Solar project developer and asset owner, Photon Energy Group, has announced a decline in revenues and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the first nine months of 2023. The company attributes this downturn to “lower realized electricity prices and a slowdown in PV components trading.”
Unaudited revenues for January-September totaled €59.46 million (US$63.7 million), marking a 12.3% year-on-year decrease. Unaudited consolidated EBITDA also experienced a substantial drop, decreasing by 79.2% to €4.75 million from €22.85 million in the same period in 2022.
Revenues from electricity generation were particularly impacted, recording a 40.6% year-on-year decrease to €18.66 million. Photon Energy Group attributes this decline to lower realized electricity prices and unfavorable weather conditions. The company highlights that electricity prices in 2022 were notably higher in Europe due to the war in Ukraine.
Over the nine-month period, Photon reported a net loss of €9.6 million compared to a net profit of €6.55 million the previous year.
CEO Georg Hotar commented on the challenging year, stating, “The third quarter has confirmed that 2023 is a very challenging year in many of our key business areas. Low energy prices, delays in plant commissioning, and a drastic slowdown in the demand for PV components have aggregated to a stark contrast in our financial results compared to 2022.”
Despite financial challenges, Photon's independent power producer (IPP) arm achieved positive results, generating a “record” 49.3GWh in Q3 2023 and 114.8GWh year-to-date of clean electricity, up 33.2% and 11.4% year-on-year, respectively. The company also made advancements in Romania, commissioning new power plants with a total capacity of 20.1MWp and expanding its IPP portfolio by 31.5MWp in the country.
Looking ahead, Hotar outlined the company's future plans, emphasizing a pivot from energy generation to grid support services. Photon is focused on controlling costs, increasing services to external customers, and exploring opportunities in the current turmoil of the PV and energy industries.
However, Photon management acknowledged that its original revenue guidance of €110 million for the year might not be met due to “declining volumes of PV component trading.” They revised expectations to €75-80 million.
