Stora Enso finalises divestment of Summa Mill premises in Finland
STORA ENSO OYJ STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 2 March 2009 at 07.00 GMT
Stora Enso has finalised the divestment of the buildings and most of the Summa Mill site in Finland to the Google Group of Companies as announced on 12 February 2009 for approximately EUR 40 million. The transaction will improve operating profit by approximately EUR 38 million, of which approximately EUR 15 million is a reversal of earlier impairment, and is recorded as a non-recurring item in the first quarter 2009 results. Stora Enso and Google have agreed that part of the mill site will be further transferred to the City of Hamina for one or more public purposes, such as other economic development initiatives, industrial park expansion, and public park or similar recreational areas, as deemed most appropriate by Hamina. Paper production at Summa Mill ended in January 2008 and will not be resumed. “This transaction, as well as the prospect of Google's transforming this former mill into a technology centre, represents an important milestone for Hamina and the rest of Southeastern Finland. Stora Enso hopes that Google's interest in this region encourages other companies to favourably consider its strong attributes and highly capable people. “We are delighted to find this exciting solution for our premises in Summa with a renowned global information technology company. We also hope that the transfer of site by us and Google to the City of Hamina will give still further boost for Summa to build a lucrative future. We are most committed to find constructive solutions for our people and sites affected by the very necessary improvement measures of our company,” says Markus Rauramo, CFO of Stora Enso. For further information, please contact: Markus Rauramo, CFO, tel. +358 2046 21121 Keith B. Russell, SVP, Investor Relations, tel. +44 20 7121 0910 Ulla Paajanen-Sainio, VP, Investor Relations and Financial Communications, tel. +358 2046 21242 www.storaenso.com www.storaenso.com/investors Stora Enso is a global paper, packaging and forest products company producing newsprint and book paper, magazine paper, fine paper, consumer board, industrial packaging and wood products. The Group has 32 000 employees and 85 production facilities in more than 35 countries worldwide, and is a publicly traded company listed in Helsinki and Stockholm. Our annual production capacity is 12.7 million tonnes of paper and board, 1.5 billion square metres of corrugated packaging and 6.9 million cubic metres of sawn wood products, including 3.2 million cubic metres of value-added products. Our sales in 2008 were EUR 11.0 billion. STORA ENSO OYJ p.p. Pia Aaltonen-Forsell Jukka Marttila