In the first three quarters of 2015, SolarWorld AG increased groupwide shipments of solar power modules and kits by 25% to 755MW (Q1-Q3 2014: 602MW) , in comparison with last year. The United States was the largest individual market in all three quarters. Here, SolarWorld grew by 61% from January to September, compared with last year. Contrary to the market trend in Germany (-30%), SolarWorld was able to raise its shipments in the first three quarters of 2015 by 30 percent in this market. Consolidated revenue grew by 30% to € 532 (Q1-Q3 2014: 409) million in the first nine months of 2015.
In September 2015, SolarWorld managed to reach positive operating earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT without one-off effects) at group level for the first time again. In the first three quarters, EBIT improved to € –18 (Q1-Q3 2014, adjusted for one-off effects: –29) million. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) improved to € 15 (Q1-Q3 2014, adusted for one-off effects: 1.5) million.
SolarWorld AG expects to exceed its shipment forecast of 1GW and group revenue forecast of € 700 million in 2015. Furthermore, the Management Board of SolarWorld AG is aiming to reach positive EBIT in the fourth quarter of 2015 as already achieved in September. The group expects that the negative EBIT of the previous year (2014, adjusted for one-off effects: € –44 million) will improve considerably, but EBIT will remain negative for the full year 2015 due to delays in the implementation of operating measures. EBITDA will be significantly above previous year’s level (2014, adjusted for one-off effects: € 1.6 million), as forecasted.
