5 February 2008
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES,
CANADA, AUSTRALIA OR JAPAN
POWERFLUTE OYJ
COMMENCEMENT OF DEALINGS ON FIRST NORTH LIST
Powerflute Oyj (the "Company" or “Powerflute”), which operates a paper mill in
Finland and manufactures high quality nordic semi-chem fluting, is pleased to
announce that its shares have been admitted to trading on the First North
Finland list of First North Nordic (“First North”). First North is the
alternative marketplace operated by OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm AB within the
OMX group.
The Shares in Powerflute are traded on AIM operated by London Stock Exchange
plc. The Company's secondary listing on First North Nordic is to facilitate
trading in Powerflute Shares for investors in Finland and Sweden. No offer of
Shares or other securities of the Company takes place in connection with the
listing on First North. Dealings in the shares commence today at 10:15 a.m.
(Helsinki time) under the ticker symbol POW1V.
Öhman J:or Fondkommission AB is acting as Certified Adviser to Powerflute in
connection with the trading of the Shares on First North. Collins Stewart Europe
Limited is Nominated Adviser and Broker to the Company for the London AIM
market.
Dermot Smurfit, Chairman of Powerflute said:
“We are delighted that our listing on First North has been completed
successfully. First North is an exciting opportunity to attract liquidity from
Finland and Sweden, where we and the paper industry in general have strong
followings.”
Ends
For additional information please contact:
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| Öhman | +358 (9)8866 6021 |
| Vesa Heikkila | |
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| Collins Stewart | +44 (0)20 7523 8350 |
| Nick Ellis | |
| Philip Roe | |
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| Financial Dynamics | |
| Billy Clegg | +44 (0)20 7269 7157 |
| Georgina Bonham | +44 (0)20 7269 7262 |
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Background Information
About Powerflute
Powerflute is a holding company and, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Savon
Sellu Oy, operates a 300,000 tonne per annum rated capacity paper mill which is
also called “Savon Sellu”. The Mill is located near Kuopio, Finland on the
shores of Lake Kallavesi and manufactures a specialised high quality grade of
semi-chem fluting called nordic semi-chem fluting which is made primarily from
birch wood sourced from Finland and Russia. In accordance with its strategy, the
Company may in the future also acquire and manage complementary companies or
assets related to paper and packaging or other forestry derivatives.
The Group's key customers comprise corrugated board and packaging manufacturers
including International Paper Company and Smurfit Kappa Group. The majority of
the Group's sales are in Western Europe. For the financial period ended 31
December 2006 the Group's turnover was €98.3 million and the profit before tax
was €5.4 million. EBITDA for the financial periods ended 31 December 2005 and
2006 was €3.7 million and €12.4 million respectively. The Company has published
on 10 January 2008 a pre-close trading update according to which the EBITDA for
the financial period ended 31 December 2007 on ordinary activities will grow
approximately 60 per cent above the EBITDA achieved in the financial period
ended 2006.
About First North:
First North is an alternative market place which does not have the status of a
regulated market as defined in EU financial regulation (the Markets in Financial
Instruments Directive 2004/39/EC, “MiFID”). First North is a multilateral
trading facility (“MTF”) under Swedish law operated by OMX Nordic Exchange
Stockholm AB. According to MiFID, a stock exchange or an investment firm can
operate an MTF on which the issuers do not have to comply with all requirements
and obligations of the regulated market. Instead, the issuers on First North are
subject to the obligations set out in the Rules.
First North as an MTF brings together multiple third-party buying and selling
interests in financial instruments providing, thus, an infrastructure for
trading of shares and other instruments. Furthermore, each company admitted to
trading shall engage a Certified Adviser. The Certified Adviser, in turn, has an
agreement with the OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm AB pursuant to which the
Certified Adviser ensures, inter alia, that the company meets the admission
requirements and the continuous disclosure obligations pursuant to the Rules.
Furthermore, the Certified Adviser shall monitor the company's compliance with
the Rules and immediately report to the Exchange if, in its opinion, the company
could be in breach of the Rules.
First North is a platform designed for new, developing companies for which the
entrance to the equity markets has been facilitated by the lesser admission
requirements. The more modest regulation of First North also implies, however,
the higher risks of the investments. Although being one single market, First
North is operated under the licensees of different regional exchanges within the
OMX Corporation. Thus, First North Finland and First North Sweden are operated
by OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm AB, First North Denmark by OMX Nordic Exchange
Copenhagen A/S and First North Iceland by Nordic Exchange Iceland hf. Because
the markets are operated under national jurisdictions, different requirements
may apply based on national laws.
COMMENCEMENT OF DEALINGS ON FIRST NORTH LIST
| Source: Powerflute Oyj