- Capital raised employed for growth financing
- Equity ratio strengthened
- Long-term company financing secured
- SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES returns to the TecDAX
- New solar products to be launched promptly
- Positive trend for Blu-ray with growth of 60 %
Kahl am Main, March 04, 2010 - The Executive Board of the SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG (SINGULUS) on March 04, 2010 agreed a capital increase for cash with the approval of the Supervisory Board dated March 04, 2010. Accordingly, the nominal capital of currently € 37,355,471, split into 37,355,471 common bearer shares with a nominal value of € 1.00 each, will be increased by up to € 3,694,640 up to an amount of € 41,050,111 by contribution in cash.
Up to 3,694,640 common bearer shares with dividend entitlement from the business year 2009 are intended to be issued. The subscription rights of existing shareholders are excluded pursuant to the authorization in Art. 5 Para. 2 Sent. 4 of the articles of incorporation. The up to 3,694,640 new common shares will be offered to German and international institutional investors by means of an accelerated book-building process. The Frankfurt-based investment bank equinet AG act as sole lead manager and sole book-runner for this transaction.
In addition, SINGULUS has agreed long-term financing with a consortium of banks. A respective agreement was signed with the involved banks. In this connection a syndicated loan facility with new terms until the end of 2012 was agreed. Together with the cash available this credit line provides the SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES Group adequate financial flexibility.
SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES returns to the TecDAX
During the regular reassessment of indices at Deutsche Börse the decision was taken on March 03, 2010 to readmit SINGULUS effective from March 22, 2010, to the TecDAX. SINGULUS had been removed from the TecDAX on September 3, 2009 and is now able to returned to Deutsche Börse's growth segment after only six months. This will make SINGULUS shares an increasingly attractive proposition for national and international investors and also bring it to the attention of funds that are only allowed to invest in such indices.
Financing of growth secured
The proceeds from the capital increased are mainly intended for the financing of the further growth and to a lesser extent for the reduction of debt financing. SINGULUS will considerably expand its activities in the Solar segments and intensify its market activities. The company’s target is to position itself at the forefront for the introduction of new technologies with respect to silicon as well as thin-film solar technology.
In the future SINGULUS will not only supply individual machines and equipment for the silicon solar technology but will actively market so-called front end systems as well as complete production systems for the cell production with process know-how in the solar market. SINGULUS and STANGL already possess the necessary basic expertise for wet-chemical and AR-coating processes. This enhancement of the business model from single machines towards systems was also successful in the Optical Disc market some years ago.
SINGULUS also developed new production concepts for the thin-film solar technology segment and will launch these in 2010. SINGULUS was able to report a first success: With the recently received order in the amount of about € 19 million for production equipment for the manufacturing of a new generation of thin-film solar cells, SINGULUS already clearly proved its technologic know-how and competitive position in this new segment.
Roland Lacher, Chief Executive Officer, comments: “This order was a very important breakthrough in the establishment of our second business area of machines and equipment for photovoltaics. We will employ the money committed by investors to develop new and particularly cost-efficient machine concepts for the solar sector. The enhancement of the strategy - to become OEM supplier as well as system provider - will offer the company new and additional opportunities."
Optical Disc segment with Blu-ray on the upturn
The new Blu-ray format continued to develop favorably and established itself as a standard for movies in high-definition quality. As a favorable trend the demand for the new format of the third generation continues to grow worldwide. For 2010 the market research institute Future Source projects a growth rate of 60 %.
Up to now, SINGULUS has delivered more than 70 Blu-ray production machines to customers around the world. The latest technologic developments will enable additional new applications for the Blu-ray format in the future. The new 3D movie technology with HD resolution will revolutionize the media world. Movies in 3D format require 75 to 100 GB storage capacity and can only be saved on Blu-ray Discs. Due to these trends we expect substantial growth impulses for our Blu-ray machine activities in 2010.
SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG, Hanauer Landstraße 103,
D-63796 Kahl/Main, ISIN: DE0007238909, WKN: 723890
Contact:
Maren Schuster, Investor Relations, Tel.: + 49 (0) 6188 440 612,
Bernhard Krause, Corporate Communications, Tel.: + 49 (0) 6181 98280 20/ +49, (0) 170 9202924
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