Dear shareholder,

2009 was an extremely challenging year for most industry sectors, ours included. The activity level of our most important customer sectors, i.e. construction and general industry, declined significantly throughout the year. As a result, our net sales decreased by 29%. However, our tight cost control and low capital expenditure secured us a strong cash flow, and we reported a positive operating result.

2009 was also a year of tough decisions. The decisions made were necessary to maintain the future competitiveness of our company. We had to reduce our workforce by 870 persons; we streamlined our management structure and introduced cross-border management in the Baltic States, as well as in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. We achieved the targets set for our cost saving programme introduced in late 2008 and early 2009, enabling the Ramirent Group to enter 2010 with a cost structure adapted to the current market situation. We managed to amortize our debt by EUR 100 million, enabling current Ramirent employees to work in a financially sound company capable of capturing opportunities in the recession.

We succeeded in our strategy of staying close to our customers by maintaining our outlet network fairly intact, and maintained our market position. Ramirent continues to be the market leader in the Nordic region as a whole, as well as in most of the Central and Eastern European countries where we are present. Our vision is to be the leading equipment rental solutions company in Europe, and we are well positioned to reach for this goal. In addition to organic growth, our strong financial position enables us to be an active player in the consolidation of the highly fragmented equipment rental industry.

In the long term, the prospects for the equipment rental sector remain favourable. There are several drivers that support the growth of rental equipment business. The penetration rates in our operating markets are relatively low in comparison to mature rental markets. In addition, the outsourcing trend is to continue and may even be reinforced in the current phase of the economic cycle. This was confirmed also by the outsourcing agreements we signed in 2009. We are also present in the emerging construction markets in Eastern Europe, where the construction volume is expected to grow significantly in the long run.  

As I write this, I have to say that the recession is not over yet and we expect market conditions to remain challenging in the rental industry. Although I believe that we probably have seen the worst, 2010 will be another tough year. However, we expect the profit before taxes to improve in 2010. Safeguarding our profitability and cash flow generation in order to amortize debt remain our near-term priorities. Focus remains strongly on right-sizing the fleet and re-allocating it between our markets, as well as keeping investments at a low level. Nevertheless, some strategic investments into equipment will be made and we will actively pursue acquisitions and outsourcing transactions. According to our recently refined strategy, we will also accelerate the work on developing the common Ramirent platform and improving risk management procedures. As seen last year, our operating countries with more diversified customer bases suffered less than other markets and we will continue to extend our business into new customer industries. In case of a further market decline, we have contingency plans in place to be able to adjust operations rapidly.

My goal for Ramirent is to come out of the recession as a relatively stronger Group.  I firmly believe that the companies with the best people and local business close to the customers will be the ones to survive. I would like to thank our personnel for the excellent work they have done in a very demanding environment. I would also like to thank our new and existing shareholders and customers for the confidence they have shown us during this challenging period.

Magnus Rosén, CEO as of 15 January 2009