Singulus Technologies AG

Environmental & Social Information • Aug 23, 2007

News Details

Corporate | 23 August 2007 10:20

Singulus Technologies AG:New Disc Formats Blu-ray and HD DVD Gain Momentum, SINGULUS in a Leading Position!

SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG / Miscellaneous

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Press Release

New Disc Formats Blu-ray and HD DVD Gain Momentum, SINGULUS in a Leading
Position!
- 2007 with significant revenues from high-definition formats HD DVD and
Blu-ray in Germany for the first time
- Blu-ray with more than twice the sales of HD DVD in the US
- Blu-ray & HD DVD combo players available
- SINGULUS is market leader for replication lines for these new formats

Kahl am Main, August 23, 2007 - The new disc formats HD DVD and Blu-ray as
well as the new TV-sets with Full-HD with a resolution of 1920 x 1080
pixels are one of the focal points of this year’s international consumer
electronics trade fair IFA on August 31, 2007. The market launch of HD DVD
and Blu-ray currently also considerably gains momentum in Germany and
Europe. According to Nuremberg-based consumer research company Gesellschaft
für Konsumforschung (GfK), for the first time significant revenues of the
high-definition formats HD DVD and Blu-ray were recorded as of the end of
the 1st half of 2007. The industry expects substantial growth. In
particular due to the IFA 2007 and the subsequent Christmas sales, a strong
impulse for the sale of high-definition formats with double-digit million
sales is still expected for 2007 according to GfK.

In the US and in Japan the market launch of the new disc formats has
already reached a bigger scale. According to analysis by Home Media
Research, US, the Blu-ray format recorded twice the level of sales of HD
DVD.

Between January 1 and July 1, 2007 on a global basis 795,000 HD DVD movies
were sold according to the research paper. This is set against sales of 1.6
million movies sold in the Blu-ray format. The British market research
institute Understanding & Solution in its most recent study from this
year’s July forecasts more than a doubling of the global disc production
from expected 142 million units in 2007 to more than 361 million discs in
2008. Even after the comments from Paramount and Dreamworks the majority of
the major US studios has voted for Blu-ray with a majority of 55 %. This
includes Sony, MGM, Fox, Disney and Lionsgate. For example, Fox and Disney
announced an extensive range of movies which are scheduled for release on
Blu-ray discs by the end of 2007. 'SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES is excellently
positioned on this market. No matter if Blu-ray or HD DVD will prevail, we
are prepared for both formats. We would prefer Blu-ray, but we are global
market leader for production equipment for both formats', comments Stefan
A. Baustert, Chief Executive Officer of the SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG.
SINGULUS has already been market leader with a market share of
approximately 65 % of prerecorded products for many years. In particular,
the production of the HD DVD discs could be realized with low development
expenses due to the long-time know how. With respect to development Blu-ray
was more challenging, but it also means an absolute technologic leap.
'Therefore, we see significantly fewer competitors in the market for
Blu-ray', adds Stefan A. Baustert.

Combo production machine SPACELINE II for HD DVD and DVD
The first HD DVD production system was already launched by SINGULUS in the
summer of 2005. These machines are able to produce DVD 9 as well as the new
HD DVD. Therefore, SINGULUS enables its customers to respond flexibly with
respect to the new format development. As early as December 2004, SINGULUS
had concluded a development cooperation for the development of HD DVD
production technology with MemoryTech/Toshiba. The majority of the HD DVD
movies are produced on SPACELINE II production equipment by SINGULUS. The
Kahl am Main-based company is the leading equipment supplier and has a
global market share of more than 65 %. Since 2006 SINGULUS has exclusively
been delivering HD DVD enabled production lines and installed nearly 200
machines worldwide.

Production machine BLULINE – ready for Blu-ray
SINGULUS also has many years of experience in the work area of Blu-ray due
to an early, exclusive cooperation with the format developer Sony in 2005
and installed several Blu-ray production machines at the largest,
independent disc producers worldwide. For the further development of the
Blu-ray production machines for the manufacturing of dual layer Blu-ray
disc with 50 GB storage capacity SINGULUS also works closely together with
Sony. Stefan A. Baustert, CEO of SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES comments: 'The
fruitful cooperation with Sony DADC helped SINGULUS establish itself in the
forefront as a partner of Hollywood even faster in the market for the new
disc formats and gained enormous competitive advantages from this. We will
start delivering the new production equipment for dual layer Blu-ray to our
customers in the US shortly'.

In the end, the consumers will decide which disc format will prevail in the
market. The development of players for both formats is progressing rapidly.
They will become significantly less expensive in the next couple of years
and therefore appeal to a larger number of consumers. Combo players, such
as announced by LG, will even accelerate the market introduction of HD DVD
and Blu-ray.

SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG, Hanauer Landstraße 103,
D-63796 Kahl/Main, ISIN: DE0007238909, WKN: 723890
For further information please contact:
Bernhard Krause, Corporate Communications, Tel.: + 49 (0) 170 920 29 24
23.08.2007 Financial News transmitted by DGAP

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Language: English
Issuer: SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG
Hanauer Landstrasse 103
63796 Kahl am Main
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)6188 440-105
Fax: +49 (0)6188 440-110
E-mail: maren.schuster@singulus.de
Internet: www.singulus.de
ISIN: DE0007238909
WKN: 723890
Indices:
Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
in Berlin, Stuttgart, München, Hamburg, Düsseldorf

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