UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K
 
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
 
Date of report (Date of earliest event reported):  January 21, 2024
 

 
SOLAREDGE TECHNOLOGIES, INC
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
 

 
Delaware
 
001-36894
 
20-5338862
(State or other jurisdiction
of incorporation)
 
(Commission
File Number)
 
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)
 
     
1 Hamada Street, Herziliya Pituach, Israel
 
4673335
(Address of Principal executive offices)
 
(Zip Code)

Registrant’s Telephone number, including area code: 972 (9) 957-6620
 
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class
Trading Symbol(s)
Name of each exchange on which registered
Common stock, par value $0.0001 per share
SEDG
NASDAQ (Global Select Market)
 
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instructions A.2 below):
 

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company         
 
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.          
 




Item 2.02 Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

The information contained in Item 2.05 under “Costs Associated with Exit or Disposal Activities” regarding the estimated impact on SolarEdge, Inc.’s (the “Company”) completed fourth quarter and year-end 2023 results of operations is incorporated herein by reference. The Company is not otherwise reporting on its 2023 year-end financial results. These financial results are expected to be released by the end of February 2024.

In accordance with General Instruction B.2 of Form 8-K, this information shall not be deemed “filed” for the purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall such information, including the exhibits hereto be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.

Item 2.05 Costs Associated with Exit or Disposal Activities

On January 21, 2024, the Company announced adoption of a restructuring plan in response to challenging industry conditions (the “Restructuring Plan”). Under the Restructuring Plan, the Company expects to reduce its headcount by approximately 16% over the first half of 2024 through an involuntary workforce reduction plan. A copy of the press release announcing the Restructuring Plan is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1.

 The Company anticipates taking these actions pursuant to the Restructuring Plan to adjust its manufacturing capacity and increase distribution efficiency.  The adoption of the Restructuring Plan follows the Company’s previous measures which the Company has already taken to align with current market conditions, including termination of manufacturing in Mexico, reduction of manufacturing capacity in China, and discontinuation of the Company’s light commercial vehicle e-mobility activity.

In connection with the Restructuring Plan, the Company expects to record aggregate pre-tax restructuring and asset-related charges of $59 million to $66 million, comprised of $6 million to $7 million of severance and related benefit costs (excluding stock-based compensation expense), $22 million to $25 million of asset-related and impairment charges and $31 million to $34 million of costs related to manufacturing capacity reduction.

In connection with the discontinuation of the Company’s light commercial vehicle e-mobility activity, the Company expects to record aggregate pre-tax charges of $36 million to $41 million, of which $33 million to $38 million are related to inventory write-offs and non-cancelable purchase orders.

Reductions in the workforce are subject to local regulatory requirements and the related charges will be recorded mostly in the first quarter of 2024. Asset impairments and manufacturing capacity reduction costs will be recorded mostly in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Future cash payments related to these charges are anticipated to be $53 million to $58 million, primarily related to the payment of severance and related benefits, asset-related and impairment charges and manufacturing capacity reduction costs. The restructuring actions associated with these charges are expected to be substantially completed in the first half of 2024.

The Company’s restructuring efforts are ongoing and could result in additional impairments above the estimates.



Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
 
This Current Report on Form 8-K (“Form 8-K”) contains forward looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These forward-looking statements include information, among other things, concerning: our restructuring plan, our workforce reduction initiative, possible or assumed future results of operations; future demands for solar energy solutions; business strategies; industry and regulatory environment; general economic conditions; potential growth opportunities; cancellations and pushouts of existing backlog; installation rates; and the effects of competition. These forward-looking statements are often characterized by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “seek,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would” or similar expressions and the negative or plural of those terms and other like terminology.
 
Forward-looking statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and our projections about future events.  These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Given these factors, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.  These factors include, but are not limited to, our ability to deliver on our restructuring plan and efforts and workforce reduction initiative; our future cash payments associated with these initiatives; potential future impairment charges; future demand for renewable energy including solar energy solutions; changes, elimination or expiration of government subsidies and economic incentives for on-grid solar energy applications; changes in the U.S. trade environment; 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 system monitoring products by our competitors; developments in alternative technologies or improvements in distributed solar energy generation; historic cyclicality of the solar industry; 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 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; existing and future responses to and effects of pandemics, epidemics, or other health crises; disruption in our global supply chain and rising prices of oil and raw materials as a result of various conflicts, including the evolving state of war in Israel; our customers’ financial stability and our ability to retain customers; our ability to retain key personnel and attract additional qualified personnel; our ability to manage effectively the growth of our organization and expansion into new markets and integration of acquired businesses; unrest and terrorism; macroeconomic conditions in our domestic and international markets, as well as inflation concerns, financial institutions instability, rising interest rates,  and recessionary concerns; consolidation in the solar industry among our customers and distributors; cyber incidents; and other matters discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed on February 22, 2023 and our quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other reports filed with the SEC. All information set forth in this Form 8-K is as of the date of this Form 8-K.  The Company undertakes no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release, whether as a result of new information, future events or changes in its expectations or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law, regulation or other competent legal authority.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

Exhibit No.
Description
Exhibit 104
Cover Page Interactive Data File – the cover page XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.





SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

  SOLAREDGE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.  
       
Date:  January 22, 2024
By:
/s/ Ronen Faier  
  Name:
Ronen Faier  
  Title:
Chief Financial Officer  








Exhibit 99.1



PRESS RELEASE

SolarEdge Announces a Global Workforce Reduction

MILPITAS, Calif. -- January 21, 2024 – SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. (“SolarEdge”) (NASDAQ: SEDG), a global leader in smart energy technology, announced today a restructuring plan that includes workforce reduction designed to reduce operating expenses and align its cost structure to current market dynamics.

The workforce reduction impacts approximately 16% of the SolarEdge global workforce, or approximately 900 employees, of which approximately 500 are from the Company’s various manufacturing sites.

The reduction follows measures which the Company has already taken to align with current market conditions, including discontinuation of manufacturing in Mexico, reduction of manufacturing capacity in China, and termination of the Company’s light commercial vehicle e-mobility activity. Further detail will be provided in the Company’s end-of-year earnings release which is expected to be released by the end of February 2024.

Zvi Lando, Chief Executive Officer of SolarEdge, said, “We have made a very difficult, but necessary decision to implement a workforce reduction and other cost-cutting measures in order to align our cost structure with the rapidly changing market dynamics. We are making every effort to treat our departing colleagues with respect and gratitude for their contributions and support them in their transition. We remain confident in the long-term growth of the solar energy market and our leading position in the smart energy space. These changes do not impact our strategic direction and priorities and we remain committed to continue to drive the renewable energy transformation, while providing best in class technology and support to our customers.”

About SolarEdge
 
SolarEdge is a global leader in smart energy technology. By leveraging world-class engineering capabilities and with a relentless focus on innovation, SolarEdge creates smart energy solutions that power our lives and drive future progress. SolarEdge developed an intelligent inverter solution that changed the way power is harvested and managed in photovoltaic (PV) systems. The SolarEdge DC-optimized inverter seeks to maximise power generation while lowering the cost of energy produced by the PV system. Continuing to advance smart energy, SolarEdge addresses a broad range of energy market segments through its PV, storage, EV charging, batteries, electric vehicle powertrains, and grid services solutions. SolarEdge is online at solaredge.com 


 
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
 
This press release contains forward looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These forward-looking statements include information, among other things, concerning: our restructuring plan, our workforce reduction initiative, possible or assumed future results of operations; future demands for solar energy solutions; business strategies; industry and regulatory environment; general economic conditions; potential growth opportunities; cancellations and pushouts of existing backlog; installation rates; and the effects of competition. These forward-looking statements are often characterized by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “seek,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would” or similar expressions and the negative or plural of those terms and other like terminology.
 
Forward-looking statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and our projections about future events.  These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Given these factors, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.  These factors include, but are not limited to, our ability to deliver on our restructuring plan and efforts and workforce reduction initiative; our future cash payments associated with these initiatives; potential future impairment charges; future demand for renewable energy including solar energy solutions; changes, elimination or expiration of government subsidies and economic incentives for on-grid solar energy applications; changes in the U.S. trade environment; 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 system monitoring products by our competitors; developments in alternative technologies or improvements in distributed solar energy generation; historic cyclicality of the solar industry; 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 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; existing and future responses to and effects of pandemics, epidemics, or other health crises; disruption in our global supply chain and rising prices of oil and raw materials as a result of various conflicts, including the evolving state of war in Israel; our customers’ financial stability and our ability to retain customers; our ability to retain key personnel and attract additional qualified personnel; our ability to manage effectively the growth of our organization and expansion into new markets and integration of acquired businesses; unrest and terrorism; macroeconomic conditions in our domestic and international markets, as well as inflation concerns, financial institutions instability, rising interest rates,  and recessionary concerns; consolidation in the solar industry among our customers and distributors; cyber incidents; and other matters discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed on February 22, 2023 and our quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other reports filed with the SEC. All information set forth in this press release is as of the date of this press release.  The Company undertakes no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release, whether as a result of new information, future events or changes in its expectations or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law, regulation or other competent legal authority.

Press Contact
SolarEdge Technologies, Inc.
Lily Salkin Global Public and Media Relations Manager
Lily.salkin@solaredge.com

SolarEdge Technologies, Inc.
Dana Noyman Head of Corporate Communications and Global PR
dana.noyman@solaredge.com
 
Investor Contact
JB Lowe Head of Investor Relations
investors@solaredge.com