Share analysis discontinued Traditional Swiss company dies a slow death

Things are not looking good for the Swiss solar company Meyer Burger. After repeated strategy changes and heavy share price dips, the US investment bank Goldman Sachs has already withdrawn its share analysis.

In 2024, the Swiss solar company Meyer Burger actually only attracted attention with negative headlines. Most recently, the company from Thun attracted attention at the end of August when it once again announced extensive restructuring measures.

The company announced that the planned construction of a solar cell production facility in Colorado Springs could not be financed at present, so the process would be halted. This is not the first U-turn by Meyer Burger, whose management had not so long ago presented cell production in Colorado as part of the rescue plan for the ailing company. Production was due to start at the end of 2024, now the abrupt stop.

Once a Swiss beacon of hope

Founded in 1953, the company was originally a supplier to the watch and chip industry, but specialized in solar technologies from the 1980s onwards and quickly became a Swiss beacon of hope in the field of renewable energies.

But this glory has long since faded. While a Meyer Burger share was still worth 1,439 francs at its peak in April 2011, its current price is 1.76 francs. Years of decline, triggered by the emergence of Chinese dominance in the European solar market and marked by numerous extraordinary general meetings and repeated attempts to raise fresh money, have brought the company to the brink of ruin over the years.

Meyer Burger is a symbol of a failed European solar policy with no economic framework to withstand the massive state-supported competition from China. The company's difficulties are a reflection of the problems in the industry. But not everything is running smoothly within the company either.

In the 2023 financial year, Meyer Burger posted a net loss of 291.9 million Swiss francs. This is the tenth financial year in a row to end in the red. A capital increase in spring 2024 does not seem to have worked either, with the share price down 96.4 percent since the start of the year.

"Uninvestable"

The US investment bank Goldman Sachs is so gloomy about the Thun-based solar company that it has now withdrawn from its share analysis of Meyer Burger. According to "cash.ch", Zürcher Kantonalbank considers the company to be "uninvestable". At the beginning of this year, ZKB downgraded Meyer Burger to its lowest rating of "underweight".

In addition, Meyer Burger announced two weeks ago that the representative of its largest shareholder, Mark Kerekes, is now also stepping down from the Board of Directors following numerous changes.

It is unclear whether and for how long the company will be able to stay afloat. Meyer Burger has already postponed the publication of its 2024 half-year figures several times. Publication is currently planned for September 30, 2024, "or, with the approval of SIX Exchange Regulation, at a later date", according to the company.