NCC’s President and CEO comments on the start of the year

Conditions in the Nordic construction market remained weak during the first quarter of 2009. Orders received declined preliminary 39 percent compared with the year-earlier period. The number of sold housing units was preliminarily 564 (546) in the first quarter. This was apparent from President and CEO Olle Ehrlén’s address to the Annual General Meeting, which commenced at 4:30 p.m. today, April 7, at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm.

During his address, Olle Ehrlén gave an account of 2008 and had the following comments to make concerning the current market conditions, which have been exceptionally turbulent since autumn 2008, with a sharp decrease in orders received during the fourth quarter:

- Orders received during the first quarter of 2009 remained weak and were 39 percent lower than in the first quarter of 2008, according to preliminary figures. The trend in orders received means that we will see lower activity in 2010 and we are adapting our operations accordingly.

Olle Ehrlén also commented on sales of housing units during the early part of 2009:

- During the first quarter of 2009, we sold a total of 564 housing units in all markets. This was somewhat better than the relatively low housing sales reported in the year-earlier period, when we sold 546, and also better than in the fourth quarter of 2008. It is primarily in Sweden that the market has recovered somewhat, while conditions in Finland remained weak.

- We are currently starting up virtually no new residential projects but are instead focusing on selling the projects that we have already completed or that are in progress. In our latest campaign in Sweden, we are offering ‘one room on the house.’ The campaign, which was launched in mid-March and will continue for another couple of weeks, has had a favorable impact on sales in Sweden, albeit from a low level. Spring sun and low interest rates are other factors that have a positive impact on sales, while increased unemployment will have an adverse impact.

However, Olle Ehrlén emphasizes that NCC has a broad product portfolio, with an increasing share of infrastructure and civil engineering projects. NCC is also a leader in the Nordic market for aggregates, asphalt and paving, operations that are less sensitive to economic conditions than sales of housing.

The entire address (in Swedish) will be available on NCC’s website, www.ncc.se, after the close of the Meeting. NCC’s interim report for the first quarter of 2009 will be published on May 12.

For further information, please contact:
Ann-Sofie Danielsson, Chief Financial Officer, +46 (0)70-674 07 20.
Annica Gerentz, Senior Vice President Corporate Communications, +46 (0)70-398 42 09.
Johan Bergman, Investor Relations Manager, +46 (0)70-354 80 35.

All of NCC’s press releases are available on www.ncc.se