February 9, 2005 – Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments increased by 22% in 2004 when compared to 2003 area shipments according to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) in its year-end analysis of the silicon wafer industry. Revenues also grew by 26% in 2004 compared to 2003.

Silicon wafer area shipments in 2004 totaled 6262 million square inches (MSI), up from the 5149 million square inches shipped during 2003. Revenues grew to $7.3 billion from $5.8 billion posted in 2003. Fourth quarter silicon area shipments declined 9% from the prior quarter though were 7% higher than the 4Q03.

“2004 was a very robust growth year for the silicon wafer suppliers as both units and revenue grew at over 20 percent,” said Makoto Tsukada, chairman of SEMI SMG and GM of Shin-Etsu Handotai Co. Ltd. “Even though 300mm wafer shipments were over 15% of the total shipments by the fourth quarter and total wafer shipments surpassed the 2000 peak, total revenues in 2004 for silicon wafers were below the 2000 level. As a result, wafer manufacturers remain cautious investing in new production capacity.”

All data cited in this release is inclusive of polished silicon wafers, including virgin test wafers, epitaxial silicon wafers, and non-polished silicon wafers shipped by the wafer manufacturers to the end-users.