Rautaruukki - Company Announcement

Preliminary information on 2008 results: Rautaruukki's comparable operating profit below that for previous year

Rautaruukki Corporation	Stock exchange release		19 January 2009 at 9am

Preliminary information on 2008 results: Rautaruukki's comparable operating
profit below that for previous year 

Rautaruukki's comparable net sales rose by 3 per cent year-on-year to EUR 3,826
million (2007: EUR 3,725 million). Reported consolidated net sales for 2008
were EUR 3,851 million (EUR 3,876 million). 

Comparable operating profit for 2008 was EUR 583 million excluding
non-recurring items (2007: EUR 632 million), equating to 15.2 per cent (17.0)
of net sales. Reported operating profit was EUR 568 million (EUR 637 million). 

In its guidance published earlier, the company expected comparable consolidated
net sales for 2008 to be slightly higher than in 2007 and comparable operating
profit, excluding non-recurring items, to be at the same level as in 2007. 

Operating profit remained below that expected due to a rapid weakening of the
market situation in December 2008. Demand for and deliveries of steel products
declined in December more than anticipated. One of the two blast furnaces at
Rautaruukki's Raahe Works in Finland was shut down at the beginning of December
and production at other plants was adjusted in line with demand. However, it
has not yet proved possible to adjust steel production costs accordingly and
this considerably weakened earnings in December. In December, the company also
initiated human resources measures and other actions to improve corporate-wide
operational efficiency. Non-recurring costs of around EUR 11 million associated
with these efficiency improvement measures were booked for the fourth quarter
of 2008. 


Rautaruukki will publish its 2008 financial statement bulletin at around noon
on 5 February 2009. 


Rautaruukki Corporation
Anne Pirilä
SVP, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations
Rautaruukki supplies metal-based components, systems and integrated systems to
the construction and engineering industries. The company has a wide selection
of metal products and services. Rautaruukki has operations in 26 countries and
employs 15,000 people. Net sales in 2007 totalled EUR 3.9 billion. The
company's share is quoted on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki (Rautaruukki Oyj: RTRKS). The
Corporation uses the marketing name Ruukki. 
DISTRIBUTION:
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki
Main media
www.ruukki.com