euros. On the right side of the page, you can see that our large-scale product order backlog remains strong with 1 billion euros, and HBS slightly increased its product order backlog to nearly 50 million euros after 43 million euros at the end of December 25. For the group in total, order intake was strong in Q1 for large scale with 340 million euros, and for HBS, 71 million euros. Now, let's turn the page, effects of the geopolitical tensions on SMA. Before we look at our 2026 guidance, Let me briefly walk you through the external factors that will influence this fiscal year. First, supply chain and macroeconomic factors. While we do not see significant bottlenecks, logistic costs and lead times are rising. At the same time, higher energy prices and inflation weigh investment decisions. This is currently not a limiting factor, but we will monitor this very closely. Second, order intake. We currently see increased demand in HBS, partly driven by geopolitical tensions, but also expected EEG changes in Germany. This is reflected in the middle column. In March, order intake started to rise. However, it is too early to determine whether this marks the beginning of a sustained trend. That said, It is encouraging to see some positive momentum returning to this segment. Third, energy policy. As discussed in March, Germany is facing regulatory uncertainty around the grid package and potential EEG amendments. This creates temporary pull-forward effects, but also hesitation among end customers. It is worth mentioning that the proposed changes to the EEG favor direct marketing of electricity as opposed to a feed-in tariff. This is aligned with our long-term PV and storage strategy and increases emphasis on resilience, affordability, and energy sovereignty. At the European level, further discussions around supply chain, resilience, and cybersecurity requirements are gaining momentum. In this context, two recent developments are important to take note of. First, in March, the European Commission has proposed via the Industry Accelerator Act made in Europe requirements for solar inverters and cells in projects that are awarded through public procurement, auctions, or other public support schemes. For battery energy storage systems, similar requirements will be introduced. Second, even more recently, the Commission introduced a policy guidance on restricting the use of EU funds for clean energy projects involving inverters from high-risk suppliers. This refers to vendors from jurisdictions where concerns around cybersecurity and geopolitical risks have been publicly raised, namely China, Russia, Korea, and Iran. This guidance is applicable to solar, wind, and storage projects within the EU and also to projects outside of the European Union that will be connected to the European grid. So, what does that mean for SMA? SMA welcomes the attempts of the European Commission to de-risk and diversify the solar supply chain. As for the concrete business impact, the upside potential cannot be fully quantified right now. In large scale, it is likely that demand will shift towards non-Chinese inverters in EU-funded and publicly produced projects. These projects, however, only make up approximately 20% of all projects deployed in Europe. The majority remain privately funded. In home and business solutions, we currently do not expect any material impact, as these solutions are usually not part of projects realized within public procurement, auctions, or EU funding. What is important, however, is the broader signaling effect. Even beyond subsidized projects, we see increasing awareness among customers regarding supply chain resilience and security. Overall, we expect this to create a supportive environment for European suppliers over time, although we are not in a position yet to quantify the potential upside of this stage. Beyond the factors shown here, two additional uncertainties are relevant for 2026. FX developments, especially the US dollar-euro exchange rate, which currently supports our large-scale business, and the potential refund of US tariffs, but timing and eligibility remain uncertain. Based on the latest information, initial payouts could start as early as May. We are closely monitoring and following up on this, and it could result in a smaller double-digit positive EBIT impact and cash in 2026. This potential upside is considered within our refined guidance range. Despite the dynamical political regulatory and demand environment, the SMA management team remains focused on what we can actively influence, executing our HBS transformation, preparing new product lines, advancing our R&D roadmap in large scale, and delivering high-quality products and products. To follow up on this, in the next slide, I want to show you our latest flagship project in Finland. Our entry into the Finnish market is marked by a flagship project, the Battery Park Alapitke, with a capacity of 95 megawatt and a 220 megawatt hour. Finland is currently one of the most dynamic energy storage markets in Europe. driven by the rapid expansion of renewables, increasing price volatility, and growing grid stability requirements. This creates exactly the kind of environment where our expertise in grid-forming storage solution makes a difference. The project has been fully developed by us, SMA Altenso, together with our local partner, Infinergy, strengthening our European storage footprint and positioning us early in a highly attractive growth market. At the same time, it is fully aligned with Finland's national energy and climate strategy as well as EU 2030 targets. A key milestone is a successful transfer of the project to the green tech investor RECAP. This underlines our ability to develop not only technologically advanced solutions but truly investor-ready assets. The partnership combines complementary strengths, our engineering and development expertise with strong financial capabilities on the investor side, and further strengthens our position in the European-best ecosystem. Altenso will remain the central execution partner, delivering the full EPC scope, including balance of plant and grid integration, construction is planned to start in spring 2026 with commissioning in 2027. The project leverages our grid-forming SMA inverter technology to ensure stability and performance under demanding conditions and will provide frequency response while participating in day-ahead and intraday markets. Overall, this project represents a double milestone. entering the Finnish market and demonstrating a scalable end-to-end best business model that positions us for further growth in the region. Now, let's turn to the last page, our guidance for 2026. As said in our previous call on March 26, a broader range for our guidance 2026 was necessary to cover the various scenarios and uncertainties given at that time. Due to currently improved general conditions in both divisions, we refined our guidance to the upper third of group sales ranging between 1.475 billion and 1.675 billion euros and 50 to 180 million euros for ABTA. Drivers in the large-scale and project solutions divisions are the continued high demand and the current improved development of the U.S. dollar exchange rate. The original planning for this fiscal year 26 was based on the assumption that the U.S. dollar would weaken against the Euro. Since the beginning of the Middle East conflict, the U.S. dollar has appreciated against the Euro, which is currently having a positive effect on the development of the large-scale and project solutions division compared to our initial planning. Furthermore, we are currently assuming that the likelihood of potential refunds in connection with the IEEPA tariffs, which were deemed unlawful, has increased. Nevertheless, uncertainties remain regarding the timing, the amount, and the final entitlement to the claim. Sales in the large-scale and project solutions division are expected to be slightly above the high level of the previous year. as a result of the existing high order backlog and sustained demand. Sales in the home and business solutions division are expected to be higher than the previous year. Again, at this time, it is not possible to reliably assess whether the dynamic demand, which is currently seen, will have a sustained impact on the full year sales development of HBS in the current financial year. Group ABTA will see a significant positive impact in 26 due to reductions in costs and increases in efficiency as part of the restructuring and transformation program. Additionally, potential tariff refunds and continued favorable FX developments compared to our initial expectations could have a positive effect on ABTA. For large scale, we're expecting EBIT below the previous year as a result of higher cost necessary for operations and less capitalization of R&D costs. A significant part of the cost increase reflects investments in expanding our service operations to strengthen the service organization within large scale. For HBS, the managing board is once again expecting negative earnings in 26, but with significant improvements over the previous year, driven by the ongoing transformation program. So, in summary, we are cautiously optimistic, despite the different headwinds, as management currently also sees some tailwinds, including potential higher than expected demand in HBS or a positive FX development in large scale. Any escalation in geopolitical tensions, trade restrictions, tariffs, or FX movements may require adjustments to our assumptions at this point and could lead to deviations from the guidance. Last but not least, a note on our upcoming events. We will host an investor and analyst event on June 24 at InterSolar in Munich. Please save the date. First half year results will be published on August 13, combined with the analyst and investor call. With this, I conclude the presentation and I'm happy to take your questions.

We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on the telephone. You will hear a tone to confirm that you've entered the queue. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Questions on the phone are requested to disable the loudspeaker mode while asking a question. Anyone with a question may press star and one at this time. Our first question comes from Konstantin Hesse from Jefferies. Please go ahead.

Hello, Kaveh. Thank you so much for taking my questions. I've got three. So starting on the order intake, maybe you can comment a little bit on what the impact was that you saw in March and what you're seeing in April with regards to HBS how much of an acceleration we could have seen in those months due to the Middle Eastern conflict. I guess that could be an interesting data. And then the other question around orders that I would have is just going into Q2, if you can comment a little bit about the demand dynamics that you're seeing in large scale as we enter now Q2, Q3, do you anticipate for it to remain pretty solid? So let's start with those two.

Okay, thanks, Konstantin, for the questions. I mean, what I keep saying is Q1 is free of any impact of the Orion crisis, right? So either in the revenues nor in the order intake, it had an impact. So basically, as you know, at the end of February, the crisis started. And then until, let's say, the order intake comes to us, it takes a couple of weeks, right? I think it's fair to say that in April, we see an uplift. Yeah, which is good, obviously, but again, it's too early to say that that's a general trend also. So, it has been increased in April, but yeah, not really clear how it will continue. Second one was your question on dynamics in large scale. Yeah, I think we had a great Q1 in terms of order intake, right? And I think we're pretty much on plan. And also for the next quarters, we're confident and quite optimistic.

Kaveh, just on the pipeline in large scale, since the Middle East-Middle Eastern conflict started, you know, clearly we've been seeing a lot of support when you look at the regulatory environment. So when you look at the pipeline, I guess a different way of asking the previous question, is if we look at the pipeline, have you seen an improvement this year potentially for order intake compared to where we were a few months ago?

No. I would say no, honestly. I think we're on a good trajectory, and it's foreseeing some growth, obviously, but I wouldn't see that we have now spikes or something like that. I think we're on a good path and no big impact yet.

Okay. And lastly, just on storage, I think storage is absolutely key right now. So it would be interesting if we can have a little bit more color on how large Altenso is today, how many of your large-scale orders today are being driven by storage, and what kind of demand dynamics you expect for storage this year, just to get a little bit more color for what's really driving your order intake. Thanks.

Yeah, I think, I mean, maybe we'll start with the boring one. So PV is the main business for us still, right? And it's the biggest market and we're serving it quite well. However, as you know, in the battery piece, we have much better differentiation capabilities. And that's a big part of the sales already in Q1. So I would say in Q1, the battery part was bigger than the PV part. So we see kind of a shift slightly, slowly, but significantly towards batteries. So I would say we are positioned there well. If you want to number some order intake, I'm not really sure, but in terms of sales, we were, I would say, slightly above the middle, so something around 60% was batteries in Q1 in terms of sales. Battery inverters, right? Not batteries, sorry, battery inverters. So in large scale, right? Or you mean overall? Yeah. No, no, for large scale, for large scale, definitely. And also in the home business, I mean, I thought you were asking about large scale, but also in the home business, there's a true shift into hybrid inverters and TV-only inverters don't work that much anymore in the home space with all the energy management and so on and so forth, right? And also in the order intake storage is becoming a bigger part. So, yeah, I think we're there.

Okay. Then maybe just lastly, just on this regulatory environment, have you potentially seen customers reaching out more often to SMA that potentially had higher exposure to Chinese inverters and obviously now potentially wanting to work more with SMA as a result of that? Have you seen any change to customer behavior in that sense?

I think when last year – around inter-solar, I remember the first and all this discussion started. We had already customers approaching us who were, let's say, more on the Chinese side of things. But until that materializes in big projects, that takes time. So I wouldn't overestimate the impact now. Understood. Thank you.

As a reminder, if you wish to register for a question, please press star followed by one. The next question comes from Guido Heumann from Metzeler. Please go ahead.

Yeah, hi. Good day, Tavi. Two questions for me. The first one is on HBS, the new three-phase hybrid inverter. I think that's to be presented on the InterSolar. Can this one already be ordered? And as I understand that hybrids are the only product which can be sold these days. And if it's not yet available, do you run the risk that installers will wait for this product, you know, until fall or whenever? And you will miss out on the current opportunities, you know, resulting from, high energy prices, you know, all the stuff we just mentioned, Frau Reich's pre-buying effects, et cetera. So could you miss that out because your product is not available yet? The first question. The second one would be, can you remind us on the approximate cash outflow in 26 in connection with the restructuring booked already in 2025? Thank you.

Yeah, sure. Thanks for the questions, Guido. So, to start with the HBS products that are to be presented at InterSolar. So, no, they can't be ordered now yet. However, we are pretty good on track with everything. We have actually next week an installer event where we show the installers the whole solution with the app, with the software, and they can get familiar with it. So we're doing all kind of pre-marketing things, yeah, and it looks all good. Feedback is very positive. But obviously, we can't order them yet, as the plan is to be able to sell those in mass quantities in H2, right? So what do we miss? Yeah, that's a good one. You don't know what you missed because you missed it, right? So I don't know. Maybe I would have three times the revenues if I had those products right now. That's a question you never can answer. We do have a loyal base that is willing to wait a couple of months. On the other hand, if the installer has to install something today and they don't have that product there, they would take another product, but I'm not able to quantify that, honestly. Okay. But we are not concerned that this will hit our planning. We see this as I mentioned more in upside potential, right? So, I think that's maybe on that part. Your second question was about the restructuring paid-offs. I mean, you remember what we published last year in terms of one-offs. And we expect that most of those will be paid out this year. So, we are running on this plan on that, right?

So, nothing special there. So, a rough indication regarding the cash burden from that?

Yeah, I think it's something between 20 and 25 million euros.

All right. Thank you, Gary. Thanks, Guido.

The next question comes from Jeff Osborne from TD Cowen. Please go ahead.

Yeah, thank you. I just wanted to follow up on the tariff refund. Can you just remind us what the cumulus of tariffs you've paid out are and then what the magnitude of the guidance is that you now have a refund coming back, but I guess it's unclear the scope and timing. I was just confused why you're updating guidance with the refund in there, but then I didn't see you break that up.

Yeah, I think we got the question last time, why is the guidance range so big, especially for the down part, right? And we said we don't know whether we get the tariffs back, which we had in the plan to get back, right? And what we're now saying is the likelihood of getting repaid has increased, So, we have basically a tariff task force, if you want, dealing with the whole topic on a daily basis. We basically sent our notification to the Customs and Border Protection, the entity that is basically handling this, on the first day available, the list of all our entries so that they could process it as soon as possible. So we try to be upfront as much as possible. Actually, I'm just thinking last week, there was an announcement that the payment process would start in May, right? And so we are hopeful to see the money coming. The question is, when will it be paid out? In total, we paid, we expect something around 20 to 30 million upside potential, yeah. Most of it cash, but parts also EBIT because we had it in the books last year, but we haven't invoiced it yet to customers. So it will be just additional one-offs that come in on top. So basically what that means is, and if you look at our guidance range, that's the main reason why we don't see the bottom part anymore, you know, because the likelihood has increased, you know. But if that changes for whatever reason, you never know these days, of course, it would have an impact. But currently, it looks like we're on a good track to getting that refunded, at least parts of it. And then, of course, we'll keep you posted in the next call how far we've come with the refunding and also on the publications that we do.

That's helpful. Just one follow-up on the tariffs, and then I'll have an additional line of questioning. But on the tariffs, would that show up in the income statement potentially next quarter if you got paid next week, for example? Is that a reversal of cost of goods, so a benefit to gross margin, or does it show up somewhere else?

I mean, we would comment on it. Actually, that's a good point. Our IFRS team is currently dealing with how we should even show it in the P&L. So you are ahead of us. because we weren't really sure if there's even a likelihood to get it. So now that it's increased, we're working on an FRS memo, and then we will disclose it in the report. So no worries. We will tell you where it sits.

Perfect. That's helpful. And then just switching gears to the U.S. market, I think you said in your prepared remarks that the utility scale was strong, but I believe you also said the home and business. Can you just detail the home and business? Is that something on the residential side or? more commercial in light of some of the FIAC shifts? I'm just trying to understand the moving parts and your HBS segment.

Yeah. I mean, currently, in the Q1 results that you can see, commercial is stronger than home, right? And what we were saying is that, especially in Europe with our core markets, mainly Germany and so on, the current developments, the crisis, they have a positive impact more on the home part going forward. But in Q1, commercial was performing better than home.

Perfect. That's all I have. Thank you. I appreciate it.

Ladies and gentlemen, that was the last question. I would now like to turn the conference back over to Kavi Rui for any closing remarks.

Thank you. That was quick. So thanks again for your interest. And please do not hesitate to contact us in case you have any further questions. Having said that, goodbye and have a great day.