Klöckner & Co SE: Strong third quarter, forecast for 2008 confirmed

• Preliminary operating earnings in Q3 2008 nearly 60% above the
previous year's level
• Retirement of debt continues

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balance/preliminary results

Duisburg (euro adhoc) - Duisburg, October 15, 2008 - Preliminary
figures for the third quarter of 2008 show that Klöckner & Co stayed
on its strong earnings path despite the continued cooling of the
global economy. Preliminary operating earnings (EBITDA) excluding
one-time effects from disposals of above EUR 150 million exceeded the
prior year total of EUR 93.3 million by about EUR 57 million.

At about EUR 470 million, preliminary EBITDA excluding one-time
effects from disposals for the first nine months of the year was
about EUR 183 million higher than the corresponding year-earlier
figure of EUR 287.9 million. Including extraordinary earnings of
about EUR 265 million from the disposal of non core activities,
EBITDA amounted to EUR 735 million at the end of the third quarter.
Dr. Thomas Ludwig, Chairman of the Management Board of Klöckner & Co
SE, said: "Despite adverse macroeconomic developments in the fourth
quarter of 2008, we continue to forecast an EBITDA of at least EUR
500 million and an EBITDA including extraordinary earnings of at
least EUR 770 million for the full year of 2008."

In addition, the one-time effects enabled Klöckner & Co to reduce its
debt to about EUR 700 million in the third quarter of 2008 from EUR
1.072 million at the end of the first half of the year. Dr. Thomas
Ludwig said: "We will reduce our net financial debt below EUR 600
million by the end of the year and will thus maintain our full range
of options even if the global financial crisis were to become more
severe again. Against this backdrop, the continued reduction of our
debt remains a top priority. Even if this means that we will not meet
our previous goal of acquiring businesses with a total sales volume
of about EUR 570 million this year, it will give us the leeway to
continue the targeted expansion of Klöckner & Co once the global
financial crisis is over."

The consolidated interim financial statements of Klöckner & Co SE for
the third quarter of 2008 will appear on the company´s web site,
www.kloeckner.de , on November 14, 2008.

About Klöckner & Co: Klöckner & Co is the largest
producer-independent 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 210,000 active customers are supplied
through more than 260 distribution locations in 15 countries in
Europe and North America. During the financial year 2007, the Company
achieved sales of approximately EUR6.3 billion with more than 10,000
employees.

The shares of Klöckner & Co SE 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. Klöckner & Co shares are listed in the MDax® Index
of Deutsche Börse.

end of announcement euro adhoc
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ots Originaltext: Klöckner & Co SE
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Further inquiry note:

Contact persons:

Peter Ringsleben, Claudia Uhlendorf - Corporate Communications

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

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