BERTRANGE, Luxembourg, Oct. 5, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Metro International S.A. ("Metro"), the international newspaper group, today announced that the circulation of its national edition in Poland (Cracow, Poznan, Wroclaw and Trojmiasto) will be extended from two days to five days a week. In addition, Metropol will be launched into five new cities (Katowice, Lodz, Bydgoszcz, Lublin and Szczecin) by the beginning of November. Metro is already the largest daily newspaper in capital city Warsaw, and will now become the third largest daily newspaper in Poland with a circulation of over 250,000 daily copies.
The distribution of Metropol will be increased to cover the cities of Katowice, Lodz, Bydgoszcz, Lublin and Szczecin over the coming weeks. The additional copies of Metropol will be distributed by hand to commuters in their cars, in office buildings and on college campuses, which will enable Metropol to cover an urban area with a population of nearly 7 million people and a high proportion of Poland's consumer spending power. The Polish newspaper gross advertising market was estimated to be worth over US$ 380 million in 2003.
Metropol was launched in Warsaw in November 2000 and quickly became the city's most read newspaper. Metropol's distribution on Mondays and Fridays was extended into four additional cities in March 2004, enabling the newspaper to offer national advertising solutions.
Pelle Tornberg, President and CEO, commented: "Metropol will now cover ten cities and reach an even larger number of young, active `metropolitans'. This expansion follows similar successful national developments in other Metro markets and reflects Metro's ability to deliver an attractive audience with a high quality daily news product."
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
Metro is the largest and fastest growing international newspaper in the world. 38 daily Metro editions are published in 54 major cities in 16 countries in 15 languages across Europe, North & South America and Asia. Metro has a unique global reach - attracting a young, active, well-educated audience of more than 14.5 million daily readers and over 32 million weekly readers. Metro has an equal number of male and female readers and 70% are under the age of 45. Metro's advertising sales have grown at a compound annual rate of 47% since the launch of the first edition in 1995.
Metro International S.A. `A' and `B' shares are listed on the Stockholmsborsen `O-List' under the symbols MTROA and MTROB.
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