Ruukki Group Oyj - Quarterly report

RUUKKI GROUP PLC'S Q3 INTERIM REPORT FOR 1 JULY - 30 SEPTEMBER 2012

07:00 London, 09:00 Helsinki, 7 November 2012 - Ruukki Group Plc ("Ruukki" or"the Company") (LSE: RKKI, OMX: RUG1V) Interim Report

RUUKKI GROUP PLC'S Q3 INTERIM REPORT FOR 1 JULY - 30 SEPTEMBER 2012

HIGHLIGHTS:
- Preservation of prices and margins as sales adjusted to meet weak demand
- Production decreased by 27.8% to 62,419 (Q3/2011: 86,401) tonnes
- EBITDA was EUR -1.8 (Q3/2011: -2.7) million and the EBITDA margin was -6.5%
(Q3/2011: -6.3%)
- EBIT was EUR -8.9 (Q3/2011: -9.6) million
- Profit for continuing operations totalled EUR -6.2 (Q3/2011: -6.5) million
- Sales from processed products decreased by 56.6% to 11,051 (Q3/2011: 25,443)
tonnes
- Revenue decreased by 33.8% to EUR 28.1 (Q3/2011: 42.4) million
- Cash flow from operations was EUR -3.2 (Q3/2011: -5.4) million and liquid
funds at 30 September were
 EUR 40.4 (30 September 2011: 74.2) (30 June 2012: 45.0) million
- Dispute regarding Mogale Alloys settled in October
                          +------+             +--------+
KEY FIGURES (EUR million) | Q3/12| Q3/11 Change|Q1-Q3/12|Q1-Q3/11  Change  FY/11
--------------------------+------+-------------+--------+-----------------------
Revenue                   |  28.1|  42.4 -33.8%|   106.1|   121.8  -12.8%  159.1
--------------------------+------+-------------+--------+-----------------------
EBITDA                    |  -1.8|  -2.7       |     4.9|     2.5   96.9%    1.4
                          |      |             |        |
EBITDA margin             | -6.5%| -6.3%       |    4.6%|    2.0%           0.9%
--------------------------+------+-------------+--------+-----------------------
EBIT                      |  -8.9|  -9.6       |   -15.7|   -18.5          -26.5
                          |      |             |        |
EBIT margin               |-31.8%|-22.5%       |  -14.8%|  -15.2%         -16.6%
--------------------------+------+-------------+--------+-----------------------
Earnings before taxes     |  -9.3|  -8.4       |   -14.4|   -18.2          -25.4
                          |      |             |        |
Earnings margin           |-33.1%|-19.9%       |  -13.6%|  -15.0%         -16.0%
--------------------------+------+-------------+--------+-----------------------
Profit for continuing     |  -6.2|  -6.5       |   -10.5|   -13.5          -18.4
operations                |      |             |        |
                          |      |             |        |
Profit for discontinued   |   0.0|  -0.2       |     0.0|    46.9 -100.0%   41.1
operations                |      |             |        |
                          |      |             |        |
Profit                    |  -6.2|  -6.7       |   -10.5|    33.4           22.7
                          |      |             |        |
Earnings per share, basic,| -0.02| -0.03       |   -0.04|    0.14           0.10
EUR                       |      |             |        |
--------------------------+------+-------------+--------+-----------------------

Continuing operations include the Speciality Alloys and the FerroAlloys business
segments and unallocated items that consist of Group headquarters and other
Group companies, which do not have significant business operations. Discontinued
operations include the house building, pallet and sawmill businesses which were
divested in 2011.

Commenting on the third quarter results, Thomas Hoyer, CEO, said:"I am pleased that we have successfully resolved our dispute with the vendors of
Mogale Alloys, which we purchased in May 2009. This is expected to positively
impact our goodwill and equity and will also reduce our debt by approximately
EUR 51 million. All of the conditions, other than the share issue which is
conditional on South African Reserve Bank approval, have now been met and we can
focus on the further development of the business.

The global macroeconomic environment continued to stagnate during the third
quarter, driven by the unresolved crisis in the Eurozone, the ongoing slump in
the US and a continued slowdown in Chinese growth. This situation continued to
exert downward pressure across the world markets for chrome-related products and
we do not expect any immediate improvement during Q4 2012 as customers maintain
a tight control over their stock levels.

As expected, the quarter proved to be challenging as production was impacted by
the annual maintenance shutdowns and we fought to preserve our product prices
and margins against a significant decline in demand, as evidenced by the lowest
European Benchmark Price for Ferrochrome for the past three years. However,
initiatives taken have improved our overall efficiency and despite a significant
drop in year on year revenues our loss was smaller than in Q3 2011.

As a niche speciality alloy business, unlike many other chrome producers who
chose to chase volume over price, we remained disciplined and took the decision
not to compromise our sales prices or margins. As we enter the final quarter of
the year, we will continue to be disciplined with our pricing and, if market
conditions require, we will adjust our production and product mix accordingly.

We remain firm believers in the long-term demand for our commodity which, unlike
some other commodities, is ideally placed to take advantage of the move from
investment-led demand to consumption-led demand in emerging economies as the
growing urbanised populations seek to improve their living standards with
chrome-related products."

2012 outlook

The global economic outlook for the coming quarter is uncertain as the Eurozone
crisis continues and demand for commodities remains weak. After a period of very
high fluctuations on the ferroalloy market it is now expected to be less
volatile going forward but with prices continuing at relatively low levels. The
market for higher value speciality products is expected to be more positive and
the Group will continue to optimise its production levels and product mix
accordingly.

The Board has updated the outlook for the Company's financial performance for
2012. Ruukki still expects its financial performance for the full year 2012 to
be better than in 2011 because of more stable market conditions, improved cost
efficiency across the operations, and favourable exchange rates. Based on the
view that prices of the Company's main products will slightly improve in the
mid-term, a decision has been taken to focus on disciplined pricing of products.
This is expected to result in an increase in finished goods inventory levels,
and will thereby have a negative impact on revenues in the last quarter of
2012. Therefore, Ruukki now expects revenue for the full year 2012 to be lower
than in 2011.

Fluctuations of exchange rates between the Euro, the South African Rand, the
Turkish Lira and the US Dollar can significantly impact the Company's financial
performance.

The previous outlook, published in the second quarter interim results on 16
August 2012, was:

The global economic outlook for 2012 is uncertain as the Eurozone crisis
continues and demand for commodities, primarily driven by Chinese consumption,
remains weak. After a period of very high fluctuations on the ferroalloy market
it is now expected to be less volatile going forward. The Group remains prepared
for price fluctuations and will continue to adapt its production levels and
product mix accordingly. The market for speciality alloy products is estimated
to be more stable, although some uncertainty remains.

Ruukki expects its revenue for the full year 2012 to be in line with 2011 and
the Company's financial performance for the full year 2012 to be better than
2011 because of more stable market conditions, improved cost efficiency across
the operations and favourable exchange rates. Due to the seasonal nature of the
business, the Company's performance for Q3 2012 is not expected to be as
positive as Q2 2012.

Fluctuations of exchange rates between the Euro, the South African Rand, the
Turkish Lira and the US Dollar can significantly impact the Company's financial
performance.

Disclosure procedure

Ruukki follows the disclosure procedure enabled by Standard 5.2b published by
the Finnish Financial Supervision Authority, and hereby publishes its Q3 Interim
Report enclosed to this stock exchange release. The Q3 Interim Report is
attached to this release and is also available on the Company's website at
www.ruukkigroup.com.

Investor Conference Call

Management will host an investor conference call in English on 7 November 2012
at 12.00 Finnish time, 10.00 UK time. Please dial-in at least 10 minutes
beforehand, quoting the reference: 924857.

Finnish number +358 (0)9 2313 9202

UK number +44 (0)207 1620 177


RUUKKI GROUP PLC
Thomas Hoyer
CEO


For additional information, please contact:

Ruukki Group Plc
Thomas Hoyer, CEO, +358 (0)10 440 7000, thomas.hoyer@ruukkigroup.com
Kalle Lehtonen, General Manager: Finance, +358 (0)400 539 968,
kalle.lehtonen@ruukkigroup.com
Markus Kivimäki, General Manager: Corporate Affairs, +358 (0)50 3495 687,
markus.kivimaki@ruukkigroup.com

Investec Bank Plc
Neil Elliot, +44 (0)20 7597 5970, neil.elliot@investec.co.uk
George Price, +44 (0)20 7597 5970, george.price@investec.co.uk

RBC Capital Markets
Martin Eales, +44 (0)20 7653 4000, martin.eales@rbccm.com
Peter Barrett-Lennard, +44 (0)20 7653 4000, peter.barrett-lennard@rbccm.com

Financial reports and other investor information are available on the Company's
website: www.ruukkigroup.com.

Ruukki Group is a chrome mining and minerals producer focused on delivering
sustainable growth with a speciality alloys business in southern Europe and a
ferro alloys business in southern Africa. The Company is listed on NASDAQ OMX
Helsinki (RUG1V) and the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (RKKI).
www.ruukkigroup.com

Distribution:
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki
London Stock Exchange
main media
www.ruukkigroup.com

[HUG#1655686]

Attachments:

Q3.pdf