Operating result further improved at Klöckner & Co AG

• Operating result up on previous year
• Expansion strategy successfully continued
• Group financing optimized further
• Positive outlook for the full-year 2007

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Duisburg (euro adhoc) - 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
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ots Originaltext: Klöckner & Co AG
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

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
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