SolarEdge to shut non-solar Energy Storage division

Ronen Fauer  credit: Eyal Izhar
Ronen Fauer credit: Eyal Izhar

The division is based on Korean company Kokam, which SolarEdge acquired six years ago for $88 million.

SolarEdge (Nasdaq: SEDG) is closing its Energy Storage division, which is based on Korean company Kokam, acquired by SolarEdge six years ago for $88 million. The closure of the business will affect about 500 employees (12% of SolarEdge’s workforce), most of them in Korea, at the Sella 2 factory, named after SolarEdge’s founder, the late Guy Sella. The move will not affect employees in Israel. The company has already carried out two rounds of layoffs this year, cutting 1,300 jobs, 750 of them in Isreal.

SolarEdge will recognize pre-tax costs of $81-99 million for the closure of the factory in the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2025. Future cash payments relating to the closure will amount to $38-46 million, mainly consisting of severance pay.

SolarEdge, headed by interim CEO Ronen Faier, has been coping with significant changes in the market in which it operates in the past year and a half, which have had a deleterious effect on its results and sent its share price tumbling.

The division being closed contributed $45 million to SolarEdge’s revenue in the first nine months of 2024, which compares with $52.5 million in the corresponding period of 2023, and made a loss of $113 million, more than double the loss in the corresponding period.

The company’s market cap is $793 million, following a recovery from the low it reached earlier this month, but still a fraction of the $19 billion market cap at the peak three years ago. "Globes" recently reported that the company was looking for a sub-tenant for the new campus being constructed for it by Azrieli Group at Glilot, between Tel Aviv and Herzliya.

Closing the Energy Storage division is intended to strengthen SolarEdge’s financial position as it attempts to regain profitability and a positive cash flow. "The decision to close our Energy Storage division was the result of a thoughtful analysis of our portfolio of businesses and product lines, industry trends, and the competitive environment," Fauer said. "The measures also represent continued execution of two of our main priorities: financial stability through cost reduction, return to cash flow positivity and profitability; and focus on our core business lines of solar, PV-attached storage and energy management capabilities."

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 27, 2024.

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.

Ronen Fauer  credit: Eyal Izhar
Ronen Fauer credit: Eyal Izhar
THAAD anti missile system credit: The US Army Ralph Scott Wikimedia US deploys more THAAD, Patriot batteries in Israel - report

Amid rising regional tensions the US is bolstering Israel's air defense, Saudi state-owned TV channel Al Arabiya reports.

Tel Aviv Stock Exchange credit: Shutterstock TASE tumbles in Wall Street's wake

Dual-listed stocks have again been hard hit, but the banks are also down sharply.

Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu credit: Avi Ohayon Netanyahu due in Washington to discuss tariffs

According to news website Axios, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be the first leader to meet President Trump after the latter's announcement of sweeping import tariffs.

Yoni Assia CEO eToro Credit: PR eToro defers IPO amid market turmoil

The online trading platform had planned to begin meetings with investors this week.

Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich credit: Shlomi Yosef Smotrich meets wrong man in Washington

Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich tried to persuade Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent to soften the tariff blow on Israel - only Bessent isn't responsible for the matter.

Unframe founders credit: Yossi Yarom Israeli AI enterprise platform co Unframe raises $50m

Unframe’s turnkey AI solutions enable companies to solve any enterprise AI use case at scale with fully functional, customized AI solutions for businesses in a matter of hours, rather than months.

Combatica credit: Combatica Combatica launches next-gen VR AI training platform

The Israeli company's virtual reality platform includes 50 AI generated scenarios, seven maps and even situations for operating night vision.

Shekel credit: Shutterstock Vladirina 32 Shekel volatility after US tariffs announcement

The shekel is weakening sharply against the euro, which is gaining following the unveiling of Donald Trump's tariffs plan.

Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich credit: Noam Moskovitz Knesset Spokesperson Treasury assesses potential damage to Israel's US exports

Israel will be charged a higher tariff on its exports to the US - its biggest export customer - than Turkey and the UAE.

Iranian flag credit: Shutterstock Why inflation haunts Iran

With a month-on-month increase of 3.3% and an annual rate of 37.1%, inflation reflects the struggles of millions of Iranians.

APM merges with lawyers from Doron, Tikotzky Kantor, Gutman credit: Eyal Merilos APM merges with 12 lawyers from Doron, Tikotzky Kantor, Gutman

With the addition of these 12 lawyers, Amit Pollak Matalon & Co. will now have 135 lawyers.

US President Donald Trump credit: Reuters Sipa USA Israel on list as Trump unveils tariffs

Relatively low reciprocal tariffs will be imposed on Israeli goods sold in the US.

Deflated unicorn credit: Shutterstock Big Tech 50 reports more huge falls in startup valuations

Israeli R&D partnership Big Tech 50 reports that an investment of $2 million in Orcam made in 2021, shrank to just $31,000 at the end of 2024.

NextFerm technologies based on yeast credit: NextFerm Food-tech co NextFerm suspends operations

The company, which produces food ingredients in yeast without genetic engineering, cannot pay its debts and is seeking a buyer.

Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich credit: Shlomi Yosef OECD sees recovery in growth but high inflation

The OECD Israel Economic Survey 2025 recommends that the Israeli government take several restraining measures, in order to exit the economic storm created by the war.

Dano Ben-Hur credit: Dror Sithakol Statisticians contradict BoI on housing finance deals

The Central Bureau of Statistics insists the impact of 20/80 buy now pay later financing deals on the real estate market and housing prices is minimal.

Twitter Facebook Linkedin RSS Newsletters גלובס Israel Business Conference 2018