PUR.L Regulatory News (PUR)

22 Jun 2005 07:01

Pure Wafer PLC22 June 2005 22 JUNE 2005 PURE WAFER PLC ("Pure Wafer" or "the Company") PRE-CLOSE PERIOD TRADING UPDATE Since reporting on the first half of the financial year in February 2005, PureWafer is pleased to report that trading has continued strongly in the secondhalf of the financial year. Volumes of wafers reclaimed have increasedsignificantly over the past 6 months. The number of 300mm wafers reclaimed,which is the Company's higher margin product, has increased by 150% and nowrepresents 76% of total sales for the year, compared to 53% previously. TheCompany continues to benefit from its strong position in the fast growing 300mmwafer reclaim arena. As a result of the above, reported results for the financial year ending 30 June2005 are likely to be slightly ahead of current market expectations. Sales forthe year are estimated to close at £9.12M, an increase of 92% compared to £4.74Mfor last year. EBITDA for the year is expected to be approximately £1.44M forthe year as compared to a negative £1.21M for the previous year. The growth insales combined with a significant reduction in the unit cost of manufacture hasresulted in the Company reducing its losses considerably to an expected loss ofapproximately £150,000, compared to a loss of £3.2M in the previous financialyear. Looking ahead, there are grounds for further optimism. According to plan, PureWafer continues to invest steadily in new state-of-the-art equipment. This willallow it to meet the increasing demand for wafer reclaim services and enable itto continue to develop its technology roadmap to extend its capabilities tosupport its leading edge customers. As the uptake of 300mm wafers in devicemanufacturing accelerates, Pure Wafer stands to benefit commensurately. In addition, Pure Wafer's world class expertise in double-side polishing oflarge substrates and its ability to deliver ultra-flat surfaces to internationaltolerance levels are providing major new business opportunities in significantmarkets which the Company has not previously exploited. Most recently, Pure Wafer has secured qualification as a supplier to one of theworld's largest semiconductor companies as well as two leading memory chipmanufacturers. Pure Wafer has now started providing a full reclaim service forthese companies who are all rapidly growing their 300mm capabilities. Chief Executive Officer, Keith Baker, commented: "Despite a challenging year overall for the semiconductor industry (with areduction in the amount of silicon area shipments from the previous year) theCompany has made excellent progress. This is a result of the Company's strategyof focusing on the high growth segment of the semiconductor industry and aprogressive customer base embracing the benefits of manufacturing on 300mmsilicon wafers. "Thus, with a healthy balance sheet to fund further increases in capacity andwith demand for reclaim services increasing and opportunities in new markets nowpresenting themselves, Pure Wafer is well placed to build upon the good progressmade to date." ENQUIRIES Pure Wafer plc (www.purewafer.com) Tel. +44(0)1792 311 203Keith Baker, Chief Executive or +44(0)7730 833111 ICIS Tel. +44(0)20 7651 8688Tom Moriarty or +44(0)7802 442486Archie Berens This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange