Statements contained in this Form 10-Q or statements incorporated by reference from documents we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission may contain forward-looking statements that are based on our management’s expectations, estimates, projections, beliefs and assumptions in accordance with information currently available to our management. Forward- looking statements should be read in conjunction with our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes included in Part 1, Item 1 of this report. This discussion contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward- looking statements include information concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies, technology developments, new products and services, financing and investment plans, competitive position, industry and regulatory environment, effects of acquisitions, growth opportunities and the effects of competition. Forward-looking statements include statements that are not historical facts and can be identified by terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “seek,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would” or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms.
Forward-looking statements inherently involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking and other statements regarding our sustainability efforts and aspirations are not an indication that these statements are necessarily material to investors or requiring disclosure in our filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). In addition, historical, current and forward-looking sustainability-related statements may be based on standards for measuring progress that are still developing, internal controls and processes that continue to evolve and assumptions that are subject to change in the future, including future rule-making. Also, forward-looking statements represent our management’s beliefs and assumptions only as of the date of this filing. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations include:
| • | future demand for renewable energy including solar energy solutions; |
| • | changes to net metering policies or the reduction, elimination or expiration of government subsidies and economic incentives for on-grid solar energy applications; |
| • | changes in the U.S. trade environment, including the imposition of import tariffs; |
| • | federal, state, and local regulations governing the electric utility industry with respect to solar energy; |
| • | changes in tax laws, tax treaties, and regulations or the interpretation of them, including the Inflation Reduction Act; |
| • | the retail price of electricity derived from the utility grid or alternative energy sources; |
| • | interest rates and supply of capital in the global financial markets in general and in the solar market specifically; |
| • | competition, including introductions of power optimizer, inverter and solar photovoltaic (“PV”) system monitoring products by our competitors; |
| • | developments in alternative technologies or improvements in distributed solar energy generation; |
| • | historic cyclicality of the solar industry and periodic downturns; |
| • | product quality or performance problems in our products; |
| • | our ability to forecast demand for our products accurately and to match production to such demand as well as our customers' ability to forecast demand based on inventory levels; |
| • | our dependence on ocean transportation to timely deliver our products in a cost-effective manner; |
| • | our dependence upon a small number of outside contract manufacturers and limited or single source suppliers; |
| • | capacity constraints, delivery schedules, manufacturing yields, and costs of our contract manufacturers and availability of components; |
| • | delays, disruptions, and quality control problems in manufacturing; |
| • | shortages, delays, price changes, or cessation of operations or production affecting our suppliers of key components; |
| • | existing and future responses to and effects of pandemics, epidemics or other health crises; |
| • | business practices and regulatory compliance of our raw material suppliers; |
| • | performance of distributors and large installers in selling our products; |
| • | disruption in our global supply chain and rising prices of oil and raw materials as a result of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine; |
| • | disruption to our business operations due to the evolving state of war in Israel; |
| • | our customers’ financial stability, creditworthiness, and debt leverage ratio; |
| • | our ability to retain key personnel and attract additional qualified personnel; |
| • | our ability to effectively design, launch, market, and sell new generations of our products and services; |
| • | our ability to maintain our brand and to protect and defend our intellectual property; |
| • | our ability to retain, and events affecting, our major customers; |
| • | our ability to manage effectively the growth of our organization and expansion into new markets; |
| • | our ability to integrate acquired businesses; |
| • | fluctuations in global currency exchange rates; |
| • | unrest, terrorism, or armed conflict in Israel; |
| • | macroeconomic conditions in our domestic and international markets, as well as inflation concerns, financial institutions instability, rising interest rates, recessionary concerns, the prospect of a shutdown of the U.S. federal government and the Israeli government's plans to significantly reduce the Israeli Supreme Court's judicial oversight; |
| • | consolidation in the solar industry among our customers and distributors; |
| • | our ability to service our debt; |
| • | any unauthorized access to, disclosure, or theft of personal information or unauthorized access to our network or other similar cyber incidents; |
| • | the impact of evolving legal and regulatory requirements, including emerging environmental, social and governance requirements; and |
| • | the other factors set forth under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and subsequent reports on Form 10-Q and in other documents we file from time to time with the SEC that disclose risks and uncertainties that may affect our business. |
The preceding list is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all of our forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee that future results, levels of activity, performance and events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or will occur. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.
Overview
We are a leading provider of an optimized inverter solution that has changed the way power is harvested and managed in a solar photovoltaic, known as PV systems. Our direct current or DC optimized inverter system maximizes power generation while lowering the cost of energy produced by the solar PV system, for improved return on investment, or ROI. Additional benefits of the DC optimized inverter system include comprehensive and advanced safety features, improved design flexibility, efficient integration (DC coupled) with SolarEdge storage solutions, and improved operating and maintenance, or O&M with remote monitoring at the module level. The SolarEdge Energy Hub inverter supports, among other things, connection to a DC-coupled battery for full or partial home backup, and optional connection to the SolarEdge smart EV charger. The typical SolarEdge optimized inverter system consists of power optimizers, inverters, a communication device that enables access to a cloud-based monitoring platform and in many cases, a battery and additional smart energy management solutions. Our solutions address a broad range of solar market segments, from residential to commercial and small utility-scale solar installations.
Since introducing the optimized inverter solution in 2010, SolarEdge has expanded its activity to other areas of smart energy technology, both through organic growth and through acquisitions. SolarEdge now offers energy solutions which also include energy storage systems or ESS, home backup systems, electric vehicle, or EV, components and charging capabilities, home energy management, grid services and virtual power plants, or VPPs, and lithium-ion batteries.
In the third quarter of 2020, we began commercial shipments from our manufacturing facility in the North of Israel, “Sella 1”. The proximity of Sella 1 to our R&D team and labs enables us to accelerate new product development cycles, as well as define equipment and manufacturing processes of newly developed products which can then be adopted by our contract manufacturers world-wide. In 2023, we expanded the manufacturing capacity of Sella 1 to add an additional inverter line that reached full manufacturing capacity in the third quarter of 2023. In May 2022, we announced the opening of “Sella 2”, a 2GWh Li-Ion cell factory in Korea. Sella 2 began producing and shipping cells at the end of 2022 and is expected to gradually increase manufacturing capacity during 2024. In light of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (“IRA”), legislation in the United States that incentivizes the local manufacturing of renewable energy products by providing benefits to installers for the purchase and installation of US-manufactured products, as well as by incentivizing manufacturers of such products domestically, we have begun manufacturing products in the U.S. With the ramp-up of this new site and due to a decrease in demand, this quarter we have reduced capacity in our manufacturing site in China and discontinued manufacturing of our products in Mexico, with the intention to close the Mexico manufacturing site in coming months. We are a leader in the global module-level power electronics or MLPE market. As of September 30, 2023, we shipped approximately 122.9 million power optimizers, 5.5 million inverters and 229.5 thousand residential batteries. Over 3.6 million installations, many of which may include multiple inverters, are currently connected to, and monitored through, our cloud-based monitoring platform. As of September 30, 2023, we shipped approximately 51.7 GW of our DC optimized inverter systems and approximately 1.6 GWh of our residential batteries.
Our revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2023, and 2022 were $725.3 million and $836.7 million, respectively. Gross margin for the three months ended September 30, 2023, and 2022 was 19.7% and 26.5%, respectively. Net loss for the three months ended September 30, 2023 was $61.2 million compared to net income in the amount of $24.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2022.
Our revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, and 2022 were $2,660.5 million and $2,219.6 million, respectively. Gross margin for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, and 2022 was 28.6% and 26.3%, respectively. Net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022 was $196.7 million and $73.0 million, respectively.
Global Circumstances Influencing our Business and Operations
Disruptions due to the war in Israel
Violence between Hamas and Israel started on October 7th when the terrorist group launched an unprecedented attack on Israel. On October 8th, the Israeli Government declared that the Security Cabinet of the State of Israel approved a war situation in Israel. Approximately 11% of our workforce in Israel, where we are headquartered, have been called into active reserve duty. Recently, Israel’s credit outlook was cut to negative by S&P Global Ratings, which cited risks that the war could spread more widely and have a more pronounced impact on the country’s economy than expected. Our offices and facilities are currently open worldwide, including in Israel, and, to date, we have not had disruptions to our ability to manufacture and deliver products and services to customers. We are prioritizing and reallocating resources between projects to minimize the impact on our business. Due to these recent events, and their ongoing and evolving nature, the extent of the adverse effect on our business operations is still unknown. A prolonged war or an escalation could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Impact of Ukraine’s Conflict on the Energy Landscape
The conflict between Ukraine and Russia, which started in early 2022, and the sanctions and other measures imposed in response to this conflict have increased the level of economic and political uncertainty. While we do not have any meaningful business in Russia or Ukraine and we do not have physical assets in these countries, this conflict has, and may continue to have, a multidimensional impact on the global economy, the energy landscape in general and the global supply chain. The conflict adversely affected the prices of raw materials arriving from Eastern Asia and resulted in an increase in gas and oil prices. Furthermore, various shipment routes were adversely impacted by the conflict resulting in increased shipment lead times and shipping costs for our products. While the impact of this conflict is currently decreasing, a change or escalation of this ongoing conflict, could increase the impacts from the circumstances described above and may have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Inflation Reduction Act
In August 2022, the U.S. government enacted the IRA, which includes several incentives intended to promote clean energy, battery and energy storage, electrical vehicles, and other solar products and is expected to impact our business and operations. As part of such incentives, the IRA will, among other things, extend the investment tax credit (“ITC”) for residential solar installations through 2034 and for commercial installations through 2024 and is therefore expected to increase the demand for solar products. The IRA is expected to further incentivize residential and commercial solar customers and developers due to the inclusion of a tax credit for qualifying energy projects of up to 30%. Since these regulations are still pending administrative guidance from the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Treasury Department, we will be examining the benefits that may be available to us, such as the availability of tax credits for domestic manufacturers, in the coming months. To the extent that tax benefits or credits may be available to competing technology and not to our technology, our business could be adversely disadvantaged.
Demand for Products
The demand environment for our products experienced a slowdown beginning in the third quarter of 2023 in Europe. During the second part of the third quarter of 2023, we experienced substantial unexpected cancellations and pushouts of existing backlog from our European distributors. We attribute these cancellations and pushouts to high inventory in the channels and slower than expected installation rates. In particular, installation rates for the third quarter were much slower at the end of the summer and in September where traditionally there is a rise in installation rates. As a result, third quarter revenue, gross margin and operating income was below the low end of the prior guidance range. Additionally, the Company anticipates significantly lower revenues in the fourth quarter of 2023 as the inventory destocking process continues.
Key Operating Metrics
In managing our business and assessing financial performance, we supplement the information provided by the financial statements with other operating metrics. These operating metrics are utilized by our management to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends affecting our business and formulate projections. We use metrics relating to shipments of inverters, power optimizers and megawatts to evaluate our sales performance and to track market acceptance of our products.
We provide the “megawatts shipped” and “megawatts hour shipped” metrics, which are calculated based on inverter or battery nameplate capacity shipped, respectively, to show adoption of our system on a nameplate capacity basis. Nameplate capacity shipped is the maximum rated power output capacity of an inverter or battery, and corresponds to our financial results in that higher total nameplate capacities shipped are generally associated with higher total revenues. However, revenues may increase in a non- correlated manner to the “megawatt shipped” metric since other products such as power optimizers, are not accounted for in this metric.
| | Three Months Ended September 30, 2023 | | | Nine Months Ended September 30, 2023 | |
| | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | 2023 | | | 2022 | |
Inverters shipped | | | 273,883 | | | | 264,515 | | | | 938,171 | | | | 704,018 | |
Power optimizers shipped | | | 3,266,487 | | | | 6,123,479 | | | | 15,238,543 | | | | 17,062,684 | |
Megawatts shipped1 | | | 3,796 | | | | 2,703 | | | | 11,728 | | | | 7,349 | |
Megawatts hour shipped - residential batteries | | | 121 | | | | 321 | | | | 612 | | | | 671 | |
1 Excluding residential batteries, based on the aggregate nameplate capacity of inverters shipped during the applicable period. Nameplate capacity is the maximum rated power output capacity of an inverter as specified by the manufacturer.
Results of Operations
The results of operations presented below should be reviewed in conjunction with the condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this report.
The following table sets forth selected consolidated statements of income data for each of the periods indicated.
| | Three Months Ended September 30, | | | Nine Months Ended September 30, | |
| | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | 2023 | | | 2022 | |
| | (In thousands) | |
Revenues | | $ | 725,305 | | | $ | 836,723 | | | $ | 2,660,484 | | | $ | 2,219,577 | |
Cost of revenues | | | 582,488 | | | | 614,722 | | | | 1,900,236 | | | | 1,635,976 | |
Gross profit | | | 142,817 | | | | 222,001 | | | | 760,248 | | | | 583,601 | |
Operating expenses: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Research and development | | | 80,082 | | | | 69,659 | | | | 246,481 | | | | 210,855 | |
Sales and marketing | | | 40,351 | | | | 42,726 | | | | 125,539 | | | | 117,017 | |
General and administrative | | | 39,110 | | | | 27,933 | | | | 111,876 | | | | 82,483 | |
Other operating expense (income), net | | | — | | | | (2,724 | ) | | | (1,434 | ) | | | 1,963 | |
Total operating expenses | | | 159,543 | | | | 137,594 | | | | 482,462 | | | | 412,318 | |
Operating income (loss) | | | (16,726 | ) | | | 84,407 | | | | 277,786 | | | | 171,283 | |
Financial income (expense), net | | | (7,901 | ) | | | (33,146 | ) | | | 19,157 | | | | (52,062 | ) |
Other income (loss), net | | | (484 | ) | | | 7,654 | | | | (609 | ) | | | 6,810 | |
Income (loss) before income taxes | | | (25,111 | ) | | | 58,915 | | | | 296,334 | | | | 126,031 | |
Income taxes | | | 36,065 | | | | 34,172 | | | | 99,622 | | | | 53,081 | |
Net income (loss) | | $ | (61,176 | ) | | $ | 24,743 | | | $ | 196,712 | | | $ | 72,950 | |
Comparison of three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, to the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022
Revenues
| | Three months ended September 30, 2023 to 2022 | | | Nine months ended September 30, 2023 to 2022 | |
| | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | Change | | | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | Change | |
| | (In thousands) | |
Revenues | | $ | 725,305 | | | $ | 836,723 | | | $ | (111,418 | ) | | | (13.3 | )% | | $ | 2,660,484 | | | $ | 2,219,577 | | | $ | 440,907 | | | | 19.9 | % |
Revenues decreased by $111.4 million, or 13.3%, in the three months ended September 30, 2023, as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to (i) a decrease of $89.0 million related to the number of residential batteries sold mainly in Europe; and (ii) a decrease of $17.2 million related to a decrease in the number of ancillary solar products sold. Revenues from outside of the U.S. comprised 73.0% of our revenues in the three months ended September 30, 2023 as compared to 69.9% in the three months ended September 30, 2022. The decrease in revenues was due to high inventory in the channels and slower than expected installation rates.
The number of power optimizers recognized as revenues decreased by approximately 2.9 million units, or 46.9%, from approximately 6.1 million units in the three months ended September 30, 2022 to approximately 3.3 million units in the three months ended September 30, 2023 as a result of lower demand. The number of inverters recognized as revenues increased by approximately 9.5 thousand units, or 3.7%, from approximately 257.1 thousand units in the three months ended September 30, 2022 to approximately 266.6 thousand units in the three months ended September 30, 2023. The relative increase in inverters shipped vs. the decrease in optimizers shipped this quarter is a result of our ability to catch up inverter production with demand that we were not able to fulfil in previous quarters. The megawatts hour of residential batteries recognized as revenues decreased by approximately 209.2 megawatts hour, or 57.6% from approximately 363.0 in the three months ended September 30, 2022 to approximately 153.7 megawatts hour in the three months ended September 30, 2023, as a result of lower demand.
Our blended Average Selling Price (“ASP”) per watt for solar products excluding residential batteries is calculated by dividing the sales of solar products, excluding the sales of residential batteries, by the name plate capacity of inverters shipped. Our blended ASP per watt for solar products shipped excluding residential batteries decreased by $0.069, or 29.5%, in the three months ended September 30, 2023, as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2022. The decrease in blended ASP per watt is mainly attributed to the increase in the sale of commercial products that are characterized by lower ASP per watt, out of our total solar product mix and a relatively lower number of power optimizers and other solar products shipped compared to the number of inverters shipped, leading to a reduced overall effect on our ASP per watt. This decrease in blended ASP per watt was partially offset by price increases that went into effect gradually during 2022 and the first half of 2023, as well as by the appreciation of the Euro against the U.S. Dollar.
Our blended ASP per watt/hour for residential batteries is calculated by dividing residential battery sales, by the nameplate capacity of residential batteries shipped. Our blended ASP per watt/hour for residential batteries increased by $0.027, or 6.1%, in the three months ended September 30, 2023, as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2022. The increase in blended ASP per watt/hour is mainly attributed to the increase in the sale of one phase batteries that are characterized by higher ASP per watt/hour, as well as the appreciation of the Euro against the U.S. Dollar.
Revenues increased by $440.9 million, or 19.9%, in the nine months ended September 30, 2023 as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to an increase of $497.9 million related to an increase in the number of inverters sold, with significant growth in revenues coming from Europe. This increase was partially offset by a decrease of $53.7 million related to a decrease in the number of ancillary solar products sold. Revenues from outside of the U.S. comprised 75.7% of our revenues in the nine months ended September 30, 2023 as compared to 62.7% in the nine months ended September 30, 2022. The increase in revenues in the nine months ended September 30, 2023 was partially offset by a decrease in revenues in the third quarter of 2023 due to unexpected cancellations and pushouts of existing backlog from our European distributors.
The number of power optimizers recognized as revenues decreased by approximately 1.7 million units, or 10.2%, from approximately 17.0 million units in the nine months ended September 30, 2022 to approximately 15.3 million units in the nine months ended September 30, 2023 as a result of lower demand. The number of inverters recognized as revenues increased by approximately 234.7 thousand units, or 33.6%, from approximately 697.7 thousand units in the nine months ended September 30, 2022 to approximately 932.4 thousand units in the nine months ended September 30, 2023. The relative increase in inverters recognized versus the decrease in optimizers recognized in the nine months ended September 30, 2023 was a result of our ability to catch up inverter production with demand that we were not able to fulfil in previous quarters. The megawatts hour of residential batteries recognized as revenues decreased by approximately 19.6 megawatts hour, or 3.0% from approximately 660.8 megawatts hour in the nine months ended September 30, 2022 to approximately 641.2 megawatts hour in the nine months ended September 30, 2023 due to a decrease in demand.
Our blended ASP per watt for solar products shipped excluding residential batteries decreased by $0.054, or 22.1%, in the nine months ended September 30, 2023 as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2022. The decrease in blended ASP per watt is mainly attributed to a relatively lower number of power optimizers and other solar products shipped compared to the number of inverters shipped, leading to an overall reduction in our ASP per watt as well as due to an increase in the sale of commercial products that are characterized by lower ASP per watt, out of our total solar product mix. This decrease in blended ASP per watt was partially offset by price increases that went into effect gradually during 2022 and in the first half of 2023, as well as by the appreciation of the Euro against the U.S. Dollar.
Our blended ASP per watt/hour for residential batteries decreased by $0.005, or 1.0%, in the nine months ended September 30, 2023, as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2022. The decrease in blended ASP per watt/hour is mainly attributed to the addition of a three phase battery, which is sold at a lower ASP per watt/hour, to our product portfolio, which was partially offset by the appreciation of the Euro against the U.S. Dollar.
Cost of Revenues and Gross Profit
| | Three months ended September 30, 2023 to 2022 | | | Nine months ended September 30, 2023 to 2022 | |
| | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | Change | | | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | Change | |
| | (In thousands) | |
Cost of revenues | | $ | 582,488 | | | $ | 614,722 | | | $ | (32,234 | ) | | | (5.2 | )% | | $ | 1,900,236 | | | $ | 1,635,976 | | | $ | 264,260 | | | | 16.2 | % |
Gross profit | | $ | 142,817 | | | $ | 222,001 | | | $ | (79,184 | ) | | | (35.7 | )% | | $ | 760,248 | | | $ | 583,601 | | | $ | 176,647 | | | | 30.3 | % |
Cost of revenues decreased by $32.2 million, or 5.2%, in the three months ended September 30, 2023, as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to:
| • | a decrease in direct cost of revenues sold of $83.5 million associated mainly with a decrease in the volume of products sold; |
| • | a decrease in customs duties of $5.0 million attributed to the decrease in volumes of products manufactured in China for the U.S. market; and |
| • | a decrease in shipment and logistic costs in an aggregate amount of $3.2 million due to a decrease in shipment rates and a decrease in expedited shipments costs. |
These were partially offset by:
| • | an increase in warranty expenses and warranty accruals of $28.0 million associated primarily with an increase in the number of products in our install base as well as an increase in costs related to the different elements of our warranty expenses which include the cost of the products, shipment and other related expenses; |
| • | an increase of $14.0 million in inventory accrual which is mainly attributed to a higher inventory write-down; |
| • | an increase in other production costs of $6.6 million, which is mainly attributed to charges from our contract manufacturers related to the downsizing of our manufacturing in Mexico and China, as well as ramp up costs associated with Sella 2, our Li-Ion battery cell manufacturing facility located in South Korea; and |
| • | an increase in personnel-related costs of $5.6 million related to the expansion of our production, operations, and support headcount, which grew in parallel to our growing install base worldwide and manufacturing volumes which were partially offset by the depreciation of the New Israeli Shekel (“NIS”) against the U.S. dollar. |
Gross profit as a percentage of revenue decreased to 19.7% from 26.5% in the three months ended September 30, 2023 as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to:
| • | An increase in personnel and manufacturing related costs from the expansion of our infrastructure geared towards accelerated growth; |
| • | an increase in costs related to our existing install base such as warranty expenses, which were divided this quarter by lower revenue resulting in lower gross margin; |
| • | an increase in inventory accrual for impairment of excess inventory; |
| • | an increased portion of sales of commercial products out of our total product mix, which are characterized with lower gross margin; and |
| • | our non-solar businesses, referred to in our financial results as "all other segments", are generally characterized by a lower gross profit which effect was amplified this quarter. |
These were partially offset by:
| • | favorable exchange rates on our sales outside of the U.S.; |
| • | gradual price increases across our product offerings; and |
| • | continued cost reduction efforts. |
Cost of revenues increased by $264.3 million, or 16.2%, in the nine months ended September 30, 2023 as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to:
| • | an increase in direct cost of revenues sold of $112.4 million associated primarily with an increase in the volume of products sold; |
| • | an increase in warranty expenses and warranty accruals of $101.7 million associated primarily with an increase in the number of products in our install base as well as an increase in costs related to the different elements of our warranty expenses which include the cost of the products, shipment and other related expenses; |
| • | an increase of $20.4 million in inventory accrual which is mainly attributed to changes in inventory valuations, and higher inventory accruals related to our initial manufacturing in Sella 2, partially offset by a decrease in inventory write-off related to the discontinuation of our UPS related activities in the comparable period; |
| • | an increase in personnel-related costs of $14.8 million related to the expansion of our production, operations, and support headcount which grew in parallel to our growing install base worldwide; and |
| • | an increase in other production costs of $6.5 million, which is mainly attributed to charges from our contract manufacturers related to the downsizing of our manufacturing sites in China and discontinuance of our manufacturing site in Mexico, as well as ramp up costs associated with Sella 2, our Li-Ion battery cell manufacturing facility located in South Korea. |
These were partially offset by:
| • | a decrease in customs duties of $4.2 million attributed to the decrease in volumes of products manufactured in China for the U.S. market; and |
| • | a decrease in shipment and logistic costs in an aggregate amount of $2.7 million due to a decrease in shipment rates and a decrease in expedited shipments costs. |
Gross profit as a percentage of revenue increased to 28.6% from 26.3% in the nine months ended September 30, 2023 as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2022 primarily due to:
| • | gradual price increases across our product offerings; |
| • | favorable exchange rates on our sales outside of the U.S.; |
| • | a decrease in shipment rates as well as a reduced portion of expedited shipments out of our total shipments; and |
| • | continued cost reduction efforts. These were partially offset by: |
| • | an increased portion of sales of commercial products out of our total product mix, which are characterized with lower gross margins; |
| • | an increase in warranty expenses and warranty accruals associated primarily with the change in the composition of our install base, as well as an increase in costs related to the different components of our warranty expenses, as reflected in our actual support costs; |
| • | higher revenues from our non-solar businesses, which are generally characterized by a lower gross profit, which effect was amplified this quarter; and |
| • | an increase in inventory accrual for impairment of excess inventory. |
Operating Expenses:
Research and Development
| | Three months ended September 30, 2023 to 2022 | | | Nine months ended September 30, 2023 to 2022 | |
| | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | Change | | | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | Change | |
| | (In thousands) | |
Research and development | | $ | 80,082 | | | $ | 69,659 | | | $ | 10,423 | | | | 15.0 | % | | $ | 246,481 | | | $ | 210,855 | | | $ | 35,626 | | | | 16.9 | % |
Research and development costs increased by $10.4 million or 15.0%, in the three months ended September 30, 2023, compared to the three months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to:
| • | an increase in personnel-related costs of $6.4 million resulting from an increase in our research and development headcount as well as salary expenses associated with annual merit increases, which were partially offset by the depreciation of the NIS against the U.S. dollar and employee equity-based compensation. The increase in headcount reflects our continued investment in enhancements of existing products as well as research and development expenses associated with bringing new products to the market; and |
| • | an increase in expenses related to consultants and sub-contractors in an amount of $2.4 million. |
Research and development costs increased by $35.6 million or 16.9%, in the nine months ended September 30, 2023, compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to:
| • | an increase in personnel-related costs of $21.6 million resulting from an increase in our research and development headcount as well as salary expenses associated with annual merit increases, which were partially offset by the depreciation of the NIS against the U.S. dollar and employee equity-based compensation. The increase in headcount reflects our continued investment in enhancements of existing products as well as research and development expenses associated with bringing new products to the market; |
| • | an increase in expenses related to consultants and sub-contractors in an amount of $7.4 million; |
| • | an increase in depreciation expenses of property and equipment in an amount of $2.7 million; and |
| • | an increase in expenses related to other overhead costs in an amount of $2.5 million. |
Sales and Marketing
| | Three months ended September 30, 2023 to 2022 | | | Nine months ended September 30, 2023 to 2022 | |
| | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | Change | | | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | Change | |
| | (In thousands) | |
Sales and marketing | | $ | 40,351 | | | $ | 42,726 | | | $ | (2,375 | ) | | | (5.6 | )% | | $ | 125,539 | | | $ | 117,017 | | | $ | 8,522 | | | | 7.3 | % |
Sales and marketing expenses decreased by $2.4 million, or 5.6%, in the three months ended September 30, 2023, compared to the three months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to a decrease in personnel-related costs of $3.2 million as a result of a depreciation of the NIS against the U.S. dollar, a decrease in employee equity-based compensation and a decrease in sales commissions, which were partially offset by an increase in headcount outside of the U.S.
This decrease was partially offset by an increase in expenses related to other marketing activities by $1.0 million.
Sales and marketing expenses increased by $8.5 million, or 7.3%, in the nine months ended September 30, 2023, compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to:
| • | an increase in personnel-related costs of $3.0 million as a result of an increase in headcount supporting our growth outside of the U.S, as well as salary expenses associated with annual merit increases and employee equity-based compensation, which were partially offset by the depreciation of the NIS against the U.S. dollar; |
| • | an increase of $1.8 million in expenses related to other marketing activities; |
| • | an increase of $1.4 million in training-related expenses as a result of resuming training activities that had been previously cancelled or postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions in 2022; and |
| • | an increase in expenses related to other overhead costs of $0.9 million. |
General and Administrative
| | Three months ended September 30, 2023 to 2022 | | | Nine months ended September 30, 2023 to 2022 | |
| | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | Change | | | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | Change | |
| | (In thousands) | |
General and administrative | | $ | 39,110 | | | $ | 27,933 | | | $ | 11,177 | | | | 40.0 | % | | $ | 111,876 | | | $ | 82,483 | | | $ | 29,393 | | | | 35.6 | % |
General and administrative expenses increased by $11.2 million, or 40.0%, in the three months ended September 30, 2023 compared to the three months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to:
| • | an increase in expenses related to doubtful debt of $7.6 million; |
| • | an increase in expenses related to consultants and sub-contractors of $2.2 million; and |
| • | an increase in personnel-related costs of $1.4 million resulting from an increase in our general and administrative headcount, as well as salary expenses associated with annual merit increases, which were partially offset by the depreciation of the NIS against the U.S. dollar. |
General and administrative expenses increased by $29.4 million, or 35.6%, in the nine months ended September 30, 2023, compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to:
| • | an increase in expenses related to consultants and sub-contractors of $11.7 million; |
| • | an increase in expenses related to doubtful debt of $9.1 million; and |
| • | an increase in personnel-related costs of $6.4 million resulting from an increase in our general and administrative headcount, as well as salary expenses associated with annual merit increases, which were partially offset by the depreciation of the NIS against the U.S. dollar. |
Other operating expense (income), net
| | Three months ended September 30, 2023 to 2022 | | | Nine months ended September 30, 2023 to 2022 | |
| | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | Change | | | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | Change | |
| | (In thousands) | |
Other operating expense (income), net | | $ | — | | | $ | (2,724 | ) | | $ | 2,724 | | | | (100.0 | )% | | $ | (1,434 | ) | | $ | 1,963 | | | $ | (3,397 | ) | | | (173.1 | )% |
Other operating income, net, decreased by $2.7 million in the three months ended September 30, 2023, compared to the three months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to:
| • | a decrease of $1.6 million in income related to the discontinuation of our UPS-related activities and the sale of assets related to these activities; and |
| • | a decrease of $1.1 million in income related to the sale of property, plant and equipment. |
Other operating income, net was $1.4 million, in the nine months ended September 30, 2023, compared to other operating expenses, net of $2.0 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to:
| • | a decrease of $4.0 million in expenses related to write-offs of goodwill and intangible assets related to the discontinuation of our UPS-related activities; and |
| • | a decrease of $0.7 million in expenses related to write-offs of property, plant and equipment. |
These were partially offset by a decrease of $1.5 million in income from the sale of property, plant and equipment.
Financial expense, net
| | Three months ended September 30, 2023 to 2022 | | | Nine months ended September 30, 2023 to 2022 | |
| | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | Change | | | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | Change | |
| | (In thousands) | |
Financial income (expense), net | | $ | (7,901 | ) | | $ | (33,146 | ) | | $ | 25,245 | | | | (76.2 | )% | | $ | 19,157 | | | $ | (52,062 | ) | | $ | 71,219 | | | | (136.8 | )% |
Financial expense, net decreased by $25.2 million in the three months ended September 30, 2023, compared to the three months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to:
| • | a decrease of $19.0 million in expenses due to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, primarily between the Euro and the NIS against the U.S. dollar; and |
| • | an increase of $4.6 million in income related to hedging transactions. |
Financial income, net was $19.2 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2023, compared to financial expenses, net in the amount of $52.1 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to:
| • | an income of $4.8 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2023, compared to expenses of $55.4 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2022, as a result of fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, primarily between the Euro and the NIS against the U.S. dollar. |
| • | an increase of $9.9 million in interest income and accretion (amortization) of discount (premium) on marketable securities. |
Please refer to the section entitled "Foreign Currency Exchange Risk" under Item 3 of this report for additional information.
Other income (loss), net
| | Three months ended September 30, 2023 to 2022 | | | Nine months ended September 30, 2023 to 2022 | |
| | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | Change | | | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | Change | |
| | (In thousands) | |
Other income (loss), net | | $ | (484 | ) | | $ | 7,654 | | | $ | (8,138 | ) | | | (106.3 | )% | | $ | (609 | ) | | $ | 6,810 | | | $ | (7,419 | ) | | | (108.9 | )% |
Other loss was $0.5 million in the three months ended September 30, 2023, compared to other income, of $7.7 million in the three months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to a decrease in gain from the sale of an investment in a privately-held company.
Other loss, net was $0.6 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2023, compared to other income, net of $6.8 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to a decrease in gain from the sale of investment in a privately-held company.
Income taxes
| | Three months ended September 30, 2023 to 2022 | | | Nine months ended September 30, 2023 to 2022 | |
| | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | Change | | | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | Change | |
| | (In thousands) | |
Income taxes | | $ | 36,065 | | | $ | 34,172 | | | $ | 1,893 | | | | 5.5 | % | | $ | 99,622 | | | $ | 53,081 | | | $ | 46,541 | | | | 87.7 | % |
Income taxes increased by $1.9 million, or 5.5%, in the three months ended September 30, 2023, as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to an increase of $11.0 million in current tax expenses mainly attributed to an increase in the Company’s Global Intangible Low Taxed Income (“GILTI”) tax and unfavorable impact of losses in foreign subsidiaries where we do not anticipate a future tax benefit. This increase was partially offset by an increase of $8.3 million in deferred tax income.
Income taxes increased by $46.5 million, or 87.7%, in the nine months ended September 30, 2023, as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to an increase of $61.2 million in current tax expenses mainly attributed to an increase in profit before tax in our foreign subsidiaries. This increase was partially offset by an increase of $14.4 million in deferred tax income.
Net Income (loss)
| | Three months ended September 30, 2023 to 2022 | | | Nine months ended September 30, 2023 to 2022 | |
| | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | Change | | | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | Change | |
| | (In thousands) | |
Net income (loss) | | $ | (61,176 | ) | | $ | 24,743 | | | $ | (85,919 | ) | | | (347.2 | )% | | $ | 196,712 | | | $ | 72,950 | | | $ | 123,762 | | | | 169.7 | % |
As a result of the factors discussed above, net loss was $61.2 million in the three months ended September 30, 2023, as compared to a net income of $24.7 million in the three months ended September 30, 2022.
As a result of the factors discussed above, net income increased by $123.8 million, or 169.7% in the nine months ended September 30, 2023 as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2022.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
The following table shows our cash flows from operating activities, investing activities, and financing activities for the stated
periods:
| | Three Months Ended September 30, | | | Nine Months Ended September 30, | |
| | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | 2023 | | | 2022 | |
| | (In thousands) | |
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | | $ | 40,585 | | | $ | 5,558 | | | $ | (40,203 | ) | | $ | (80,016 | ) |
Net cash used in investing | | | (43,733 | ) | | | (54,581 | ) | | | (188,187 | ) | | | (380,514 | ) |
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | | | (1,164 | ) | | | (1,271 | ) | | | (11,305 | ) | | | 647,135 | |
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | | $ | (4,312 | ) | | $ | (50,294 | ) | | $ | (239,695 | ) | | $ | 186,605 | |
As of September 30, 2023, our cash and cash equivalents were $551.1 million. This amount does not include $913.4 million invested in available-for-sale marketable securities and $0.3 million invested in restricted bank deposits. Our principal uses of cash are for funding our operations, capital expenditures, other working capital requirements, other investments and any potential future share repurchases. As of September 30, 2023, we have open commitments for capital expenditures in an amount of approximately $120.6 million. These commitments mainly reflect purchases of automated assembly lines and other machinery related to our manufacturing and operations. We also have purchase obligations in the amount of $1,116.6 million related to raw materials and commitments for the future manufacturing of our products.
We believe our cash and cash equivalents, and available-for-sale marketable securities will be sufficient to meet our anticipated cash needs for at least the next 12 months as well as in the longer term, including the self-funding of our capital expenditure and operational commitments.
Operating Activities
Operating cash flows consists primarily of net income adjusted for certain non-cash items and changes in assets and liabilities. Cash used in operating activities decreased by $39.8 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2023 as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2022, mainly due to higher net income adjusted for certain non-cash items. This was partially offset by higher operating working capital requirements, specifically, an increase in inventory procurement and manufacturing.
Investing Activities
Investing cash flows consist primarily of capital expenditures, investment in, sales and maturities of available for sale marketable securities, investment and withdrawal of bank deposits and restricted bank deposits, cash used for acquisitions and disbursements and receipts from collections of loans made by the Company. Cash used in investing activities decreased by $192.3 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2023, as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2022, primarily driven by a decrease of $247.0 million in investments in available-for-sale marketable securities, an increase of $16.2 million in proceeds provided by sales and maturities of available-for-sale marketable securities as well as an increase of $6.8 million in proceeds provided by government grants in relation to capital expenditures. This decrease in cash used in investing activities was partially offset by a $24.2 million decrease in proceeds provided by the sale of a privately-held company, an increase of $16.7 million in cash used for a business combination, an increase of $13.0 million in disbursements of loans made by the company, an increase of $11.2 million in the purchase of intangible assets and a $8.0 million increase in investments in privately-held companies.
Financing Activities
Financing cash flows consist primarily of proceeds from the sale of shares of common stock in a public offering and employee equity incentive plans. Cash used in financing activities in the nine months ended September 30, 2023 was $11.3 million compared to $647.1 million cash provided by financing activities in the nine months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to a
$650.5 million decrease in cash provided by the issuance of common stock, net through a secondary public offering which occurred in March 2022 and a $27.3 million decrease in proceeds provided by the exercise of stock-based awards. This was partially offset by a decrease of $19.3 million in withholding taxes remitted to the tax authorities related to the exercise of stock-based awards.
Secondary Public Offering
On March 17, 2022, we offered and sold 2,300,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at a public offering price of $295.00 per share. The net proceeds to the Company after underwriters’ discounts and commissions and offering costs were $650.5 million. We intend to use the proceeds from the public offering for general corporate purposes, which may include acquisitions. See Note 15b to our condensed consolidated financial statements for more information.
Share Repurchases
On November 1, 2023, we announced the approval by the Board of Directors of a share repurchase program which authorizes the repurchase of up to $300 million of the Company’s common stock. Under the share repurchase program, repurchases can be made using a variety of methods, which may include open market purchases, block trades, privately negotiated transactions, accelerated share repurchase programs and/or a non-discretionary trading plan or other means, including through 10b5-1 trading plans, all in compliance with the rules of the SEC and other applicable legal requirements. The timing, manner, price and amount of any common share repurchases under the share repurchase program are determined by the Company in its discretion and depend on a variety of factors, including legal requirements, price and economic and market conditions. The program does not obligate SolarEdge to acquire any amount of common stock, it may be suspended, extended, modified, discontinued or terminated at any time at the Company’s discretion without prior notice, and will expire on December 31, 2024.
Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Management Estimates
Management believes that there have been no significant changes during the nine months ended September 30, 2023 to the items that we disclosed as our critical accounting policies and estimates in MD&A in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, except as mentioned in Note 1, “General” (if any).