Victoria, British Columbia, Canada – Thursday, November 22, 2007 – Carmanah Technologies Corporation (TSX: CMH) is taking the first steps in a renewed and focused approach to a more strategically defined suite of solar-powered lighting products and solar power-generating systems. As an initial step, the company that designed the world’s first self-contained solar LED marine lantern is preparing to move beyond building custom products for the solar home power market and the highly specialized segment of the Transit market. According to Ted Lattimore, Carmanah CEO, this step will allow the company to better focus its resources on providing industry-leading renewable energy technology throughout its core markets.
“We’re still early into our 100-day plan for aligning the company,” said CEO Ted Lattimore, “yet these changes appear to be relatively straight forward. The management and employee base is excited about a future where growth will target improved revenue, margin and market share from a portfolio of more closely aligned offerings. We’ll shed some business in order to expand our efforts to lead in selected markets and compete through differentiated and integrated products and systems.”
According to Lattimore, the business of installing and designing solar panel energy systems for homes is becoming better addressed by smaller craftsman organizations and large hardware retailers, while Carmanah’s expertise is ideally suited to the larger industrial and commercial projects that are projected to become a significant part of the western world’s power requirements. As a result, Carmanah will shift its focus to distributing standard solar power systems products to the Home Power market through its established dealer market, and away from building custom products that are better served by the smaller craftsman organizations.
The Transit business, which features unique solar powered lighting, includes a highly specific and customized segment and is forecasted to continue to do so for the near future. “As such,” said Lattimore, “it is difficult for Carmanah to apply the necessary economies of scale to profitably grow in the specialized segment of this industry niche. In the future, we’ll place more energy on our emerging General Illumination portfolio, which is suitable for shelters and remote situations, but shift from being a provider of highly customized Transit solutions. The company will continue to monitor the growth potential of the Transit industry closely.”
“Our move from low margin Home Power products and highly customized Transit products is a case of selective pruning and nurturing in order to grow and flourish,” said Lattimore. “By reducing the time, investment, and skilled resources that it takes to manage the Home Power and specialized Transit businesses, we can renew and refresh our focus on the customers, products and businesses that will be more responsible for the revenue, margin and market growth of our planned future,” Lattimore stated.
Carmanah’s approach to the Home Power and customized Transit markets will be phased in over the next few months, and the company looks forward to servicing existing customers and current commitments within those markets.
To discuss this strategy, Carmanah has scheduled a conference call for Thursday, November 22, 2007 at 2:00 pm Pacific time (5:00 pm Eastern time). To access this conference call by telephone, dial 1-888-882-9090 (Canada and US) or 1-403-770-0861 (international) approximately five to ten minutes before start time. When prompted for the conference ID, enter 5388629.
A recording of the conference will also be available on Carmanah’s corporate website within three business days. For more information, visit www.carmanah.com.
About Carmanah Technologies Corporation
With more than 250,000 installations worldwide, Carmanah is one of the world’s premier suppliers of renewable and energy-efficient technologies, including solar-powered LED lighting, solar power systems & equipment and LED illuminated signage.
Carmanah is a technology leader in solar-LED lighting, solar power systems and LED-illuminated signage. From its headquarters in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, Carmanah oversees a network of branch offices and sales representatives across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. Carmanah is a publicly traded company, with common shares listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TSX:CMH. For more information, visit www.carmanah.com.
Carmanah Technologies Corporation
“Roland Sartorius”
Roland Sartorius
Chief Financial Officer
For further information, please contact:
Investors:
Investor Relations
Tel: (403) 470-8384
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Media:
Mr. David Davies
Public Relations
Tel: (250) 382-4332
This release may contain forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “expects,” “plans,” “estimates,” “intends,” “believes,” “could,” “might,” “will” or variations of such words and phrases. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of Carmanah to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties which are described under the caption “Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements” and “Key Information – Risk Factors” and elsewhere in Carmanah’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006, as filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The risk factors identified in Carmanah’s Annual Report are not intended to represent a complete list of factors that could affect Carmanah. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Carmanah does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.