News Article
Silex Solar Announce Cessation Of Manufacturing Operations
Silex Systems Limited ("Silex") has provided an update on the restructuring activities of the Sydney Olympic Park solar PV panel manufacturing business, conducted by its wholly owned subsidiary Silex Solar Pty Ltd ("Silex Solar").
Silex announced significant restructuring of the business in August 2011 that included the closure of Silex Solar's cell production line, the consideration of alternative business models, and various other measures to enhance business competitiveness. Notwithstanding these changes, trading conditions in the Australian solar panel market have failed to improve sufficiently and Silex has now decided to cease the remaining panel manufacturing operations at the Olympic Park plant.
Silex CEO Dr Michael Goldsworthy said, "While significant progress has been made towards restructuring the SilexSolar business, to the point where the business has been operating on a cash flow neutral basis for the last few months, the continuation of challenging market conditions has frustrated attempts to secure a profitable market niche and has thus necessitated the full closure of our manufacturing plant."
The decision to close the plant will have a one-off negative cash impact of up to $4.8 million over the next 15 months (negotiated lease settlement, dismantling and decommissioning and final redundancy costs), and an additional balance sheet write down of up to $5.2 million. It is expected that this will finalise the financial impact of the closure of the SilexSolar manufacturing operations.
Silex Solar will continue to trade primarily to progress some commercial-scale project work already underway, and will also continue to support existing installed product warranties.
