SEZ

SEZ Group Reports Strong Fourth Quarter
- Order intake increases 28 percent quarter-over-quarter
- New orders reflect steady prices
- Preliminary net sales reach CHF 305 million

The SEZ Group (SWX Swiss Exchange: SEZN) recorded a strong fourth fiscal quarter 2005 with a 27.6-percent increase in orders to CHF 89.7 million compared to the previous quarter—significantly outperforming market expectations. Besides a continuously strong order intake from Asia, SEZ saw healthy demand from the U.S. market with an order share exceeding 20 percent. Preliminary net sales of CHF 74 million maintained the level of the previous quarter and the book-to-bill-ratio improved significantly to 1. 21. Order backlog improved considerably from CHF 51.6 million at the end of September 2005 to CHF 64.6 million at 31 December 2005.

The strong increase in orders during the past months has been realized, although the SEZ Group has decided to no longer accept orders with unsatisfactory price levels in order to gain market share. As a result, this decision has already stabilized prices in the fourth quarter of 2005.

In the fiscal year 2005, the SEZ Group once again outperformed the global semiconductor equipment industry as a whole. The Group received new orders totaling CHF 292.7 million compared to CHF 309.1 million in 2004, while preliminary net sales of CHF 305 million in 2005 maintained the record sales level of CHF 304.8 million achieved in the previous year. More than 70 percent of net sales were achieved with systems intended for use in 300-mm production, and the innovative Da Vinci™ product family accounted for 60 percent of equipment sales.

During the past year, SEZ has—with its innovative products—further accelerated the industry's technology transition from wet benches to single-wafer tools in price sensitive segments of the semiconductor industry. To continue this momentum, SEZ is working intensively on the development of a complete product portfolio for single-wafer wet processing. This year, research and development will focus on new systems and applications for front-end-of-line (FEOL) cleaning solutions. With these products, which should start to contribute to the Group's sales in 2006, SEZ expects to double its current addressable market.

Quarterly key figures (unaudited)

in CHF million	Q4/05	Q4/05	Q4/04
Order intake	89.7	70.3	62.4
Net sales	74 *	74.8	75.7
Operating income (EBIT)	0.3	1.4	11.6
Order backlog end of quarter	64.6	51.6	76.7
Book-to-bill-ratio	1.21 *	0.94	0.82

* preliminary

Key figures after nine months (unaudited)

in CHF million	2005	2004
Order intake	292.7	309.1
Net sales	305 *	304.8
Order backlog end of December	64.6	76.6
Book-to-bill-ratio	0.96 *	1.01

* preliminary

Average exchange rates from January – December 2005:
EUR/CHF 1.54831; USD/CHF 1.24589

Upcoming Financial Events

30 March 2006	Press release and presentation announcing financial results for the full-year 2005
12 April 2006	Closing of share register
3 May 2006	Annual Shareholders' Meeting and press release on Q1 2006 results
10 July 2006	Press release on preliminary sales and order intake for the first-half 2006
17 August 2006	Press release and conference call on the results of the first six months of 2006
25 October 2006	Press release and conference call on the results of the first nine months of 2006

About SEZ Group
The SEZ Group is the leading provider of single-wafer, wet-clean processing solutions for the global semiconductor industry, with an installed base of over 850 tools. The company maintains operations in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan and North America. Since 1996, registered shares of SEZ Holding Ltd. have been traded on the SWX Swiss Exchange under the symbol SEZN. Additional information about the company is available on the Internet at http://www.cez.com/.