Company Profile
S.A.G. Solarstrom AG (security identification no.: 702 100, ISIN: DE0007021008), Freiburg, are a provider of high-quality photovoltaic plants configured individually for their customers. The group installs efficient plants of all sizes, both in Germany and abroad and produces sustainable solar energy in their own plants. These plants, together with more than ten years of experience, form the basis of the continuously developing technical competence of S.A.G. Solarstrom AG.
S.A.G. Solarstrom AG’s portfolio is rounded off by additional services covering the entire life cycle of photovoltaic plants, including forecasting an energy services, yield reports, remote monitoring and plant maintenance, as well as insurance and financing. The group thus offers a comprehensive photovoltaic value-added chain from yield reports to planning, construction, operation, monitoring, optimizing, repowering and deconstruction.
S.A.G. Solarstrom AG have been listed on the open market of the Munich Stock Exchange since 1999, and in 2005 they changed to Segment M:access of the Munich Stock Exchange. Since July 09, 2010 the company is also listed General Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Around 165 specialists work at the four locations in Germany as well as in the foreign subsidiaries. In addition to their foreign subsidiaries, the group also owns meteocontrol GmbH, which offers photovoltaic plant monitoring, solar energy forecasts as well as quality audits and yield reports. meteocontrol is one of the international market leaders in remote monitoring of photovoltaic plants and currently has around 14,000 plants
with a total output of 1.6 GWp in monitoring.
Based on many years of experience in the construction and operation of 2,700 plants, S.A.G. Solarstrom AG are able to configure photovoltaic plants for optimum quality and yield. The company is supported by leading component manufacturers in this regard. Based on system partnerships, the group cooperates closely with the manufacturers, in order to develop the respective components and adapt them to the increasing requirements of the market.
In addition, the company is able to ensure module capacities for further growth, due to flexible delivery conditions, but at the same time is able to profit from any decline in prices. S.A.G. Solarstrom AG can thus offer their customers an excellent price/performance ratio at all times.
“The very nature of our industry categorization means that we are committed to
sustainability. However, for S.A.G. Solarstrom AG sustainability does not mean simply reducing the CO₂ emissions with each new plant, but also ensuring that our plants have a long life cycle and that the components do not need to be replaced after just a few years”, says Dr Karl Kuhlmann, CEO of S.A.G. Solarstrom AG.
Business Areas
S.A.G. Solarstrom AG have four operative business units.
Project Development and Partner Business is established in the business area Sales.
The company has combined Product Development, Project Planning, Planning, Assembly and Quality Assurance in the business area Technology. S.A.G. Solarstrom AG operate their own solar power plant in the business area Solar Power Plants and produce green electricity.
This also includes shareholdings in solar power plants. In their own power plants, S.A.G. Solarstrom AG produce about 12 million kWh of electricity annually, with a capacity of Second quarter 2010 around 11.8 MWp – completely without emissions and thus absolutely sustainable.
The fourth operative business unit comprises forecasting and energy services which are offered by meteocontrol GmbH. This autonomous, specialized company offers the entire process chain from technical due diligence to yield reports, metering analysis for individual locations, construction monitoring, as well as the operation and monitoring of plants and has over 30 years of experience in these fields.
Internationalization
S.A.G. Solarstrom AG currently operate all over Europe. In addition to Germany, core target markets include France, Italy, Spain and the Czech Republic. The group constructs highquality, profitable and long-lasting photovoltaic plants of all sizes in these countries. The offering is essentially distinguished by the location of the plant, in other words, whether the plant is installed on the client’s own roof – be this a private household, an agricultural business or factory buildings – or whether the group finds and develops new locations for the investor. In the latter case, the group leases either rooftops or locations for groundmounted plants or purchase premises on behalf of the investor. S.A.G. Solarstrom AG have a wealth of experience in the construction of rooftop systems in particular – in 2009, a 4.6 MWp system and as such one of the largest rooftop systems in Europe was set up on the rooftop of Dehner Garden Center in Rain am Lech. Difficult rooftop constructions do not pose any problems for the experts from Freiburg either, thanks to their many years of experience: “That gives us a competitive advantage in Europe”, says Oliver Günther, Chief Sales Officer at S.A.G. Solarstrom AG. “In many European countries, the feed-in tariff for systems integrated into buildings is particularly attractive”.
Today, the group has its own subsidiaries in the three most important European markets of Germany, Spain and Italy and also cooperates with local sales partners both in these and the other countries. The required marketability can thus be ensured by the company at all times.
In addition, the company is following the global development of the photovoltaic market very carefully. The group has an excellent market overview of the various international markets and can thus make a substantiated assessment of which countries will develop positively in the future.
Development of the Sector
Experts in the field are in agreement that the photovoltaic market will continue to grow in double figures. The Swiss Investment Bank Sarasin reckons on growth rates between 45% and 50% by 2012 in their survey of November 2009 after the “freeze“ in 2009. However, PHOTON Consulting is estimating an average annual growth of 89% by 2012 in their survey”Solar Power Markets: Prepare for Impact“. The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) makes a much more conservative estimate of the market growth in their survey published in April 2009 “Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics until 2013“, in which they forecast only an average annual growth of 32%, even with an optimistic development supported by feed-in tariff regulations.
“Fossil fuels are finite, which is why we will see price increases again in the long run. In particular, due to the decline recorded in component prices for photovoltaic plants, grid parity – the production of solar electricity at the same costs as conventional electricity – is being put within reach”, says Dr Karl Kuhlmann, CEO of S.A.G. Solarstrom AG.
Economic Development of S.A.G. Solarstrom AG
S.A.G. Solarstrom AG have been unable to convert their solar competence into sustainable corporate growth for several years, but since 2007 the company has submitted positive yearend closings and laid the cornerstone for further growth with a realignment. In 2009, the group achieved sales of €152.9 million, an EBIT of €8.5 million and an annual net profit of €7.7 million and thus surpassed their forecast for the fiscal year 2009. “For 2010 we expect sales between €190 and €210 million and an EBIT between €8 and €11 million”, says Christoph Koch, CFO of S.A.G. Solarstrom AG.
“The group offers an absolutely comprehensive value-added chain for photovoltaic
instruments. Thanks to our technical solar expertise, our quality and sustainability
standards, our many years of experience and our international orientation, we are very well positioned, even in an increasing competitive environment. And we are not just ecologically sustainable, but also economically”, concludes Dr Karl Kuhlmann.