SSAB’s earnings for the first quarter, SEK 1,792 million

SSAB’s earnings for the first quarter of 2005 are provisionally estimated at SEK 1,792 million, which represents an increase of SEK 1,112 million over last year for comparable units. - Since the General Meeting is to vote upon the Board of Directors’ proposal regarding redemption of shares, and we have seen that the market’s expectations are significantly lower than what we will be reporting, we believe that it is appropriate, already now, to publish provisional results for the first quarter, says the CEO, Anders Ullberg. As planned, the interim report will be published in connection with the General Meeting on 22 April.