Meyer Burger Reports Widened Operating Loss in First Half

Meyer Burger, the Swiss manufacturer of solar panels, has announced a significant increase in sales for the first half of the year, despite facing challenging market conditions in Europe. Sales have surged by 71% to CHF96.86 million ($110.1 million) during this period, with CHF93 million being generated from the sale of 207 megawatts of solar modules.

However, Meyer Burger's operating loss has widened to CHF43.31 million, compared to a loss of CHF24.43 million in the same period last year. The company attributes this loss to factors such as a difficult market situation in the second quarter, depreciation, the ramp-up of production in Germany, and ongoing expansion in the U.S.

Overall, Meyer Burger incurred a net loss of CHF64.76 million in the first half, higher than the net loss of CHF41 million recorded in the previous year. Nevertheless, the company produced an impressive 302 megawatts of high-performance solar modules during the first six months of this year, almost matching its entire output from the previous year.

Despite these results, Meyer Burger refrained from providing an outlook for full-year operating profit. The company cites additional expenses related to production ramp-up in Colorado and limited visibility in the price development of solar modules due to oversupply by Chinese suppliers in Europe as key challenges affecting its ability to forecast accurately.

Meyer Burger did state that operationally, it has the capacity to produce 800 megawatts of solar modules by fiscal year 2023, with the flexibility to adjust this volume based on market conditions in Europe.