- Blu-ray boom stronger than expected
- 31 Blu-ray lines already ordered in the first half of the year
- SINGULUS expects additional orders
- GfK predicts significant growth in the global Blu-ray market
Kahl am Main, 03. July 2008. With 31 confirmed orders, SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES (SINGULUS) has surpassed its own forecast for sales in the Blu-ray segment in the first half of 2008. SINGULUS is expecting additional orders for Blu-ray disc production lines during the second half of the year. The company intends to obtain a market share in excess of 65% for the Blu-ray machines.
On June 27, Media Control GfK International published a new study about growth in the home entertainment market. According to the study, an increase in demand for video games and movies in the next-generation Blu-ray format is responsible for this growth. Global sales in this segment are expected to reach 67.1 billion dollars this year. The study also indicates that sales of titles in the Blu-ray format will more than quadruple for global revenues of 1.5 billion dollars in 2008. Sales are forecast to increase by 184% to 4.1 billion dollars the year after and by another 94% to 8 billion dollars in 2010.
Short profile of SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG
SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES is the world market leader for optical disc production lines for CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray Discs, and the only manufacturer to offer the full product range: mastering, molding and replication lines. In addition to the further development of optical disc core business, diversification into the new area of solar is its principal strategic goal.
STANGL and SINGULUS will systematically expand their solar activities. STANGL is currently one of the few suppliers of wet-chemical machines for both crystalline silicon solar technology and thin-film solar technology, with growth rates in excess of 40 %. SINGULUS is set to unveil its own solar coating machine in 2008, based on its wealth of experience in the core area of optical discs. It will be able to tap into STANGL's experience and market knowledge for this move. In March 2008 SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES teamed up with Q-Cells, the most important solar cell producer worldwide, for the development of this new machine and won the company as a key customer.
Together with the equipment made by STANGL, SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES will then be able to offer two important machine groups with wet-chemical and vacuum coating processes for a production line for crystalline silicon solar cells. The goal is to strengthen its global position for production equipment for crystalline solar cells over the next few years.