Jan Lång¡¯s move was announced this morning, one day after Uponor revealed a large fall in group sales for the first half of 2008. Uponor also announced a cost reduction programme yesterday, in which more than 200 job losses would be implemented.

Responding to a question from PRW.com, Tarmo Anttila, vice president of communications, said Lång¡¯s resignation was ¡°not correlated in any way¡± with the downturn in Uponor¡¯s financial results.

The company said Lång will continue in his current role until late autumn and the board has started a recruitment process for his successor immediately. Lång joined Uponor in June 2003 and started as ceo on 1 August 2003, a period in which the company has transformed itself from a conglomerate to a specialist in pipe systems and housing products.

Uponor said the company-wide cost reduction programme is aiming to make savings of €30m in 2009. Anttila said the programme will improve efficiency through making structural changes. It has not yet been specified which jobs will be made redundant, he said.

Uponor said: ¡°The main reason for the programme is the weak building and construction market, which is going through a cycle of non-satisfactory demand that is expected to continue throughout 2009. The above mentioned savings programme is designed to secure the company's performance in the expected weak market environment.¡±

The programme is preliminarily estimated to cause a one-time cost of about €10m, which will be split between the years 2008 and 2009.

Uponor¡¯s net sales in January-June fell 8.4% to €501.2m from €547.1m in the 2007 first half. Operating profit for continuing operations was €48.3m in the first half of this year, down by 33.3% from €72.4m in the same half of 2007.

But net profit in the first half of 2008 was €19.6m higher at €74.0m, due to a €43.7m sales gain from the divestment of the UK and Irish infrastructure business