BERTRANGE, Luxembourg, Feb. 15, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Metro International S.A. ("Metro") (MTROA, MTROB), today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and twelve months ended 31 December 2004.
TWELVE MONTHS ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2004
-- 48.6% year on year increase in net sales to US$ 302.4 million (US$ 203.6 million)
-- Operating profit for newspaper editions of US$ 13.1 million (loss of US$ 3.9 million)
-- Operating profit for newspaper editions, excluding the new Lisbon and New York editions of US$ 25.9 million (loss of US$3.9 million)
-- Metro Sweden reports the highest annual local currency operating profit since 1999
-- 9 out of 16 country operations (6 out of 15) report annual operating profit for the period
-- Net loss of US$ 11.4 million (US$ 6.9 million -- includes profit on sale of shares in subsidiary of US$ 10.7 million)
-- Weighted average basic loss per share of US$ 0.02 (US$ 0.03)
FOURTH QUARTER ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2004
-- Net sales up 48.1% year on year to US$ 95.4 million (US$ 64.4 million)
-- Operating profit for newspaper editions of US$ 11.1 million (US$ 6.9 million)
-- Operating profit for newspaper editions, excluding the new Lisbon and New York editions of US$ 15.3 million (US$ 6.9 million)
-- Metro France reports an operating profit for the period of US$ 0.8 million
-- 12 out of 16 country operations (10 out of 15) report operating profit for the period (operating profits for the period also reported by the Boston and Philadelphia editions)
-- Net profit of US$ 4.3 million (US$ 15.5 million -- includes profit on sale of shares in subsidiary of US$ 10.7 million) Weighted average basic profit per share of US$ 0.01 (US$ 0.03)
For further information, please visit www.metro.lu, email info@metro.lu or contact:
Pelle Tornberg, President & CEO tel: +44 (0) 20 7016 1300 Henrik Persson, Investor & Press Relations tel: +46 (0) 707 62 00 87
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