5th March 2007


President BlueScope Steel Asia, Ms Kathryn Fagg, and BlueScope Steel Director, Mr Tan Yam Pin, at the ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the new BlueScope Steel Asia headquarters in Singapore

International flat steel solutions company, BlueScope Steel Limited, today kicked off celebrations of its 42nd anniversary in Singapore with the official opening of its Asian regional headquarters at Raffles Place. This event follows the Company’s recent release of its strong financial performance for the first six months ending 31 December 2006.

BlueScope Steel Managing Director & CEO, Mr Kirby Adams, said: "The results for the first half of this financial year are very positive with all of our business segments operating profitably. A record half-year in total revenue was achieved with an increase of 16% or $636 million, reaching $4.5 billion. NPAT rose by 24% over the corresponding period last year to $388 million. With earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) up 41% year on year to $635 million and earnings per share reaching 54.7 cents, the first six months of this year exceeded the total annual NPAT result for last year.

"In Asia, top line revenue growth was an impressive 46% as we move from construction phase into production phase and ramp up the operations of our new facilities in China, Vietnam and Thailand. We expect to be in full production by 2009 at these locations.”

The decision to relocate the Asian headquarters from Sydney, Australia to Singapore supports BlueScope Steel’s strategy of growing the proportion of its revenue and earnings generated from downstream value-added steel products, in particular by capitalising on high growth markets in Asia.

Singapore is a very attractive location for BlueScope Steel’s Asian headquarters because of its central location in Asia with proximity to the Company’s markets and operations, excellent infrastructure, progressive government, large base of high skilled human resources and English-speaking population.

BlueScope Steel opened its first rollforming operations, BlueScope Lysaght Singapore, at Benoi Sector in Jurong on 5 March 1965 - the year of Singapore’s independence. BlueScope Lysaght Singapore has been a key player in Singapore’s building and construction industry and has helped shaped its urban landscape since the early days of nation building.

This new headquarters, located at the Singapore Land Tower. is headed by President BlueScope Steel Asia, Ms Kathryn Fagg. It will provide functional support in finance, procurement, supply chain management, strategic marketing, business development, human resources and legal to the Company’s businesses in the region.

Outstanding Safety Performance

Apart from its outstanding financial performance for the first half of FY2006/07, BlueScope Steel’s safety performance for the same period has also been outstanding. A Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) of 0.4 injuries per million hours worked was recorded – an exceptional performance when compared with the International Iron and Steel lnstitute’s global industry average of approximately 10.0.

All three of BlueScope Steel’s operations in Singapore recorded outstanding safety performance - eight years LTI-free (BlueScope Lysaght Singapore), nine years LTI-free (Singapore Service Centre) and 17 years LTI-free (International Markets Southeast Asia office). These locations also recorded zero MTIFR (Medical Injury Free) for 12 months running.

In 2006, BlueScope Lysaght Singapore was awarded a Singapore Ministry of Manpower’s Workplace Safety and Health Award for its outstanding achievements in safety solutions.