CHARLTON, Mass., Dec. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- FiberCore, Inc. (Nasdaq: FBCE), a
leading manufacturer and global supplier of optical fiber and preform for the
telecommunication and data communications markets, today announced that it
received a financing commitment for the second phase of capacity expansion at
the Company's facilities in Jena, Germany. This phase of the expansion
represents an additional investment of Euro 30 million, or approximately
US$27 million, and will bring the total investment in the new plant to
approximately US$50 million.
The primary financing for Phase 2 is being provided by the DKB Bank,
Germany. The financing package includes approximately Euro 23 million, in a
combination of long-term loans through DKB and grants from agencies of the
German government. FiberCore will contribute the balance of the funds, or
approximately Euro 7 million, predominantly from the German facility's
operating cash flow over the course of the expansion period. The parties
expect to finalize and close on the transaction early in 2002, with the actual
plant expansion to occur during 2002 and 2003.
"This round of financing for FiberCore Jena is a major milestone for the
Company," commented Dr. Mohd A. Aslami, President and CEO. "We are currently
on plan to complete Phase 1 of our new 120,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art Jena
facility, which we began in early 2001. Production is set to begin early in
the new year. A major portion of the first phase of the expansion dealt with
multimode capacity. The second phase of the expansion will focus on
additional preform and multimode fiber capacity, with some investment for
other products as well. This is expected to double the capacity of multimode
fiber to over 500,000 kms in 2002 and bring the new Jena plant to its full
capacity in 2003."
"Our Jena facility currently supplies essentially all of the Company's
multimode fiber worldwide and this expansion is key to our strategy to build
market share and to help satisfy continued strong customer demand. This
segment of the optical fiber market has not experienced the negative effects
of the recent downturn in the industry, and we expect the prospects for
continued growth in multimode fiber to be very good. The financing agreement
put in place also provides flexibility to manage the expansion to match the
anticipated growth in demand as well as the Company's available cash for these
purposes. We are pleased that we are able to fund our portion of this major
expansion in Germany with essentially no new equity financing on the part of
FiberCore," concluded Dr. Aslami.
Additionally, the Company received confirmation today that its application
has been approved for the transformation of FiberCore Jena from a GmbH
(limited liability company) to an AG (stock corporation).
FiberCore, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets single-mode and
multimode optical fiber preforms and optical fiber for the telecommunications
and data communications markets. In addition to its standard multimode and
single-mode fiber, FiberCore also offers various grades of fiber for use in
laser-based systems up to 10 gigabits/sec, to help guarantee high bandwidths
and to suit the needs of Feeder Loop (also known as Metropolitan Area
Network), Fiber-to-the Curb, Fiber-to-the Home and Fiber-to-the Desk
applications. Manufacturing facilities are presently located in Jena, Germany
and Campinas, Brazil.
For more information about the company, its products, or shareholder
information please visit our Website at: http://www.FiberCoreUSA.com or contact us
at: Phone - 508-248-3900 or by FAX - 508-248-5588 or E-Mail:
sales@FiberCoreUSA.com ; investor_relations@FiberCoreUSA.com
Except for the historical matters discussed above, the statements in this
press release are forward looking and are made pursuant to the "safe harbor"
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. They are
based on the Company's current expectations and are subject to a number of
risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those
projected as a result of certain general economic and business conditions;
loss of market share through competition; introduction of competing products
by other companies; changes in industry capacity; pressure on prices from
competition or from purchasers of the Company's products; availability of
qualified personnel; the delivery of an ability to commission new equipment as
scheduled; ability to obtain required financing; dependence on a limited
number of raw material suppliers; the loss or reduced creditworthiness of any
significant customers; and other factors detailed from time to time in the
Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE FiberCore, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.FiberCoreUSA.com
CONTACT:
Dr. Mohd A. Aslami, President, CEO, or Robert
Lobban, CFO, both of FiberCore, Inc., +1-508-248-3900; or General
Info., Alison Ziegler, or Analysts, Peter Seltzberg, both of FRB
Weber Shandwick, +1-212-445-8400
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