In the midst of the renewable energy boom, the Catalan company Solar Profit announced yesterday an ERO to lay off 30% of the workforce. The company, which specializes in the installation of solar panels, will lay off around 275 people out of a total of 919. The cuts will affect all the autonomous communities and all the divisions of the company, from positions linked to the administration to of the installation.
According to a statement, Solar Profit has made this decision due to the brake on demand from households, a situation that has caught the company off guard because it has a cost structure designed for a much higher level of activity . “We have endured ten excessive months, but the situation is unsustainable. The moderation of electricity prices and the lower disposable income resulting from the increase in inflation and interest rates, as well as the sharp increase in competition, have determined in recent months an environment that is certainly complex and very demanding for the companies that operate in the residential segment of photovoltaic installations”, assures the firm led by Òscar Gómez and Roger Fernández.
In addition to the dismissal of 30% of the workforce, the company has launched a battery of measures to cut costs. Among which stands out an improvement in the efficiency of logistics and production processes and a reduction in the cost of materials.
With these and other measures, Solar Profit expects to recover positive margins in the fourth quarter of the year and reduce losses in the second half of 2023 as a whole. The Catalan company, which is listed on the BME Growth, ensures that revenues in the second half of the year will stand at 45 million euros and the ebitda (gross profit) at -4 million euros. In the first semester, revenues were 33 million and gross losses were 10.7 million euros. With these results, the company expects to close the year with revenues close to 80 million, compared to the 100 million it obtained the previous year. The managers are confident of recovering income and profits next year, once the new business plan has been implemented.
Since its IPO, the company’s share price has fallen by more than 80%: the share price has gone from 10.2 to 1.44 euros. Yesterday, the market also reacted downwards and the share was reduced by more than 40%.
