METRO LAUNCHES SECOND REAL ESTATE NEWSPAPER IN SWEDEN
METRO LAUNCHES SECOND REAL ESTATE NEWSPAPER IN SWEDEN Metro International S.A. ("Metro"), the international newspaper group, today launched the first edition of the 'Metro Hus & Hem' real estate newspaper in the city of Malmö and its surrounding region. The weekly newspaper is being delivered by mail to 260,000 homes today and will immediately be the region's largest real estate newspaper. Metro has already signed agreements with the major real estate agencies in Malmö. 'Metro Hus & Hem' was launched in Stockholm at the beginning of January 2004. The paper had already overtaken the real estate offerings of the leading paid-for titles after only two weeks by attracting 679,000 readers. The real estate newspaper editions in both Stockholm and Malmö are produced in association with leading monthly magazine 'Hus & Hem', which is published by Ica Förlaget. As in Stockholm, the newspaper will include residential lettings and sales advertisements as well as editorial content from 'Hus & Hem'. "Metro Hus & Hem is a modern, fresh, high quality product that enables us to reach customers looking to buy or sell property in the Malmö area. As a modern agency in one of the fastest growing regions of Sweden, it is clearly the best product for our clients," said Peter Landgren from the Peter Landgren and Co real estate agency. "The Hus & Hem title in Stockholm was an immediate success and continues to receive strong support from the advertising community. Last week's Stockholm edition had 80 pages and is the leading real estate paper in Sweden. Real estate is one of the largest advertising segments and this launch is another example of our strategy to increase our market share by expanding our circulation and publishing new products in existing markets," commented Pelle Törnberg, Metro President and CEO. For further information, please visit www.metro.lu, email info@metro.lu or contact: Pelle Törnberg, President & CEO tel: +44 (0) 20 7016 1300 Matthew Hooper, Investor & Press Relations tel: +44 (0) 20 7321 5010 Metro is the largest international newspaper in the world, publishing daily editions in 16 countries in Europe, North & South America and Asia. Metro attracts more than 13 million daily readers and over 28 million weekly readers. Metro editions therefore reach 30% of the population of over 100 million within Metro's distribution areas. Metro derives its revenues from advertising sales, which have grown at a compound annual rate of 47% since the launch of the first edition in 1995. Metro International S.A. 'A' and 'B' shares are listed on the Stockholmsbörsen 'O-List' under the symbols MTROA and MTROB. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2004/03/12/20040312BIT20050/wkr0006.pdf