Aspo - Company Announcement

ASPO'S ESL SHIPPING SELLS M/S KONTULA FOR A EUR 3 MILLION PROFIT

ASPO Plc                STOCK EXCHANGE BULLETIN       May 28, 2009
at 15:45

ESL Shipping Ltd, part of Aspo Group, has sold its oldest ship - Ms
Kontula 29 years - for a price of USD 4.0 million. The transaction
was concluded today, May 28, 2009. An estimated profit of about EUR
3.0 million for the sales will be recognized in the result for the
second quarter, and the impact on the entire fiscal year 2009 is
positive. The divestment of Kontula, built in 1980, is part of the
ship fleet renewal according to ESL Shipping's strategy."The new vessel ordered from India will be completed at the end of
the year. Kontula's use would have required substantial repair
investments. This is why we decided to give up the ship already at
this stage, although our transport capacity will temporarily be
decreased. We feel that the price obtained for the ship is very good
given the existing market situation," says Aki Ojanen, CEO of Aspo.

All ships in the ESL Shipping fleet sail under the Finnish flag.
After the transaction, the fleet will include 16 ships.

ESL Shipping is a dry bulk sea transport company operating in the
Baltic Sea area. Its main clients include the energy, steel and
chemical industries. In 2008, the steel industry accounted for 64
percent of the cargo volumes transported, whereas the energy industry
accounted for 28 percent and other industries for 8 percent.

ASPO Plc

Aki Ojanen
CEO

For more information, please contact
Aki Ojanen, CEO, Aspo Plc, tel. +358 9 7595 363, +358 400 106 592

Markus Karjalainen, CEO, ESL Shipping Ltd, +358 400 888 020
markus.karjalainen@eslshipping.fi

www.aspo.com

Distribution:
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki
Key Media
www.aspo.com

Aspo is a conglomerate that owns and develops businesses in the
Baltic Sea region focusing on demanding B-to-B customers. The aim of
our strong corporate brands - ESL Shipping, Leipurin, Telko and
Kaukomarkkinat - is to be the market leaders in their sectors. They
are responsible for their own operations, customer relationships and
the development of these. Together they generate Aspo's goodwill.
Aspo's Group structure and business operations are developed
persistently without any predefined schedules.