Germany-based solar energy equipment supplier SMA Solar Technology reported a 79% jump in its 2023 revenue on the back of strong inverter sales.

The company’s full-year revenue came at €1.9 billion from €1.1 billion last year. The topline growth was supported by a 68% jump in inverter output sold to 20.5 GW from 12.2 GW in 2022.

The strong sales were underpinned by persistently high demand across all three of SMA’s business segments – Home Solutions, Commercial & Industrial Solutions, and Large Scale & Project Solutions. The Large-Scale segment saw the biggest revenue increase of 91.8% to €845 million, with sales accelerating sharply in the fourth quarter.

In the Home Solutions segment, sales surged by 73.2% to €580.2 million. The EMEA region dominated with 96.9% of sales.

The Commercial & Industrial) Solutions segment saw a 65% increase in sales to €478.9 million. The EMEA region contributed 80.8% of the sales.

“In the second half of 2023, we saw a slight decline in order volumes in the Home Solutions and Commercial & Industrial Solutions segments. We had already forecasted this development at the beginning of the year, but like the majority of experts, we assume that this is not a trend reversal but a temporary effect. On the contrary, the market for photovoltaic solutions will continue to grow globally,” said Jürgen Reinert, CEO of SMA.

The revenue growth flowed through to SMA’s bottom line. Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) more than quadrupled to €311 million from €70 million in 2022, yielding an EBITDA margin of 16.3% compared to 6.6% a year earlier.

The company said that the profitability improvement was driven by the increased scale from higher sales volumes, better utilization of SMA’s production capacity, and the associated operating leverage on fixed costs.

Net income also increased over four-fold to €225.7 million from €55.8 million in the prior year.

The company has over 132 GW of installed inverter capacity. Its order backlog stood at €1.7 billion as of December 31, 2023, higher than the pre-pandemic level.

Its net income in the third quarter of 2023 came in at €76.94 million (~$82 million), up 256% from the same period the previous year. The company had said all segments delivered positive results, with the Home Solutions segment maintaining its leadership position.

Last year, Mercom reported on how solar inverter suppliers remained optimistic and met the increasing demand despite the global chip shortage.