Supply chain concerns rise for energy specialist Alvin

Energy specialist Alvin is increasingly facing “challenges” in the supply chain. The maker of electric car charging stations and smart power systems, among other things, has had little to no trouble with inventory issues so far, but that will change during the year. Explaining the half-year numbers, especially in the field of electronic components, CEO Marco Roelfeld said there is increasing pressure globally this year and next.

Alfen ended the period with more profits on higher turnover. The increasing demand for charging stations for electric cars in particular made the company more money. Business volume in the charging station division increased to 41.3 million euros, compared to 24.7 million euros after the first six months of 2020. In the measurement period, Alfen was good to produce 46,600 charging stations.

About 60 percent of the sales of charging stations are established outside the Netherlands. In addition to the Netherlands, Alfen grows in such large countries as Germany, the United Kingdom and France. For now, the company will continue to serve these markets of Almir. This may change in the future. “This is theoretically possible, but not at the moment,” CFO Jeroen van Rossen explains.

Energy storage systems, which can be installed near windmills and solar parks, for example, to store energy at specific times to relieve stress from the power grid, generated 11.5 million euros in revenue, up 47 percent from the previous year. There has also been a growing demand for smart electricity solutions as part of the energy transition. Here Alfen achieved turnover growth of 8 percent, to a total of 62.5 million euros.

Alfen achieved a total turnover of 115.3 million euros. This represents a 28 percent increase over the previous year. Van Rossen doesn’t want to say anything about the size of the order book. He acknowledges that Alvin is leading the way, citing, among other things, the European Commission’s Green Deal and all efforts by businesses and governments to accelerate the energy transition. According to him, this means that Alvin is “in good shape”.

The operating result of Alfen was 16.9 million euros. This was still 10 million euros in the first half of 2020. Profits rose 77 percent to 9.3 million euros. Alvin adheres to previous forecasts of an annual turnover of between €225 million and €250 million.