Solarpraxis AG very successful in 2010
Company well positioned / annual surplus posted at 1,176,785 euros / general market remains uncertain
For Solarpraxis AG, 2010 was an even more successful fiscal year than for the general solar market, which itself performed exceptionally well. The positive business trend in the first two quarters continued in the last two. Sales rose year over year by 22 percent to 5.9 million euros, allowing Solarpraxis AG to post an annual surplus of nearly 1.2 million euros. "This is the best result in our history," says CEO Karl-Heinz Remmers. Thanks to this good result, net losses were reduced by 33 percent to 2.4 million euros. At the same time, the equity ratio increased from 15 to 46 percent.
The generally sound market was not the only reason for this excellent result. The successful restructuring of the firm, which started in mid-2008, is equally important. "Since then, Solarpraxis AG has either sold or discontinued all unprofitable projects and is now using synergies between departments better than ever," explains executive board member Oliver Ludwigs. In this way, a lot of new products with significant synergies have been positioned. Likewise, the early, long-term planning of current activities paid off.
All three divisions contributed to success in 2010
The largest division, Publishing, increased its sales significantly by 30 percent. All four of the planned brochures were successfully rolled out. Advertising in the two magazines – the German photovoltaik and the English pv magazine – has increased strongly. Over the course of the year, pv magazine developed to become profitable.
The Engineering Division greatly expanded its market position. It is now the second-largest division in the firm. Year over year, sales has risen by 86 percent, especially in the field of high-quality services for project developers and investors. This division produces reports, provides various consulting and measurement services in the field of utility-scale solar arrays and technical documentation, offers training courses, and manages expert hotlines and customer service.
In 2010, the Conferences Division conducted the "11th Forum Solarpraxis," the "2nd PV Power Plants Conference USA" and the "Conferenza dell‘Industria Solare – Italia 2010" among other events, all of which were highly successful. For instance, Forum Solarpraxis was once again completely sold out with more than 800 participants. Overall, Solarpraxis AG organized twelve conferences in 2010. Sales rose by ten percent above the level of 2009 47 percent of which was generated abroad.
Despite the cuts in feed-in tariffs for solar power in Germany, 2011 also got off to an excellent start for photovoltaics. It is not clear, however, whether this trend will continue in the third and fourth quarters of the year. The market is currently uncertain because it is not yet clear how sharply feed-in tariffs for solar will once again be cut in Germany on July 1; in addition, other European countries are also ramping down their support for photovoltaics. "To reduce our exposure in specific countries, Solarpraxis AG continues to expand on its internationalization," says Remmers.
The Company's financial statements for 2010 will soon be published in the German Gazette (Bundesanzeiger); the complete annual report for Solarpraxis AG in 2010 will probably be made available on June 15, 2011.
Contact:
Solarpraxis AG
Nora Rieger
Investor Relations
Phone: +49 30/726 296-300
Mail: nora.rieger@solarpraxis.de
