Meyer Burger Technology AG — Regulatory Filings 2006

Jun 14, 2006

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Corporate | 14 June 2006 12:57

Roth & Rau AG: major order brings breakthrough in turnkey equipment for solar cell production

Corporate-news transmitted by DGAP – a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— Roth & Rau AG: major order brings breakthrough in turnkey equipment for solar cell production Hohenstein-Ernstthal, 14 June 2006 – Roth & Rau AG has been awarded a major order worth Euro 53 million for the supply of several turnkey production facilities for the manufacture of solar cells. The project is the largest single project of its kind to date worldwide. “This major order represents a breakthrough for us in the business with turnkey production facilities for the manufacture of solar cells. After years of development work, we have now succeeded for the first time in marketing our new production technology,” enthused Dr. Dietmar Roth, CEO of the company. This order, which is to be completed by the end of 2007, is currently the largest single project at Roth & Rau AG and can be expected to lead to more rapid further growth at the company than expected. The project is expected to have a significant impact on sales from the first quarter of 2007. The so-called ASCM (Advanced Solar Cell Manufacturing) equipment involves complete turnkey solutions developed by Roth & Rau in cooperation with its partners in the fields of industry and research for the modern mass production of solar cells. The facilities provide consistent in-line production with a high degree of automation of the production processes involved in manufacturing solar cells. This technique enables processes to be made more efficient, thus resulting in a considerable reduction in production costs. Moreover, Roth & Rau’s production lines ensure a considerable reduction in the wafer breakage rate. Wafers are only transported in horizontal state, thus protecting them from damage. This forward-looking technology thus also provides advantageous conditions for the deployment of the new generation of ultra-thin wafers currently being developed on the market, enabling the use of raw materials to be minimised. “When realizing the ASCM concept, we also implemented the latest results in cell tech-nology with regard to increasing the degree of efficiency. These results stem from our ongoing research and development activities and from our cooperation with various solar research centres in Germany and abroad,” explained Dr. Roth. “This project has brought us a major step closer towards achieving our aim of becoming the top provider for turnkey production lines for the cost-effective mass production of solar cells,” he continued. About Roth & Rau AG: Roth & Rau AG, which has been listed in the Entry Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 11 May 2006 (ISIN DE000A0JCZ51), develops and manufactures equipment and process systems on the basis of plasma and ion beam technology and supplies these to a global customer base in a wide variety of sectors. Roth & Rau’s photovoltaic business field focuses on providing antireflective coating facilities for crystalline silicon solar cells. With a global market share of around one third, Roth & Rau is the global market leader in this area. The company’s second business field of plasma and ion beam technology, which accounted for around 30% of total sales in the past financial year, develops equipment for the semiconductor and automotive industries, as well as for research and development in various sectors. Roth & Rau AG witnessed a considerable acceleration of its growth in the 2005 financial year. The company generated sales pursuant to IFRS amounting to Euro 33.4 million, equivalent to growth of 251% on the previous year’s figure of Euro 9.5 million. Operating earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) amounted to Euro 4.3 million, compared with Euro 0.6 million in the previous year, which is equivalent to a sevenfold in-crease. Roth & Rau had an average of around 80 full-time employees in 2005. Disclaimer: This publication constitutes neither an offer to sell nor an invitation to purchase securities. The shares in Roth & Rau AG (the “shares”) may not be offered or sold in the United States or to “U.S. persons” (as defined in Regulation S of the US American Securities Act of 1933 in its respective valid version (the “Se-curities Act”)) or on the account of U.S. persons, unless such persons are registered or exempted from the registration duty set out in the Securities Act. The shares are not and will not be registered pursuant to the Securities Act or publicly offered outside Germany. The offering in Germany was undertaken exclusively by means of and on the basis of the prospectus approved by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority on 28 April 2006. This prospectus is available free of charge from the internet site of the company at www.roth-rau.de or in printed form from the company, the consortium banks and the Admissions Office of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Roth & Rau AG Dr. Silvia Roth Tel.: (0049) 3723/4988-13 Fax.: (0049) 3723/4988-25 E-Mail: investor@roth-rau.de Haubrok Investor Relations GmbH Simone Gorny Tel.: (0049) 211/30126-130 Fax.: (0049) 211/30126-172 E-Mail: s.gorny@haubrok.de (c)DGAP 14.06.2006 ————————————————————————— Language: English Issuer: Roth & Rau AG Gewerbering 3 OT Wüstenbrand 09337 Hohenstein-Ernstthal Deutschland Phone: 0372349880 Fax: 03723 498825 email: silvia.roth@roth-rau.de WWW: www.roth-rau.de ISIN: DE000A0JCZ51 WKN: A0JCZ5 indices: Listed: Freiverkehr in Berlin-Bremen, Düsseldorf, München, Stuttgart; Entry Standard in Frankfurt End of News DGAP News-Service —————————————————————————