Warning for Stora Enso Oyj for not disclosing profit estimates

Warning for Stora Enso Oyj for not disclosing profit estimates The Disciplinary Committee of the Helsinki Stock Exchange has issued Stora Enso Oyj with a warning for breaching the disclosure requirements applicable to listed companies. The Disciplinary Committee observed that the company had not disclosed a stock exchange release concerning its profitability and operating profit growth estimate, which the companys executive management had presented among others at its Annual General Meeting. The company disclosed its prospects on near-future possible developments in a stock exchange release on February 2, 2006. The development of demand for paper and its price and the situation concerning the employment contract negotiations were among other issues described in the prospect. Mainly positive but also negative future prospects were included in the release. No estimate was presented on the development of profitability in the stock exchange release. After this, the companys executive management presented on several occasions (on February 2, February 23 and March 21, 2006) an estimate that the profitability and net operating profit will grow in 2006 compared to 2005. The company did not release this estimate with a stock exchange release. The Helsinki Stock Exchange requested the company to disclose the estimate on future profitability. The company assessed that it was not necessary to release the estimate on the basis that the presented estimate could be concluded from the previously released information. The Stock Exchange rules require that any estimates of future prospects provided by a listed company and the bases of the estimates must be disclosed. Estimates relating to key performance figures are considered estimates of a companys future prospects. The Disciplinary Committee states that the reporting of a listed company should be coherent and the disclosed information should be simultaneously available to all investors. The Committee also stated that the company did not comment on the development of profitability or business growth in 2006 in their annual account report on February 2, 2006. The companys executive management later presented estimates on these key performance figures, which are central to any investor. In the estimates it was thus given substantially more information than previously was released. The Disciplinary Committee observed that the company should have disclosed these estimates with a stock exchange release making them available to all investors at the same time. The Disciplinary Committee of the Helsinki Stock Exchange observed that this is an essential issue on grounds of principle. The Committee issued Stora Enso Oyj with a warning for breaching the rules of the stock exchange. For more information, please contact: Timo Rintanen, Secretary of the Disciplinary Committee, Helsinki Stock Exchange Telephone +358 9 6166 7640 Janne Seppänen, Head of Surveillance, Helsinki Stock Exchange Telephone +358 9 6166 7382 Market surveillance of the Helsinki Stock Exchange The surveillance unit of Helsinki Stock Exchange investigates all suspected breaches of regulations. Minor breaches will result in a written warning for the company in question, whereas more serious cases are referred to the Disciplinary Committee. The members of the Disciplinary Committee are legal and financial experts independent of the Helsinki Stock Exchange. The Chairman of the Committee is Mr. Mikko Tulokas, Supreme Court Justice, and the members are Professor Risto Nuolimaa, Professor Kalervo Virtanen and Mr. Simo-Pekka Helander, LL.M. The possible sanctions for a breach of regulations include a reprimand, a warning, a disciplinary fine and, in extreme cases, a de-listing proposal. Further information about the Disciplinary Committee and its members, as well as the regulations of the Disciplinary Committee, are available on the Helsinki Stock Exchange website at www.hex.com/en/surveillance. About OMX OMX is a leading expert in the exchange industry. Through the Nordic Exchange in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius, OMX offers access to approximately 80 percent of the Nordic and Baltic securities market. Our integrated technology solutions span the transaction chain enabling efficient securities transactions for exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories around the world. OMX is listed on the Nordic Exchange in Stockholm, Helsinki and Copenhagen. For more information, please visit www.omxgroup.com. PDF

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