http://www.crystalox.com/

With 25 years in solar technology development, PV Crystalox Solar is a leading manufacturer of multicrystalline silicon ingots and wafers, the key component in solar power systems.

Its customers, the world's leading solar cell producers, combine these wafers into solar modules to harness the clean, silent and renewable power from the sun.

PV Crystalox Solar is playing a central role in making solar cost competitive with conventional hydrocarbon power generation, and as such continues to seek to drive down the cost of production whilst increasing solar cell efficiency. The gap between the cost of solar power production and utility energy is decreasing year on year.

With a long history of production with high growth and profitability, PV Crystalox Solar is well placed to benefit greatly from the rapid growth in the solar energy market

London, United Kingdom: PV Crystalox Solar Plans Listing on London Stock Exchange

PV Crystalox Solar, a producer of solar-grade silicon products for solar electricity generation systems, today announced its intention to proceed with an initial public offering of its ordinary shares, which are intended to be admitted to the Official List of the UK Listing Authority and to trading on the London Stock Exchange.

JPMorgan Cazenove has been appointed as sponsor to the Company and global coordinator and sole Bookrunner in relation to the offer. Jefferies International Limited has been appointed as co-lead manager.

PV Crystalox Solar, initially established in the UK in 1982, is a highly specialised supplier to the worlds leading solar cell manufacturers, producing multicrystalline silicon ingots and wafers for use in solar electricity generation systems. The Group was one of the first to develop multicrystalline technology on an industrial scale, setting the industry standard for ingot production.

PV Crystalox Solar manufactures silicon ingots in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, with the majority of its output shipped to Japan, where it is sold either as ingots or as wafers after processing by a sub-contractor. The balance of the Groups ingots are processed into wafers for European customers at the Groups facilities in Erfurt, Germany. The German operation is constantly developing the Groups wire saw technology for the production of thinner wafers.

PV Crystalox Solar has strong, long-established relationships with major solar cell manufacturers, including Sharp and Schott Solar. The Group does not compete with its customers and is therefore able to work closely with them to improve wafer quality and minimize costs.

By focusing purely on the production of solar-grade silicon products, the Group benefits from the higher margins available to companies in the upstream of the photovoltaic value chain, where there are fewer competing manufacturers and higher barriers to entry.

PV Crystalox Solar has an established record of delivering strong financial performance. The Group recorded revenues of 242m for the year ended 31 December 2006, an increase of 32% (31 December 2005: 183m) and a 56% increase in Group pre-tax profits to 49m (31 December 2005: 31.3m)

In 2006 the Group produced silicon wafers and ingots corresponding to a solar electricity generation capacity of 215 MWp. As at the end of 2006 the Group had available production capacity equivalent to 288 MWp and employed around 200 staff.

Iain Dorrity, Chief Executive Officer, PV Crystalox Solar said PV Crystalox Solar has a long and successful history as one of the worlds leading manufacturers of solar-grade silicon products. Over the last five years we have been consistently profitable, trebling our sales and continuing to grow our margins. We look forward to listing on the London Stock Exchange, which we believe will further enhance our ability to grow the business.

The Group is proposing to build its own polysilicon production facility in Germany to secure an additional source of feedstock. The Directors believe that in-house polysilicon production will provide greater flexibility in sourcing its silicon feedstock. PV Crystalox Solar expects the facility to commence operation in 2009 with an initial planned production volume of 900 metric tonnes in that year, rising to 1,800 metric tonnes in 2011
http://www.solarbuzz.com/news/NewsEUCO396.htm

Excellent update !, but with this depressed market.... : this would have rocketed by 30p 2 years ago, now barely moves....hardly any point in making a comment in these conditions !.

Surely if you think this company is sound, then it is worth averaging down? Lots of companies are near their all time low, but that may just be market sentiment. If you think it is not going to recover then maybe best to get out now. But don't panic sell.

not the time to average down as the markets must still have further to fall, but that does not mean one should sell out either

I have quite a few of these.....one of the best mid-size companies around, I might get some more but need more funds to do so or have to sell others at a loss whch I'm not prepared to do....in time with patience, in 2 to 3 years time we shall have a 300p company here.....many ups and downs along the way though !.

Solar shares seem to be going out of fashion is it something to do with the collapse in the price of oil or is it because the "green effect" is going brown?

It is linked to the price of oil partly, because if oil drops it becomes less worthwhile installing solar energy systems.

Results tomorrow......new production center in Germany opening with earnings in Euros, if I'm not mistaken : there is a already a large cash pile in Euros and this company said that results would be better than expected at the last update and crude is making a good comeback, which makes a difference to the sp on this company........I would say undervalued perhaps !?.

Also : earnings per share last year were 12 Euro cents per share.....with the sp where it is now the sp is looking to my way of thinking as incredibly low !.

Adding to this : a supply contract has been extended for a further 3 years for 95% of supply to one of their main customers....am I missing somethng here ? or is it just bad market sentiment towards this type of company ?.

Very good results, the only bad remark is that they are cautious for 2009, but then again is there a company that isn't.....!.

Also cash pile was down to 81.1m euros from 108m, but results were ahead of forecasts, Im not invested in them yet, but the these are the only company in sector I like.

I have to admit, I have some shares in this, 4 euro cents dividend, 6% of the sp at the moment !, not happy about the market markdown !.

Just to put your mind at rest, same thing happened to Aviva, Arriva & Chemring this wed. Sp's got hammered ex-divi, far in excess of the divi %age.

market reacting to uncertain outlook comments in results statement.

That word "challenging"....why on earth put that in what is a very good performance from this company.....if I was writing the outlook, that is the last word to use because all the investors jump ship......the report is excellent...growth very good ,cash position, earnings all looking good and they have to then go and shoot themselves in the foot by putting that in...crazy...times are hard but PVCS are in a very good position and oil is doing fine which means they should do fine as well.

15 May 2009
PV Crystalox Solar plc


Interim Management Statement

PV Crystalox Solar plc (or 'the Group', PVCS.L), one of the world's leading providers of photovoltaic ('PV') silicon wafers, provides an Interim Management Statement for the period from 1 January 2009 to the date of this announcement.

The Group continues to operate in a challenging trading environment and as a result expects to generate H1 revenues approximately 10% below the prior year (H1 2008: 126m).

Since announcing our preliminary results at the end of March, demand from our customers has slowed. High customer inventory levels have led to a number of additional requests for order deferrals which are now expected to reach 30 - 35MW by the end of H1, with total shipments for the period expected to be in the region of 90 - 95MW (2008: 110MW). However, the drop in shipment volumes has been partially offset by the strength of the Japanese Yen and its positive impact on average wafer prices.

Although there are early signs of an improvement in the level of PV installations, the tightening of the credit markets has impacted the financing and implementation of major PV projects. This market weakness has led to oversupply and downward pricing pressure in all parts of the value chain and currently spot wafer prices are below our contract levels. In view of the challenging market circumstances, we have agreed temporary price flexibility with some of our customers. We believe this supports our relationship with our customers and we would expect to benefit when the PV markets strengthen and in some cases we have been able to obtain a certain commitment on contracted shipment volumes during the second half of the year. In parallel we have undertaken discussions with our suppliers and have already achieved some concessions on short term pricing.

The commissioning of our polysilicon production facility in Bitterfeld is proceeding to schedule and is currently in its final stages. Initial polysilicon production is expected to start later this month with a projected output of 450 metric tonnes in 2009 in balance with our current wafer production requirements.

The Group's balance sheet remains robust and its financial position strong with continued positive cash flows increasing our net cash position at the end of the first quarter of 2009 from the 81.1m cash balances as at 31 December 2008.

Outlook

Due to the current global economic recession and market weakness, levels of activity in the second half of the year remain difficult to predict. Although we have contracts for the supply of 275MW wafers in 2009 as a whole, there is greater uncertainty that our forecast shipment volumes will be achieved. There is, however, some expectation of a better solar market environment, driven by growth in Germany, which is traditionally stronger in the second half of the year, and in Japan, where the Government plans further incentives for the PV market as part of its 4th economic stimulus package of JPY15 trillion announced on 8 April 2009.

The mid-term market drivers for the PV industry remain positive with the US economic stimulus bill providing significant funding for renewable energy projects (including solar energy development) and with the recent renewed commitment of the EU to meet its 2020 climate change goals and boost the share of renewables in the total energy mix to 20%. Although timing and visibility for 2009 is uncertain, the Group with its strong balance sheet remains well positioned for the upturn in global PV markets.

The Group will report its interim results for the six month period ending 30 June 2009 on 19 August 2009.

Business Financial Newswire
"Panmure Gordon initiates coverage on the two UK-listed silicon wafer producers, urging investors to buy ReneSola (TP 235p) and sell PV Crystalox Solar (TP 60p).

The broker says industry revenue growth is set to return in 2010 but a core focus on cost reduction will be essential, as will greater geographic diversification to offset country specific risks to feed-in-tariffs.

Vertical integration should enable both, while China is the key market for cost reduction. All this favours ReneSola, especially after its acquisitions."

Dull solar market hampers PV Crystalox


Solar wafer maker PV Crystalox Solar produced a resilient performance in the first half of the year in the face of weakening demand, order deferrals and a flood of supply from rivals in the Far East, and the second-half outlook hardly engenders confidence.

Admittedly, PV Crystalox is one of the stronger businesses in its sector and better placed to withstand such a sustained lull in its markets than many rivals. It has a well established, low cost production capacity and has completed most of its planned capital expenditure. On top of this, it is highly cash-generative and ended the first half with a healthy-looking balance sheet.

But management admits that prices are unlikely to recover in the short term and recovery in demand, driven by government incentives, is unlikely to resolve the imbalance between supply and demand before 2010 at best. Internal cost cutting and low cost raw material contracts should help the company protect its margins to a certain extent, but don't expect any significant growth this side of 2010. Global solar installations are forecast to be down by up to 30 per cent this year and PV Crystalox is expecting to ship 210MW-230MW equivalent worth of wafers this year, compared with 230MW in 2008.


PV CRYSTALOX SOLAR (PVCS)
TOUCH: 85.4-85.8p 12-MONTH HIGH: 194p LOW: 62p

Broker Piper Jaffray expects full-year pre-tax profits to fall from 147m to 68m, giving EPS of 11.2 (25.2 in 2008), rising to 72m and 11.9, respectively, in 2010.

this one looks cheap compared to SOLA seems to be on a rising trend.

I am already long so I hope so.