Meyer Burger Lowers Annual Production Forecast

• Meyer Burger has lowered its annual module production guidance for 2022 to 320-370 MW, and for 2023 down to 1.0-1.2 GW
• It cites supply chain constraints making it difficult to source raw materials on time, and lower throughput of its currently operating lines
• Demand remains strong in the US and Europe for its products, it added, especially in the residential rooftop segment

Swiss headquartered German HJT cell/module manufacturer Meyer Burger has lowered its annual module production forecast for 2022 from 500 MW and for 2023 from 1.35 GW shared previously, claiming it reflects ongoing supply chain constraints that prevents timely ramp up of additional capacities with delayed arrival of required components.

"The reduced volume targets are due to the expectation of lower throughput compared to the nominal capacity of the currently operating line as well as a delayed ramp-up of the production capacities currently under construction and commissioning," stated the German solar cell and module maker.

It cautions that the current throughput will continue to be impacted owing to scheduled downtimes for the integration of the next line in the same facility, and because of required product switches due to 'strong demand'.

In 2022, it now expects to deliver a production volume of 320 MW to 370 MW, down from its previous guidance of 500 MW. That's a decrease of 36% and 26%, respectively. Meyer Burger produced 108 MW in H1/2022, and expects to roll out another 210 MW to 260 MW in H2/2022. At the end of this year, it expects an EBITDA breakeven result on a run-rate basis.

For 2023, the guidance has come down from 1.35 GW to a range of 1.0 GW to 1.2 GW, which equals a decrease of 19% and 11%, respectively. The company said it has technically completed the ramp up of the 1^st production line of 400 MW nominal annual capacity, while the remaining 1.0 GW is expected to start in September 2022.

In June 2021, the manufacturer had announced plans to raise its total cell and module production capacity to 1.4 GW each by the end of 2022 from 400 GW each at the time (see Meyer Burger Raises Capital To Expand Production Capacity).

Meyer Burger has been dealing with high production costs by passing on increased material costs to its customers, and yet sees 'such a strong demand' for its products in Europe and the US that it needs to 'allocate its limited production volume to customers'. It said that it's currently in the process of making such allocations for Q2/2023.

Major demand is coming from the residential rooftop segment because of which it now expects to allocate expected sales volume for 2023 almost entirely to it, as compared to the previous sales plan for 30% sales into the utility scale segment for next year.

Meyer Burger's 390W n-type heterojunction (HJT) bifacial solar module with 21.8% efficiency is among the top 10 of TaiyangNews' list of highest efficiency commercial solar modules for June 2022 (see Top Solar Modules Listing — June 2022).

The production update comes ahead of Meyer Burger's H1/2022 results scheduled for publication on Aug. 18.