Newport to sell robotic systems operations

October 26, 2005, Irvine, CA--Newport has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its robotic systems operations, which have been reflected as discontinued operations since the first quarter of 2005. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Located in Richmond, CA, the company's robotic systems operations serve the front-end semiconductor equipment industry with wafer-handling subsystems such as atmospheric robots, load ports and equipment front-end modules.

Newport will retain ownership of the high-precision motion stage systems manufactured in Richmond, and will continue to sell, service and support these products through its sales and distribution channels. The company noted that sales from this product line have been approximately $4.0 million to $5.0 million annually.

"We are pleased to have reached an agreement to sell these operations," said Robert G. Deuster, Newport chairman and CEO. "This divestiture was one of the goals identified in the strategic review we undertook following our acquisition of Spectra-Physics in July 2004, and will allow us to serve the semiconductor equipment industry more profitably in the future with our core product lines, which include lasers, optics, optical subassemblies, sub-micron positioning systems and vibration isolation systems. We will also be retaining ownership of a number of key patents relating to robotic systems, which we believe will produce value for the company going forward."