Landis+Gyr withdraws from charging infrastructure business

The Swiss provider of energy management solutions Landis+Gyr has announced its withdrawal from the charging infrastructure business for electric vehicles in the EMEA region. Although the company invested in the division less than a year ago, it is now pulling the plug - in view of the general market development.

“Landis+Gyr’s vision that utility customers would have a significant position in the rollout and adoption of EV charging solutions has not materialized to the extent previously expected,” the company writes. It continues: “The significant change in regulatory and market conditions, as well as the competitive pressure in the EV charging market, makes it highly unlikely that this segment, which is not part of Landis+Gyr’s core business, will reach target growth rates and be profitable in the foreseeable future.”

Landis+Gyr apparently intends to wind up its own division; the press release makes no mention of a search for a buyer. Instead, the company expects “impairment and restructuring charges in the range of USD 35 million to USD 45 million for FY 2024 related to the wind-down of its EV charging business, thereof approximately USD 10-15 million of cash-effective restructuring charges” for the 2024 financial year. In 2023, the charging business is expected to have posted revenue of around USD 20 million and a loss of around USD 10 million.

The Swiss company only fully acquired the Slovenian charging infrastructure manufacturer Etrel in June 2024 and appointed former Smatrics boss Michael Viktor Fischer as CEO of the business unit. Landis+Gyr had already acquired a 75 per cent stake in Etrel in 2021. Under the label ‘Landis+Gyr EV Solutions’, the business unit was to continue the mission of “enable a wider use of renewable energy for electric mobility and help EV batteries become an essential part of smart grids,” as was stated at the time.

However, Landis+Gyr then announced a strategic review of the EMEA business and a focus on the Americas business in October 2024. According to the company, the review – including a possible stock market listing in the USA – is still proceeding according to plan. However, one result is already clear: “In recent weeks, the renewed executive management team has carefully reviewed the business portfolio in EMEA and current financial performance of the Company. In this context, it was decided to discontinue the EV charging business and record an impairment as well as restructuring charges in relation to this decision.”

landisgyr.eu