KLÖCKNER & CO: STRONG RESULTS FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 2007

According to the provisional figures, the Klöckner & Co Group achieved sales of around €6.3 billion and EBITDA of around €365 million in the financial year 2007.The company therefore exceeded its forecast adjusted in October 2007 of around €355 million. In addition, net liabilities, which had risen to €996 million in mid-2007 due largely to acquisitions, were reduced to around €750 million by the end of the year.

The rise in sales from €5.5 billion in 2006 to €6.3 billion in 2007 was essentially the result of price increases and acquisitions. EBITDA, which according to provisional figures is approximately 8% down on the previous year’s figure, of around €365 million is the second-best operating result in the over one hundred-year history of Klöckner & Co.

At approximately 10% above the fourth quarter of the previous year, EBITDA of around €77 million was generated in the fourth quarter with sales of around €1.5 billion. The one-off effects included in EBITDA for 2007 as a whole were roughly at the level of the previous year.

In light of the continuing excellent demand, Klöckner & Co recorded some clear price increases for a number of products since the beginning of 2008, especially also in the US. Taking into consideration the acquisitions and measures realized in the STAR performance program, the company is assuming that it will generate results at a high level in 2008.

Klöckner & Co will publish more detailed information and the final figures for the financial year 2007 on April 1, 2008. The data will be made available on the Internet at www.kloeckner.de at 8.00 am, CEST.