PVCS.L Regulatory News (PVCS)

17 Jul 2007 07:01

PV Crystalox Solar PLC17 July 2007 PV Crystalox Solar mid-year trading update PV Crystalox Solar, a leading manufacturer of multicrystalline silicon ingotsand wafers, the key component in solar electricity systems which recentlycompleted its initial public offering ("IPO") on the London Stock Exchange, isannouncing that it will release its interim results for the period to 30th June2007 on 11th September 2007. Ahead of those results the company is pleased to provide investors with thisupdate of business performance in the first half of the year. Solar Market Development In the first half of 2007 the solar energy market continued to develop asanticipated. The desire of Governments and consumers to use renewable and cleanenergy sources have led to continued strong industry growth. We continue to seestrong demand in our key markets of Germany and Japan and are encouraged bymarket developments in countries such as the USA and Spain. Trading in the first half PV Crystalox's performance in the first half has been in line with ourexpectations at the time of our IPO. Revenue growth has been tempered to someextent by the weakness of the Japanese yen. However, due to a significant partof the group's costs being in Japanese yen, the resulting natural hedge effectmeans that the results for the first half continue to be in line with ourexpectations. The supply situation in respect of silicon feedstock remains tight but thegroup's long-term relationships and contracts mean that the business hascontinued to acquire feedstock at competitive prices. PV Crystalox Solar continues to make progress in discussions with customers interms of negotiating longer term contracts and expects to announce definitiveagreements in the second half. Outlook Overall, our expectations for the business remain positive and in-line with ourviews at the time of the IPO. PV Crystalox Solar looks forward to the remainderof the year with confidence and believes that the fundamentals for the solarenergy market and the group's position within that market remain strong. For further information, please contact: PV Crystalox Solar Plc Tel: +44 (0)1235 770 044 Iain Dorrity, Chief Executive Officer Peter Finnegan, Chief Financial Officer Dr Hubert Aulich, Executive Director, German Operations Tel: +49 (0)361 600 8512 JPMorgan Cazenove Limited: Tel: +44 (0)20 7588 2828 Nick Garrett Alex Yule-Smith Gavin Anderson & Company Tel: +44 (0)20 7554 1400 Kate Hill Robert Speed This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange