Trikon Technologies Announces Results for Fourth Quarter and for Fiscal Year 1999

Continued Increase in Product Sales and Profitability

Newport, Wales. Trikon Technologies, Inc. (OTC-BB: TRKN), a technology leader in semiconductor production equipment, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 1999. All per share amounts are stated fully diluted and are adjusted for the one-for-ten reverse stock split effective at close of business on December 17, 1999.

Net sales of $15.7 million for the fourth quarter were 92 per cent higher than the fourth quarter 1998 and 19 per cent higher than $13.2 million for the third quarter 1999. The fourth quarter 1998 net sales of $8.2 million included $3 million of license revenue. Product sales for the fourth quarter 1999 increased 204 per cent over product sales of $5.2 million in the fourth quarter 1998.

Income on net sales in the fourth quarter 1999 was $1.2 million, or $0.06 per common share, compared to a net loss of $1.8 million in the fourth quarter 1998, or $0.29 loss per share. Fourth quarter 1999 income was all from product sales. Gross margin was 47 per cent in the third and the fourth quarter 1999.

The company also announced results for its fiscal year ended December 31 1999. Product sales in 1999 were $48.4 million, a 92 per cent increase over 1998 product sales of $25.1 million. License revenues in 1999 were $2.1 million compared with $13.0 million in 1998. Net sales (including both product sales and license revenues) in 1999 were $50.5 million, a 32 per cent increase over 1998 net sales of $38.1 million. Net income for 1999 was $4.6 million or $0.24 per share compared with $8.1 million or $1.12 per share for 1998. Income for 1999 included a gain of $4.4 million from a write back of restructuring costs. Income for 1998 included $1.8 million of restructuring costs and an extraordinary gain of $20.3 million, or $3.45 per share. The net loss before extraordinary item in 1998 was $12.2 million or a loss of $2.33 per share.

"I m very pleased to report the continued increase in Trikon s product sales and profitability," said Nigel Wheeler, president and chief executive officer, Trikon. "The company has now posted its second sequential quarter of profitable equipment sales. This has been achieved by offering products of real value to semiconductor manufacturers, supporting customer relationships and tight cost control."

Mr. Wheeler continued "Trikon is sharing in the strong demand for semiconductor production equipment. The company offers leading edge technologies in dielectric deposition, metallization and plasma etch for interconnect on silicon and gallium arsenide semiconductors. There are few suppliers able to offer both the deposition and etch technologies and their integration. Many of our customers buy multiple technologies from Trikon as a result." In addition to a broad range of equipment offering productivity and cost of ownership advantages, Trikon has developed advanced products including a unique patented low-k deposition cluster tool, the Low K Flowfill(TM), metallization barrier deposition and M0RI(TM) high density plasma etch. These products continue to gain market acceptance and are expected to generate continued sales growth in the rapidly expanding market.

Trikon s new technology products include:

Low K Flowfill(TM). An advanced low-k dielectric deposition system capable of both gap fill and planarization enabling the low-k advantage of increased device speed to be brought to existing aluminum metallization devices as well as copper.

Sigma(R) fxP(TM) PVD. A metallization system offering high throughput and reliability with advanced process modules for high uniformity PVD, metal plug (Forcefill(R)) and advanced barrier deposition processes including ionized PVD. M0RI(TM) Omega(R). An advanced high density plasma etch chamber on a small footprint platform.

Trikon have recently made announcements including: First Asian foundry order for Low K Flowfill(TM) The first production orders for Low K Flowfill(TM) from LSI Logic Corporation. LSI s report stating that the use of Low K Flowfill(TM) in their device designs made possible "an immediate performance gain of nearly 25 per cent over similar designs using standard dielectric materials, but at no significant extra cost". -- The first shipment of Trikon s new PVD cluster tool, the Sigma(R) fxP(TM), to Infineon Technologies. -- The formation of a $8.25 million line of credit from Lloyds TSB Bank PLC. -- Trikon s return to profitability on its equipment sales in its third quarter 1999 financial results. -- In December of 1999, Trikon completed a 1:10 reverse split which reduced the number of outstanding common shares from approximately 94 million to approximately 9.4 million.

About Trikon Technologies

Trikon, www.trikon.com has patents and patents pending on Flowfill(R) and Low K Flowfill(TM) and related processes and continues to develop low-k chemistries and processes for advanced applications. Trikon provides a broad line of advanced manufacturing systems used for three of the major processing steps in the manufacture of a semiconductor device: chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD) and plasma etch. Products include: Low K Flowfill(TM) for advanced low-k insulator deposition, Sigma(R) fxP for advanced metal deposition including barrier layers and M0RI(TM) high-density plasma etchers.

"Safe Harbor" Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995: This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements relating to the continued strength in demand for semiconductor production equipment and the status of Trikon s products and their acceptance in the marketplace. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause results to differ materially, including, but not limited to, (1) that the semiconductor industry will experience conditions, such as changes in demand for various types of semiconductors, that will affect the demand for semiconductor production equipment and Trikon s products, (2) that Trikon will not adequately respond to technological developments impacting the semiconductor industry, (3) market acceptance of Trikon s advanced products will not be forthcoming. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of all risks and uncertainties inherent in the Company s business, and should be read in conjunction with the more detailed cautionary statements included in the company s SEC reports, including, without limitation, its annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. -0- *T

Contact:
Trikon Company
contact: Trikon IR
contact: Carl Brancher Alexander Fudukidis
Trikon Technologies Ludgate Communications
Tel: 44 (0) 1633 414111 or + 1 (212) 515-0246
carl.brancher@trikon.com
fudukidi@ludgateny.com Carl Brancher Alexander Fudukidis
Trikon Technologies Ludgate Communications
Tel: 44 (0) 1633 414111 or + 1 (212) 515-0246
carl.brancher@trikon.com
fudukidi@ludgateny.com
E-mail: fudukidi@ludgateny.com