Stora Enso sells its Pankakoski Mill to a group of private investors

STORA ENSO OYJ Stock Exchange Release 21 July 2006 at 9.30

Stora Enso sells its Pankakoski Mill to a group of private 
investors

Stora Enso has signed a definitive agreement to sell its 
Pankakoski Mill in Finland to an international group of 
investors led by Dr Dermot Smurfit and including Lansdowne 
Capital Limited. The debt-free sales price is EUR 20 million, 
subject to closing date adjustments, and the Group’s interest-
bearing net liabilities will decrease by the same amount. The 
Group has recorded a capital loss of EUR 11.0 million as a 
provision in its second quarter 2006 results. 

Annual sales of Stora Enso’s Packaging Boards division will 
decrease by approximately EUR 60 million and the working capital 
will be reduced by approximately EUR 12 million following the 
Pankakoski Mill divestment. The divestment, which is expected to 
be completed by the end of July 2006, will have no material 
effect on the Group’s future operating profit.

The divestment is part of Stora Enso’s Asset Performance Review 
(APR), which aims to secure a competitive European production 
base.

“We are pleased to have found a buyer dedicated to continuing 
production and development at Pankakoski Mill. The success of 
the purchaser’s Powerflute mill will certainly help Pankakoski 
further develop its position as a speciality board mill,” says 
Ohto Nuottamo, Senior Vice President, Stora Enso Carton Boards.

Pankakoski Mill was part of Stora Enso’s Packaging Boards 
division. The mill produces speciality paperboards for packaging 
and graphical end uses on two board machines with a total annual 
capacity of around 100 000 tonnes. Pankakoski Mill, at Lieksa in 
Finland, employs about 200 people. 

The buyer, a group of international private investors including 
Lansdowne Capital Limited and Dr Dermot Smurfit, will establish 
a new company to run the operations at the mill. The same group 
of investors owns Powerflute Ltd, which operates a semi-chemical 
fluting mill in Finland. 

Stora Enso Group’s non-recurring items in second quarter 2006

There are two non-recurring items with a net impact of EUR 6.7 
million on operating profit: EUR -11.0 million related to the 
divestment of Pankakoski Mill and EUR 17.7 million due to 
changes in Stora Enso’s Finnish unemployment insurance 
provisions.

For further information, please contact:
Hannu Ryöppönen, CFO, tel. +358 2046 21450
Kari Vainio, EVP, Corporate Communications, tel. 
+44 7799 348 197
Keith B Russell, SVP, Investor Relations, tel. +44 7775 788 659
Ulla Paajanen-Sainio, VP, Investor Relations and Financial 
Communications, tel. +358 40 763 8767
Ohto Nuottamo, SVP, Carton Boards, tel. +358 40 570 1573


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


STORA ENSO OYJ



p.p.	Jussi Siitonen		Jukka Marttila