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Klöckner & Co SE

Operating result further improved at Klöckner & Co AG

Duisburg (euro adhoc) -

•	Operating result up on previous year
•	Expansion strategy successfully continued
•	Group financing optimized further
•	Positive outlook for the full-year 2007
  ots.CorporateNews transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer is responsible for
  the content of this announcement.
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Duisburg, August 15, 2007  - Klöckner & Co
Aktiengesellschaft has enjoyed a successful first half of 2007. In 
the first six months of 2007, the Company further improved its 
operating result. Expansion at the Klöckner & Co Group continued in 
line with planning with the purchase of eight steel and multi-metal 
distribution companies. At the same time, Group financing was further
optimized on the basis of a syndicated holding facility and the 
successful placement of a convertible bond. Thus all the estimates 
for the first half-year 2007 were met and the prospects for the 
full-year 2007 are also positive.
"In the first six months, a sound basis for a successful fiscal year 
2007 was established. We are confident to generate in 2007 a result 
at the high level of the previous year," stated Dr. Thomas Ludwig, 
Chairman of the Klöckner & Co AG Management Board.
Further improvement of the key operating figures In Europe, the 
demand trend for multi-metal distribution remained high in the first 
half-year. As in 2006, the reason were the favorable conditions in 
the construction industry and in the machinery and mechanical 
engineering industries. However, in the first six months of 2007, in 
North America general conditions for multi-metal distribution 
developed less favorable than in the previous year.
Alongside the very good development in Europe, the Klöckner & Co 
Group benefited from the extensive measures to improve efficiency in 
the context of the STAR performance program and its successful 
expansion strategy. Overall, in the first six months of 2007, the 
Klöckner & Co Group increased its volume by 2.7% year-on-year to 3.3 
million tons. In the first half-year of 2007, Group sales rose by 
16.7% to EUR3.2 billion, primarily driven by higher prices. In the 
same period, gross profit increased by 5.6% to EUR634.9 million.
In the first half-year of 2007, EBITDA improved by 6.4% to EUR194.6 
million and EBIT by 7.7% to EUR165.7 million compared to the 
respective figures for the previous year. In the Europe segment in 
particular, full advantage was taken of the favorable conditions in 
the reporting period with EBITDA improving from EUR169.0 million in 
the previous year to EUR178.4 million. In the North American segment,
difficult general economic conditions combined with the ongoing 
crisis of the North American automotive industry led to EBITDA 
declining from EUR38.9 million in the first half of 2006 to EUR32.6 
million in the first six months of the current year.
While all operating earning figures improved year-on-year, in some 
cases considerably, income before taxes and consolidated net profits 
were adversely impacted by one-off charges of approximately EUR38 
million for the redemption of the high-yield bond. The financial 
result declined to EUR-62.8 million. This resulted in income before 
taxes being 18.2% lower at EUR102.8 million and consolidated net 
profit sliding 23.4% to EUR69.7 million.
Total assets and debt increased Approximately half of the increase in
total assets from EUR2,551.7 million at the end of 2006 to EUR3,233.7
million at the end of the first half of 2007 is due to acquisitions. 
Additional factors are the good business trend and the increased 
price level. Due to the good business trend and price increases, net 
working capital - the difference between inventories receivables from
customers and trade payables - increased by EUR396.8 million as 
against the end of 2006 to EUR1,531.3 million at June 30, 2007.
In the first half of 2007, the equity ratio declined from 31.3% to 
22.1%, largely the result of buying the minorities position in 
Switzerland, increased total assets and the dividend distribution.
In the first six months of 2007, approximately EUR360 million were 
paid for acquisitions, including increasing the shareholding in Swiss
Debrunner König Holding AG. These expenses and higher net working 
capital resulted in net liabilities increasing to EUR996.1 million as
at 30 June 2007 after EUR364.8 million at the end of 2006.
Expansion strategy continued In the first six months of 2007, the 
Klöckner & Co Group successfully continued its expansion strategy. In
total, eight companies with total sales of approximately EUR500 
million have been acquired in Europe and North America so far in 
2007. In addition, in June 2007, the majority interest in the highly 
profitable Swiss company Debrunner Koenig Holding AG was boosted by 
approximately 18% to roughly 78%. The target of acquire ten to twelve
companies in 2007 has thus almost been achieved already.
In Europe, the distribution company Tournier Holding SAS was acquired
in France at the beginning of the year. In April 2007, the Dutch 
stainless steel distributor Teuling Staal B.V. was acquired. In 
Germany, Klöckner & Co bought up three companies in May 2007: 
Edelstahlservice Verkaufsgesellschaft mbH, headquartered in 
Frankfurt/Main, the steel distribution of Coburg-based Max Carl GmbH 
& Co KG and Zweygart Fachhandelsgruppe GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart. In 
June, the British company Westok Ltd. was acquired. It specializes in
the manufacture and distribution of special steel beams for ceiling, 
roof and bridge constructions.
In North America, a deal was signed in April 2007 for the acquisition
of Primary Steel LLC, including its seven subsidiaries in the US. In 
addition, as a regional supplement, the distribution company Premier 
Steel Inc. headquartered in Louisiana was acquired in May. "For the 
Klöckner & Co Group, the two acquisitions mean expanding sales by 
around 70% in the US and moving up into the Top 10 of the North 
American steel and metal distributors," stated Dr. Thomas Ludwig.
Further optimization of Group finance To support the expansion 
strategy, further important steps were made to optimize Group 
financing in the first six months of 2007. The first improvements 
were made with the placement of a syndicated holding credit facility 
of EUR600 million at the beginning of the second quarter of 2007. 
Furthermore, on the basis of an Annual General Meeting resolution 
adopted in June 2007, a convertible bond of EUR325 million was issued
a Luxembourg subsidiary of Klöckner & Co AG on July 18, 2007. "The 
major advantage of the new financing measures is the greater 
flexibility. As a result, we have gained further scope, especially 
for our expansion strategy," explained Dr. Thomas Ludwig.
Positive share price performance/100% free float The very good 
performance of the Klöckner & Co share in Q1 2007 continued into the 
second quarter. The share price was EUR53.85 at the end of the first 
half-year, an increase of 64% against the end of 2006. Since the end 
of January 2007, Klöckner & Co shares are included in the Deutsche 
Börse MDAX® Index.
Former Klöckner & Co majority shareholder Multi Metal Investment 
S.à.r.l. ("MMI"), a fund company run by investment firm Lindsay 
Goldberg & Bessemer, sold its remaining shares in Klöckner & Co in 
two tranches in the first half of 2007. The free float is thus now 
100%.
Outlook The general economic conditions for metal distribution 
remained good overall in the first half-year of 2007. Utilization 
levels and order books of major customer industries such as the 
construction sector and the machinery and mechanical engineering 
sector remain at a high level, particularly in Europe. For the 
further trend in 2007, there are currently no signs of an end to this
positive development. On the other hand, the forecasts for North 
America are relatively uncertain and less positive. However, it is 
not likely that the economy will slump in 2007.
Klöckner & Co thus expects business to remain robust over the 
remainder of 2007. The implemented financial measures offer scope for
further strategic expansion, something which will be continued 
systematically. Klöckner & Co thus continues to expect that it will 
generate an operating result above the level of the previous year in 
2007.
About Klöckner & Co AG:
Klöckner & Co is the largest independent producer and distributor of 
steel and metal products in the European and North American markets 
combined. The core business of the Klöckner & Co Group is the storage
and distribution of steel and non-ferrous metals. About 200,000 
active customers are supplied through approximately 250 distribution 
locations in 15 countries in Europe and North America. Klöckner & Co 
was founded more than 100 years ago by Peter Klöckner. During the 
financial year 2006, the Company achieved sales of approximately 
EUR5.5 billion with around 10,000 employees. The shares of Klöckner &
Co Aktiengesellschaft are admitted to trading on the official market 
segment (Amtlicher Markt) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange 
(Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse) with simultaneous admission to the 
sub-segment (Prime Standard) to the official market with further 
post-admission obligations. ISIN: DE000KC01000; WKN: KC0100; Common 
Code: 025808576. Since the end of January 2007, Klöckner & Co shares 
are included in the Deutsche Börse MDAX® Index.
Contacts:
Peter Ringsleben, Claudia Uhlendorf - Corporate Communications
Klöckner & Co AG
Am Silberpalais 1
D - 47057 Duisburg
Peter Ringsleben
Phone: +49-203-307-2800
Fax: +49-203-307-5060
E-mail:  peter.ringsleben@kloeckner.de
Claudia Uhlendorf
Phone: +49-203-307-2289
Fax: +49-203-307-5103
E-mail:  claudia.uhlendorf@kloeckner.de
end of announcement                               euro adhoc 15.08.2007 07:40:48

Further inquiry note:

Nadine Hagemus
Telefon: +49(0)203-307-2288
E-Mail: nadine.hagemus@kloeckner.de

Branche: Metal Goods & Engineering
ISIN: DE000KC01000
WKN: KC0100
Index: CDAX, Classic All Share, Prime All Share, MDAX
Börsen: Börse Frankfurt / official dealing/prime standard
Börse Berlin / free trade
Börse Hamburg / free trade
Börse Stuttgart / free trade
Börse Düsseldorf / free trade
Börse München / free trade

Original-Content von: Klöckner & Co SE, übermittelt durch news aktuell

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