Lemminkäinen holds a Capital Markets Day in Helsinki today: Biggest growth opportunities outside Finland

LEMMINKÄINEN CORPORATION     STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE  3 OCTOBER 2012 AT 9.00 A.M.

Lemminkäinen holds a Capital Markets Day in Helsinki today
BIGGEST GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES OUTSIDE FINLAND

Lemminkäinen arranges a Capital Markets Day for investors and analyst today, 3 October 2012. The programme goes through the realisation of Lemminkäinen's 2009-2013 strategy. The focus is especially on the Nordic infrastructure construction, of which Lemminkäinen seeks growth.

"Lemminkäinen's home market comprises the Baltic Sea region. In 2013-2014, the construction industry is estimated to grow in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Baltic countries and Russia while, in practical terms, zero growth is assumed in Finland next year", says Timo Kohtamäki, Lemminkäinen's President and CEO. "Growth in Finland is slowed down by the bleak outlook in the export industry, general economic uncertainty and the tax proposals in the 2013 budget discussions, which serve to weaken consumers' confidence in their personal finances."

Attainment of strategic goals

According to Mr Kohtamäki, Lemminkäinen's 2009-2013 strategy has progressed as planned. "Our structure is now simpler and more organised. We have divested activities outside our core businesses and unified our corporate structure, operating models and management practices. The outlook for the Nordic infrastructure construction is good, and we have well positioned ourselves for growth in Russia," says Mr Kohtamäki. "Profitability is improving in all segments of our business."

Mr Kohtamäki also notes that the Group's solvency has increased noticeably from the beginning of the strategic period. "We estimate that our equity ratio will exceed our target of 35 per cent at year-end."

In conclusion, Mr Kohtamäki states that Lemminkäinen has built a solid platform for profitable growth in the future.

Efficiency programme and profit guidance

Robert Öhman, Lemminkäinen's Chief Financial Officer, will deliver a more detailed review of the Group's measures to improve its financial position and solvency. "A year ago we initiated an efficiency programme to boost our profitability. Our goal is annual savings of EUR 50 million, starting from 2014. We will achieve savings of some EUR 20 million during 2012," Mr Öhman estimates.

Jouni Pekonen, Lemminkäinen'' Executive Vice President, Procurement, will explain how procurement is aligned with the efficiency programme.

Lemminkäinen will keep its profit guidance for 2012 intact. Lemminkäinen estimates that its 2012 net sales will remain at the same level as in 2011, and that its pre-tax profit will improve on 2011. The estimate is based on good performance during the first half of the year, as well as a stronger order book and improved order book margin from 2011.

Stable outlook for Nordic infrastructure construction

"Lemminkäinen's biggest growth opportunities lie outside Finland. During the strategic period, our international operations have clearly outgrown our Finnish operations, and this growth has been profitable. Our goal is to increase net sales in the Nordic infrastructure construction by EUR 100 million in 2012-13," says Henrik Eklund, Executive Vice President, International Operations. "In Norway, Sweden and Denmark, the governments are implementing long-term transport infrastructure development plans. These three countries are also investing heavily in the development of energy production. For us, these plans create new growth opportunities."

According to Mr Eklund, Lemminkäinen's strengths include strong core competences and a good market position. "We will also seek growth through complementary acquisitions."

The final keynote speech will be delivered by Lars-Eric Aaro, President and CEO of LKAB, a Swedish mining corporation. LKAB is Lemminkäinen's significant client.

Capital Markets Day's presentation material

Capital Markets Day's presentation materials in English are available at www.lemminkainen.com/investors. There will be no webcast available. 

LEMMINKÄINEN CORPORATION
Corporate Communications

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Robert Öhman, CFO
Lemminkäinen Corporation
Tel. +358 40 540 0741
robert.ohman@lemminkainen.com

Katri Sundström, Vice President, Investor Relations
Lemminkäinen Corporation
Tel. +358 400 976 333
katri.sundstrom@lemminkainen.com

DISTRIBUTION:
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki
Key media
www.lemminkainen.com

Lemminkäinen Group operates in all areas of the construction sector. The Group's operations are organised into four business segments: building construction, infrastructure construction, technical building services and international operations. Net sales in 2011 were about EUR 2.3 billion, of which international operations accounted for roughly a third. The Group employs 8,000 people on average. Lemminkäinen Corporation's share is quoted on NASDAQ OMX Nordic Exchange Helsinki. www.lemminkainen.com