Hamburg, January 24th 2010 – The Hamburg-based Conergy AG and MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. have reached an out-of-court settlement of the lawsuit pending and have agreed on a further adjustment of the wafer supply contract, which originally amounted to $8 billion. Going forward, the volumes supplied by MEMC will be based on the requirements of Conergy’s solar plant in Frankfurt (Oder). The prices paid for wafers will be based on market prices.
Conergy’s CEO Dieter Ammer says: “This is a very positive development for Conergy. This agreement frees us from a significant burden that was damaging our competitive position, and gives us greater business flexibility. MEMC has truly transformed itself into a customer focused company, and we are pleased to move forward with them as a strategic ally. This makes Conergy again a more attractive company.”
The breakthrough in the negotiations has also been welcomed by Ken Hannah, President of MEMC Solar Materials. “We are also very pleased to move our commercial relationship forward and this agreement allows us to do that. We will once again supply Conergy with substantial amounts of high-quality wafers. Furthermore, we have agreed to cooperate on large projects, which should help generate growth for both companies; among others by including MEMC wafers.”
Going forward, MEMC will supply approximately half of Conergy’s wafer needs, including the needs of Frankfurt (Oder). Conergy will source the remainder from readily available supplies from other companies. The agreement will also enable Conergy to purchase ingots from other suppliers and increase the capacity utilization of its wafer sawing capacity in Frankfurt (Oder) and thus increase value added.
Conergy has thus been able to eliminate possible significant cost and competition disadvantages; purchasing and raw materials supplies have become more flexible and efficient, compared with the previous contract, and raw materials supplies have been secured. In 2010, Conergy will therefore be able to ramp up production at its module plant and will be able to produce Conergy PowerPlus modules even more cheaply.
“With this agreement we have reached a milestone in our reorganization,” says Dieter Ammer. “At the end of 2007, we averted an imminent liquidity crisis. In early 2008, the bridge financing enabled us to begin the restructuring process and, at the end of 2008, we substantially improved Conergy’s financial position. We are now more efficient, leaner and more competitive.”
“The banks have actively supported us throughout this process and we are grateful for this. Additionally we have not disappointed them since late 2007. I am optimistic that the banks will continue to provide support to our company.”
About Conergy
Hamburg-based Conergy AG is one of the leading firms in solar system integration, with around 1,700 employees in 14 different countries, spread over four continents. Conergy develops and produces crystalline solar modules, power inverters and mounts at three locations in Germany. In this way, Conergy is able to offer its customers the levels of quality associated with German technology, as well as its own complete range of components for solar equipment. In addition, Conergy develops, finances and installs solar equipment as well as parks and works on large-scale renewable energy projects that fall outside our core sector of photovoltaic.
Since its foundation in 1999, Conergy has converted over 1.25 Gigawatt of renewable energy and, of that, almost 1 Gigawatt has come from solar energy. Since 2005, Conergy has been listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange (ISIN: DE 00060 40025) and has been pursuing a growth strategy in the alternative energy markets of the future.
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Alexander Leinhos | Head of Public Relations |
+49 (0) 40 271421631 | +49 (0) 171 5535927 | a.leinhos@conergy-group.com
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