Rautaruukki - Company Announcement

RAUTARUUKKI'S FIRST QUARTER OPERATING PROFIT ALMOST DOUBLED, GROWTH DRIVEN BY EASTERN EUROPE AND RUSSIA

Rautaruukki Oyj	Stock exchange release 	25 April 2007 at 9.01am                 

RAUTARUUKKI'S FIRST QUARTER OPERATING PROFIT ALMOST DOUBLED,                    
GROWTH DRIVEN BY EASTERN EUROPE AND RUSSIA                                      

Summary of first quarter 2007 results (comparable figures for Q1/2006)          

- Net sales EUR 950 million (856, comparable 786), increase of 21 per cent on   
  comparable net sales 
- Operating profit EUR 178 million (95, comparable 89)                          
- Profit before taxes EUR 177 million (101)                                     
- Earnings per share (diluted) EUR 0.95 (0.56)                                  
- Comparative net sales in 2007 are expected to develop in line with growth     
  targets set. 
- Operating profit for 2007 is anticipated to markedly exceed the comparative   
  figure for last year. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| KEY FIGURES                   |     2007 |     2006 |       2006 |     2006* |
|                               |  Jan-Mar |  Jan-Mar |    Jan-Dec |   Jan-Mar |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Net sales, EUR m              |      950 |      856 |      3 682 |       786 |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Operating profit, EUR m       |      178 |       95 |        529 |        89 |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Operating profit as % of net  |     18.7 |     11.1 |       14.4 |      11.3 |
| sales                         |          |          |            |           |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Profit before taxes, EUR m    |      177 |      101 |        635 |           |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Earnings per share (diluted), |     0.95 |     0.56 |       3.65 |           |
| EUR                           |          |          |            |           |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| * The comparable figures exclude the Nordic Reinforcing units, which were    |
| part of the Group until 31 July 2006.                                        |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


First quarter highlights                                                        

- Strong demand across the market area, with Eastern Europe and Russia in       
  particular speeding up growth 
- Construction business driving profitable growth, net sales around 60 per cent 
  up and profitability significantly improved 
- Strong demand for components in the engineering industry, especially in the   
  lifting, handling and transportation equipment industry 
- Work progressed on specialisation of steel products and on development of     
  sales structures and distribution channels. Prices for steel products firmed
  up and profitability noticeably improved. 


President & CEO Sakari Tamminen:                                                

- Demand in our core market area remained strong during the first quarter of    
2007. Exceptionally brisk construction activity was witnessed for the time of   
year and deliveries were up in all markets. Demand for components in the        
engineering industry was especially strong in the lifting, handling and         
transportation equipment, energy and marine & offshore industries. Demand for   
steel products held up well in our key market areas.                            

Acquisitions in recent years have provided us with an excellent platform to     
capitalise on the potential in the Eastern Europe construction market. To       
strengthen our delivery capability, we have launched expansion projects in      
Ukraine, Romania and Poland. In Russia, we plan to triple our steel structure   
and component production capacity over the next three years. Investments of     
around EUR 30 million in machinery and equipment are aimed at achieving         
profitable growth in net sales of some EUR 200 million.                         

We have further strengthened our position as a supplier within the engineering  
industry, especially in the lifting, handling and transportation equipment      
industry. In January, we completed acquisition of the Swedish company Omeo      
Mekaniska Verkstad AB, which supplies ready-to-install booms. In April, after   
the review period, we announced the purchase of a majority holding in Hungarian 
component manufacturer Aprítógépqyár Zrt. These acquisitions add to our         
component and systems deliveries, especially in ready-to-install booms, and     
bring us significant new customers in Central Europe.                           

In steel products, we made further progress with developing the sales structure,
distribution channels and product specialisation. In the Nordic countries, we   
are using our own service centres and prefabrication services to take our       
business forward. In Central Europe, our focus is on deliveries of special      
products. Direct deliveries to end customers have increased clearly.            

The market in the Group's core market areas and in key customer industries is   
expected to continue to hold up well. Comparative net sales in 2007 are expected
to develop in line with growth targets set. Operating profit for 2007 is        
anticipated to markedly exceed the comparative figure for last year.            


FURTHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE FROM                                           

Sakari Tamminen, President & CEO, tel. +358 20 592 9075                         
Mikko Hietanen, CFO, tel. +358 20 592 9030                                      


Press conference                                                                

Rautaruukki will hold a press conference on the first quarter results on 25     
April 2007 at 10.30am at corporate headquarters, Suolakivenkatu 1, 00810        
HELSINKI.                                                                       


Webcast and conference call                                                     

The webcast and conference call in English for investors and analysts can be    
viewed live on the company's website at www.ruukki.com/investors, today 25 April
2007 starting at 2pm Finnish time.                                              
                                                                                
To attend the conference call, please call the following number +44 (0) 20 7162 
0125, password Rautaruukki, about 5-10 minutes before the conference starts.    

The encore replay can be heard until 28 April on +44 (0) 20 7031 4064, access   
code: 746260.                                                                   

The interim report for the first quarter of 2007 may be viewed on the company's 
website at www.ruukki.com/investors.                                            

This release is unaudited.                                                      


Rautaruukki Oyj                                                                 


Taina Kyllönen                                                                  
VP, Corporate Communications                                                    

Rautaruukki supplies metal-based components, systems and integrated systems to  
the construction and mechanical engineering industries. The company has a wide  
selection of metal products and services. Rautaruukki has operations in 23      
countries and employs 13,000 people. Net sales in 2006 totalled EUR 3.7 billion.
The company's share is quoted on the Helsinki Exchanges (Rautaruukki Oyj:       
RTRKS). The corporation has used the marketing name Ruukki since 2004.          

www.ruukki.com                                                                  

DISTRIBUTION:                                                                   
Helsinki Exchanges                                                              
Main media                                                                      
www.ruukki.com