• Sales in the first nine months already exceed total sales in 2010
• Result significantly positive
• Order intake + 40.8 % in the period under review
• Full-year forecast for 2011 with 33 % increase in sales and positive earnings reaffirmed
According to preliminary results the SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG (SINGULUS) generated sales of about € 121.8 million in the first nine months of the current business year and therefore already exceeds the total sales in 2010 of € 120.1 million. The operating result (EBIT) in the first nine months 2011 amounted to about € 6.3 million compared with € -13.1 million (before extraordinary charges) in the first nine months of 2010. In the period under review the EBITDA totaled approximately € 14.7 million. The business trend in the Solar sector war impacted by uncertainty in the market in the past couple of months. However, SINGULUS was successful in generating positive earnings on an EBITDA basis in the Solar segment in the first nine months. The order intake in the first nine months of 2011 also improved by 40.8 % to € 137.0 million (previous year: € 97.3 million).
The Executive Board confirms its sales forecast for 2011 of more than € 160.0 million with a positive full-year result published on May 26, 2011.
The business activities with Blu-ray equipment developed very favorably for SINGULUS in 2011. SINGULUS expects to record approximately 76.6 % more orders for the BLULINE II until the end of the year than in 2010. Accordingly, the Blu-ray activities significantly contribute to the positive overall result. Futuresource Consulting forecasts a global production of 811 million Blu-ray discs in 2011, which means an increase of 38 % compared with 2010. In the biggest market, the US, the production volume is set to expand by 49 %. For Europe, similar growth figures are projected for 2011. In addition, Futuresource expects the global production capacity of machine for the manufacturing of Blu-ray discs to grow from about 1.27 billion discs in 2010 to 1.74 billion discs in 2011.
With its machines SINGULUS has established itself as a partner in the photovoltaics industry and cooperates with key customers in the development of new, highly-efficient cell concepts and innovative production processes. Just recently, the company presented a new process machine for the vacuum coating of CIGS/CIS thin-film solar cells and already received the first order for this machine. The system meets the current demand in the photovoltaics industry for development tools to increase the efficiency of thin-film solar cells and to simultaneously reduce the production costs. Hence, SINGULUS develops a new work area in the sharply growing thin-film photovoltaics market and expands its offer of production equipment for the manufacturing of CIGS/CIS cells by an additional production step.
In the period under review SINGULUS has worked extensively on the further development of its production machines for silicon and thin-film solar cells. At the end of July the work on the projects “CIS-cluster tool” for the research of new production processes and the efficiency increase of CIS thin-film photovoltaic modules started in cooperation with AVANCIS, HERAEUS Noblelight and IfG Institute for Scientific Instruments. Also the 2nd generation of the wet-chemical process machines VITRUM and TENUIS were presented. For the VITRUM GEN 2 SINGULUS already recorded an order intake for nine machines. In addition, the coating system SINGULAR is increasingly employed as a development tool for industrial research and development as well as application-oriented basic research in the work area of solar energy conversion. The machine enables the coating of complex layer systems, which are composed of different materials, and ensures high cell efficiency, operating times and optimized total costs of ownership.
SINGULUS will continue to expand its activities in the segments Solar and Optical Disc to strengthen the innovative advantage of the company. Therefore SINGULUS reviews the further optimization of the capital structure and additional means of financing, which also includes the issuance of a bond. The accompanying flexibility would enable the company to take advantage of the markets’ opportunities for further growth.
The goal is to attain a leading position in the silicon and thin-film solar technology as a machine supplier as well as a development partner for new cell concepts and to further extend the technologic leadership in the Optical Disc segment. The business activities in the work area nano-technology were extensively strengthened in the course of the growing market for MRAM semi-conductor technology. In addition, the company reviews other sectors and work areas, where new market segments can be developed on the basis of the present know-how in the area of vacuum coating.
SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG, Hanauer Landstrasse 103,
D-63796 Kahl/Main, ISIN: DE0007238909, WKN: 723890
Contact:
Maren Schuster, Investor Relations, Tel.: + 49 (0) 160 9609 0279
Bernhard Krause, Corporate Communications,
Tel.: + 49 (0) 1709202924
