Veidekke's turnover in the second quarter was NOK 3,320 million, pre-tax profit was NOK 79.5 million and orders-on-hand stood at close on NOK 9.4 billion.

"It is naturally important for us that construction operations in Norway, which are responsible for more than half of our total operations, continue to make positive progress," says President & CEO Terje R. Venold. "But the improvement in housing sales, a more positive development in Sweden and higher asphalt volumes also play a significant part in our overall profit performance," he adds.

Construction operations in Sweden have strengthened their profits compared with the first six months 2003 and once again, it is Vecon in Gothenburg which has achieved satisfactory margins. However, operations in Stockholm also show improvement and, even although Veidekke Skåne posted a slight loss, this area is also showing clear signs of improvement. The order situation in Gothenburg and Stockholm is good and the previously weak situation in Skåne has improved considerably.

"The figures for our operations in Denmark, Hoffmann A/S, were weaker in the second quarter than expected. This was mainly due to the difficult market situation in Jylland and the subsequent cost of reducing capacity," says Mr Venold. "At the end of the first quarter, we also reported the need to write down the book value of two of two major projects in Denmark. But there is reason to underline that Hoffmann's operations in Sjælland, which represent about 70 per cent of the division's total turnover, are progressing satisfactorily, both as regards profits and orders-on-hand", Mr. Venold adds.

Seen as a whole Veidekke's Scandinavian property operations show better profits at the end of the first six months than at the same time last year. The increase in housing sales is now producing results and, with the division's present level of activity on the housing side, this positive trend is expected to continue. Veidekke had a total of 1630 dwellings under construction at the end of June and 1360 of those have already been sold.

In the Industry Division, Kolo Veidekke (asphalt/aggregates) and Veidekke Gjenvinning (recycling) both show an upswing in profits compared with 2003. The market for asphalt/aggregates is still affected by low prices, but a substantial increase in volume has led to better profits than expected. In the case of Veidekke Gjenvinning, higher volumes of industrial waste are responsible for the increase in profits.

Reference is also made to the Board of Directors' report for the second quarter 2004, which is enclosed with this press release.

For further information, please contact:

Terje R. Venold, President and CEO, 

tel. +47 21 05 77 01 / 905 82 323

Arne Giske, Senior Vice President & CFO,

tel. +47 21 05 77 80 / 905 89 526

Jørgen G. Michelet, Director, Finance and Investor Relations,

tel. + 47 21 05 77 22 / 917 43 856

Kai Krüger Henriksen, Senior Vice President, Communication,

tel. +47 21 05 77 04 / 905 19 360