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Stora Enso's second quarter 2008 operating profit is expected to be about half of the corresponding quarter last year

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STORA ENSO OYJ STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 18 June 2008 at 06.00 GMT                 


Stora Enso's operating profit excluding non-recurring items for the second      
quarter of 2008 is expected to be about half the EUR 223 million achieved in the
same period of 2007. The main reasons for the year-on-year decrease are the     
continued poor performance of the Wood Products business area, higher pulpwood  
costs, impacts from escalating oil prices, negative foreign exchange movements, 
and the effects of maintenance and technical stoppages during the second quarter
of 2008.                                                                        
                                                                                
Earnings in the second quarter of 2008 have been negatively impacted by         
maintenance and technical stoppages, especially at Skutskär Pulp Mill in Sweden 
and Veracel Pulp Mill in Brazil, together totalling about EUR 22 million.       

Stora Enso expects the Group's profitability in the second half of 2008 to be   
negatively affected by the impact of rising fossil fuel prices on energy,       
transportation and chemical costs, which has already become apparent in the     
first half of 2008 compared with the first half of 2007. The forthcoming        
increases in Russian export duties on roundwood are causing continuing          
uncertainty in the Baltic Sea region.                                           

After three quarters of deteriorating performance, combined with the uncertain  
macroeconomic outlook, Stora Enso is reviewing its plans for production         
curtailments in the second half of 2008 as well as permanent capacity           
reductions. Reducing the dependence on purchased natural gas, as evidenced by   
the already announced Langerbrugge and Maxau energy investments, has become even
more critical for the Group.                                                    
                                                                                
Owing to these factors, the estimate of overall annual unit cost inflation in   
2008 has been raised to 4%. The original commitment to compensate for 2.5-3% of 
the unit cost inflation for the full year through internal actions is           
reconfirmed. The Group is further intensifying its efforts to mitigate the      
increases in unit cost inflation.                                               

For further information, please contact:                                        
Hannu Ryöppönen, Deputy CEO and CFO, tel. +358 2046 21450                       
Keith B. Russell, SVP, Investor Relations, tel. +44 7775 788659                 
Ulla Paajanen-Sainio, VP, Investor Relations and Financial Communications, tel. 
+358 2046 21242                                                                 

www.storaenso.com                                                               
www.storaenso.com/investors                                                     

STORA ENSO OYJ                                                                  

p.p.	Anne Asmundi		Leena Bergqvist

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