YIT's Interim Report, January 1 - June 30, 2008: Revenue and operating profit were higher than last year

YIT CORPORATION  CORPORATE PRESS RELEASE   INTERIM REPORT   July 25, 2008 at 8:00 a.m.

In January-June:

- Revenue increased by 8 per cent to EUR 1,918.2 million (1-6/2007: EUR 1,772.8 million).
- Operating profit increased by 7 per cent to EUR 149.1 million (EUR 139.7 million).
- The operating profit margin was 7.8% (7.9%).
- Profit before taxes increased by 5 per cent to EUR 130.8 million (EUR 124.6 million).
- Return on investment was 25.6% (25.7%).
- The order backlog increased by 12 per cent to EUR 3,670.4 million (EUR 3,275.2 million).
- The number of personnel at the end of June was approximately 1,500 higher than a year earlier, i.e. 24,978 (23,474).

In the second quarter:
- Revenue was 6 per cent higher than in the previous year, amounting to EUR 991.2 million (4-6/2007: EUR 939.3 million).
- Profit before taxes was EUR 60.5 million (69.8 million).

We estimate that the revenue and profit before taxes for 2008 will increase compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, uncertainties connected to the general economic development have increased and that may weaken the profit development during the last part of the year.

"YIT's revenue and operating profit during the first half of the year were higher than during the previous year. Strong development continued in Building Systems. The profitability of Industrial Services also improved. Operations in Russia grew in line with our target. During the second quarter, our operating profit decreased due to delays in the large real estate development projects being built in the Gorelovo area in St. Petersburg and the weak market situation in the Baltic countries," says President and CEO Hannu Leinonen.

"Towards the summer, the general market sentiment has become more uncertain. Over one-third of our business comprises more stable service and maintenance operations and over a quarter is made up of projects based on long-term service agreements. Our business structure stabilises the development of the Group's revenue and earnings as does the wide geographical presence. Because the order backlogs of our segments are strong, the achievement of the estimate level of earnings in the second half of the year depends in particular on the residential sales in Russia and the effect of higher interest rates on the Finnish residential market," Leinonen adds.

Information event, webcast and conference call

An event for analysts and portfolio managers will be held in English on Friday, July 25, at the Radisson SAS Royal hotel at the address Runeberginkatu 2, 00100 Helsinki. Analysts and portfolio managers may also participate in the event through a conference call. Participants are asked to call the assigned telephone number +44 (0)20 7162 0025 a minimum of 5 minutes before the conference call begins.

A webcast of the presentation given by President and CEO Hannu Leinonen at the analyst and portfolio manager event can be viewed live at www.yitgroup.com/webcast.

Schedule in different time zones

Time zone	Interim Report will be published at	The investor event, conference call and webcast presentation will start at	Recording of the webcast presentation will be available at
EEST (Helsinki)	8:00 a.m.	10:00 a.m.	12:00 a.m.
CEST (Paris, Stockholm)	7:00 a.m.	9:00 a.m.	11:00 a.m.
BST (London)	6:00 a.m.	8:00 a.m.	10:00 a.m.
US EDT (New York)	1:00 a.m.	3:00 a.m.	5:00 a.m.

The Interim Report for January-September will be published on October 29, 2008. Financial reports and other investor information are available at YIT's website, www.yitgroup.com/investors. A copy of the Interim Report may be ordered via the Internet site, by sending e-mail to InvestorRelations@yit.fi or by telephone on +358 20 433 2467.

YIT CORPORATION
Hannu Leinonen
President and CEO

For further information, please contact:
Sakari Ahdekivi, Chief Financial Officer, +358 20 433 2258, sakari.ahdekivi@yit.fi
Petra Thorén, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations, +358 40 764 5462, petra.thoren@yit.fi

Distribution: OMX Nordic Exchange Helsinki, principal media, www.yitgroup.com