Outokumpu's remaining copper tube assets sold to Cupori Group

STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE
April 28, 2008 at 12.00 pm
 
Outokumpu has today signed a sale and purchase agreement with Cupori
Group Oy whereby Outokumpu will sell its remaining copper tube assets
to Cupori Group Oy, a company owned by the current top management of
Outokumpu's Copper Tube and Brass division. The total consideration
of the sale is some EUR 50 million. Outokumpu will book a capital
loss of some EUR 65 million on the transaction. Subject to usual
conditions, the transaction is scheduled to be closed mid May 2008.
 
The assets sold comprise the copper plumbing installation and
industrial tube manufacturing companies in Pori in Finland, Zaratamo
in Spain, Västerås in Sweden and Liège in Belgium, as well as the
copper tube sales companies in France, Germany and Italy. In 2007,
the businesses in question generated sales of some EUR 510 million
with a net loss of some EUR 5 million. The number of personnel in the
sold companies is some 730. The buyer has informed Outokumpu about
their intention to divide the business into two independently
operating companies under different ownership after the transaction
is completed. As a result of this, Cupori Group Oy will own the sales
company in Italy and production facilities in Finland and Sweden, and
Leaf Business Holdings S.L. will own the sales companies in France
and Germany, as well as the production facilities in Belgium and
Spain.
 
As the business in question has been reported as a discontinued
operation in Outokumpu's accounts, the transaction does not have an
effect on the Group's sales nor operating profit figures. The capital
loss on the transaction will be reported in the line "net profit for
the period from discontinued operations" in the Group's income
statement.
 
The transaction all but completes Outokumpu's exit from the copper
fabrication business, started in 2005, when the majority of Outokumpu
Copper was sold to Nordic Capital. Of that business, two
brass-producing units still remain in Sweden and the Netherlands. It
is Outokumpu's intention to exit from these businesses, as well.
 
Following this transaction, and when the remaining brass assets are
eventually sold, Outokumpu is a genuinely pure play stainless steel
operator, with its vision to be the undisputed number one in
stainless. In 2007, Outokumpu's stainless operations generated sales
of EUR 6.9 billion and an operating profit of EUR 589 million.
 
During the course of the past some 12 months Outokumpu has announced
several major decisions in order to reach its vision. To increase the
share of sales to end-user and project customers and to dampen the
effects of the volatile raw material prices, especially of nickel, on
the profitability of the company, Outokumpu has decided on a number
of investments to broaden the company's product offering to more
specialized stainless steel grades and products containing less or no
nickel. Also the company's service center network is being
considerably strengthened and widened. These initiatives will provide
Outokumpu a more stable and profitable business model going forward.
 
For further information, please contact:
 
Karri Kaitue, Deputy CEO, tel. +358 9 421 5506
Lauri Rautala, SVP - Outokumpu Copper Tube & Brass, tel. +358 400 454
648
Eero Mustala, VP - Project Communications, tel. +358 40 504 5146
 
OUTOKUMPU OYJ
Corporate Management

Ingela Ulfves
Vice President - Investor Relations and Financial Communications
tel. + 358 9 421 2438, mobile +358 40 515 1531, fax +358 9 421 2125
e-mail: ingela.ulfves@outokumpu.com
www.outokumpu.com