Bonn, Germany / Hillsboro, Ore., May 5, 2009 – The SolarWorld group got 2009 off to a successful start with its sales campaigns for a “Rooftop Piggy Bank” (Germany) and “Do the Bright Thing” (U.S.), highlighting photovoltaic systems as secure investments amid uncertain times.

Group sales rose by 5 percent to 176 million euros in the first quarter, compared with 167 million in the same quarter the previous year. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) reached 39 million euros, the same as the first quarter of 2008. The EBIT margin amounted to 22.2 percent, down slightly from 23.2 percent. Net earnings went up to 24 million euros, compared with 19 million in the year-ago quarter.

About the SolarWorld group:  The SolarWorld group of companies (ISIN: DE0005108401, stock symbol: SWV) is a world leader in high quality solar power technology. The company is involved at all levels of the solar value chain and combines all activities of the solar industry, from silicon raw material to turn-key solar systems. SolarWorld is represented in all of the world’s solar growth markets. The group is exclusively dedicated to its core business of photovoltaic power generation, operating production facilities in Germany and the USA (California, Oregon, Washington). They, in turn, supply the SolarWorld sales offices in Germany, Spain, USA, South Africa and Singapore. In South Korea, SolarWorld is establishing a solar module production facility to serve the growing demand in Asia.

The central element of the business, in addition to the sale of turn-key solar systems and solar modules, is the distribution of solar silicon wafers to the international solar cell industry. Apart from grid-coupled (on-grid) products the SolarWorld group sells off-grid solar power solutions that make an important contribution to the sustainable economic development of threshold and developing countries. Under the name Solar2World, the group has applied its ethical commitment to solar power in developing countries.

SolarWorld AG employs about 2,300 people worldwide and about 800 in the U.S. At the stock market the company is listed among others in the technology index TecDAX, in the ÖkoDAX, in the Dow Jones STOXX 600, in the international MSCI index as well as in the sustainability indices DAXglobal Alternative Energy and NAI.

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