BERTRANGE, Luxembourg, April 23, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Metro International S.A. ("Metro") (Nasdaq:MTROa) (Nasdaq:MTROb), today announced its financial results for the first quarter and three months ended March 31, 2003.
-- Net sales up 53% year on year to US$ 43.6 million and internationalsales up 80% to US$ 30.7 million
-- Group operating losses reduced year on year by 46% to US$ 10.4 million, representing the lowest group operating loss since the listing of the group's shares in August 2000
-- EBITA operating profit of US$ 0.1 million for all operations excluding headquarters in March
-- 6 out of 24 editions report operating profits in the quarter and afurther five editions report monthly profits
-- Holland and Toronto operations profitable in first quarter for first time and Helsinki reports first monthly operating profit
-- 55% reduction in headquarter costs to US$ 2.1 million
Pelle Tornberg, President and CEO of Metro International, commented: "Metro recorded its first monthly profit for all editions excluding headquarters in March and the Group operating loss for the seasonally weaker first quarter is the lowest quarterly loss since Metro became a publicly listed company. This clearly demonstrates the strong momentum in the operations.
"We have also more than halved our headquarter costs by further reducing headcount, centralizing and downsizing administration and group functions and the cessation of the international expansion programme."
For further information, please visit www.metro.lu, email info@metro.lu or contact: Pelle Tornberg, President & CEO tel: +44 (0) 20 7016 1300 Matthew Hooper, Investor & Press Relations tel: +44 (0) 20 7321 5010
This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net
The following files are available for download:
http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/04/23/20030423BIT01350/wkr0001.doc
The full report: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/04/23/20030423BIT01350/wkr0002.pdf