Ramirent, the Helsinki, Finland-based rental giant with operations in a dozen countries, posted a 17-percent decrease in second-quarter profits as demand softened in the Baltic countries, the company said last week. Net income declined to €21.7 million (about U.S. $32.3 million), compared to €26.2 million in the second quarter of 2007.

Total volume for Ramirez was €180.8 million (about U.S. $269.4 million), an 18.9-percent year-over-year increase compared with €152 million in the year-ago quarter.

“Overall, the market sentiment weakened during the second quarter and the economic downturn had a negative impact on the investments and construction activities in many of our countries,” said Kari Kallio, Ramirent CEO. “In the Nordic countries, our business operations in Finland and Sweden continued on a good level, while in Norway our operations weakened due to the slowdown in the construction market.

“In Europe East, strong growth continued in Russia, Ukraine and Lithuania, while our business volumes and operating profits decreased in Estonia and Latvia compared to last year. In Europe Central, growth was strong in Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia, while in Hungary our operations stayed on a low level due to the weak market.”

Kallio said he expects rental market growth to be slow for the remainder of 2008. “We aim to take advantage of our wide geographical presence and will reinforce the process of re-allocating fleet capacity to countries facing favorable market conditions.”