Corporate | 30 August 2006 09:05

Roth & Rau is awarded a further order for turnkey solar cell production line

Corporate news transmitted by DGAP – a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— Hohenstein-Ernstthal, 30 August 2006 – The publicly listed company Roth & Rau AG has acquired a further customer for its turnkey production line, in this case with a production capacity of 30 MWp. The Taiwan-based customer has commissioned the Saxon technology company to supply a semi-automated version of the ASCM lines (Advanced Solar Cell Manufacturing), the installation of which is set to begin in the second quarter of 2007. The sales volume of this project amounts to approx. Euro 9 million. As well as supplying proprietary equipment, Roth & Rau is also responsible for the entire project management, including in particular the fields of engineering, installation and technology transfer. It was only in June that the company achieved a breakthrough in its business with turnkey production lines for the modern mass production of solar cells. Following several years of development activities, the first equipment was successfully sold within the framework of a major project with a total volume of Euro 53 million. In terms of automation, the current project involves a simplified version of the ASCM line. Roth & Rau equipment is characterised by consistent in-line production, extremely efficient process management and thus by significantly reduced production costs. Moreover, the entire equipment concept is based on a forward-looking technology, ensuring a higher efficiency potential of the solar cells. “The business with turnkey production lines is showing increasingly dynamic developments. Following the first major order in June, we expected to be able to convince further customers of the quality of our new product and are pleased that we have succeeded in doing so within such a short space of time. From a strategic point of view, we certainly see the turnkey equipment as representing a third pillar of our business alongside our two established business fields of photovoltaics and ion beam technology,” commented Dr. Dietmar Roth, CEO of Roth & Rau AG with regard to the significance of the new order. The company expects the rapidly growing Asian market in particular to generate increasing levels of demand for complete solar cell production solutions characterised by a high quality of technology and cost-effectiveness. 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 increase. Roth & Rau had an average of around 80 full-time employees in 2005. Contact: Haubrok Investor Relations GmbH Simone Gorny Kaistraße 16 40221 Düsseldorf Tel.: 0211/30126-130 Fax: 0211/30126-172 E-Mail: s.gorny@haubrok.de (c)DGAP 30.08.2006 ————————————————————————— Language: English Issuer: Roth & Rau AG Gewerbering 3 OT Wüstenbrand 09337 Hohenstein-Ernstthal Deutschland Phone: 0372349880 Fax: 03723 498825 E-mail: 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 —————————————————————————