Meyer Burger: Thun solar company needs financial injection

Meyer Burger has published its financial report for the first half of 2024 after a two-month delay. The numbers are deep red. The solar company reports a loss of around 317 million francs. This compares to the loss of 65 million francs in the previous year and with sales halved to just under 49 million francs.

The results reflected the strategic shift of the business focus from Germany to the USA, according to the statement.

With the relocation, Meyer Burger would like to benefit from tax credits from the USA for the expansion of renewable energies as well as from its protective tariffs against Chinese low-cost providers. In the spring, the company closed the production of solar modules in Freiberg in eastern Germany in order to relocate it to Goodyear in the US state of Arizona.

Cash register empties

The move and construction work in the USA increased operational costs. There were also considerable write-offs.

And in August, the financing of the second relocation step from East Germany to the USA fell through: The production of solar cells will therefore not be moved to Colorado Springs, but will continue to take place in Thalheim. CEO Gunter Erfurt resigned after this failure and handed over operational management to Chairman Franz Richter.

The solar company continues to burn a lot of money to build up production in the USA after a capital increase in April. At the end of June, liquid assets amounted to 158 million francs; at the end of September it was still 83 million.

The publication of the semi-annual report on Thursday evening half an hour before midnight shows how tense the situation is at Meyer Burger. After the postponement in September, the Swiss stock exchange SIX gave the company a grace period until the end of October, i.e. until Thursday evening at 11:59 p.m.

Renovation report due to financing gap

In the press release, Meyer Burger writes of a financing gap in the high double-digit million range. Significant initial investments would have to be written off in Colorado Springs, while at the same time further investments would be required to complete the module factory in Goodyear.

The board of directors is now having a restructuring consultant prepare a restructuring report. This is intended to show how the company can maintain “a sustainable operational business and a sustainable capital structure”.

Discussions with bondholders

In this context, the Board of Directors is “in advanced negotiations” with a group of holders of the existing convertible bonds. These had “signaled their fundamental willingness to provide fresh capital in order to restructure the existing liabilities under the convertible bonds”.

Meyer Burger is nevertheless continuing to ramp up production of solar modules in Goodyear. After the start of the first production line in June, a second one is scheduled to follow at the end of the year. Due to the existing long-term purchase agreements, the solar modules produced can be sold immediately, which will have a positive impact on sales in the second half of the year, the company writes.

Profitable from 2026?

After all lines have been ramped up, “stable and profitable business operations can be achieved from 2026”. Specifically, annual sales of around 350 to 400 million francs should result in an operating profit (Ebitda) of around 70 million francs.

However, there is no guarantee that this will be possible or under conditions that are attractive for Meyer Burger and its shareholders, it continues. However, the share price has already fallen massively, by 99 percent since the beginning of the year.

In September, the company announced a reduction in personnel from around 1,050 to 850 employees by the end of 2025. At its headquarters in Thun, Meyer Burger still employs around 80 people in administration, in the development of solar modules, in service and in sales.

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