Aspo - Company Announcement

Aspo's ESL Shipping sells m/s Hesperia for EUR 2.4 million profit

ASPO Plc   STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE     June 25, 2012 at 17:35

ESL Shipping Ltd, part of Aspo Group, has sold its oldest ship, m/s Hesperia,
for approx. EUR 3.3 million. The transaction was concluded today, June
25, 2012. A sales gain of approx. EUR 2.4 million will be recorded in the profit
for the second quarter. The sale of m/s Hesperia, built in 1991, is part of the
fleet renewal in ESL Shipping's strategy. ESL Shipping took delivery of two new
1A ice-strengthened Supramax vessels in January and May 2012."The environmental directives to be adopted in 2015 affect our fleet renewal
plans. We decided to give up our oldest vessel, since Hesperia's use in the
Baltic Sea area would have required substantial environmental investments. We
understand the ice-strengthened vessel will operate in the Russian Far East,"
says Aki Ojanen, CEO of Aspo.

All ships of ESL Shipping sail under the Finnish flag. After this transaction,
the company's fleet consists of 17 vessels, 13 of which it owns in full. Two are
time-chartered, one is bareboat chartered and one is partially owned. The total
dead weight capacity of the vessels is approximately 310,000 tons.

ESL Shipping transports dry bulk materials, mainly in the Baltic Sea region; in
2011, approximately 13.3 million tons. The cargo mainly consists of ore, coal
and limestone. The steel industry's share of transports was 60 percent, and the
energy industry represented 30 percent.

ASPO Plc

Aki Ojanen
CEO

For further information, please contact:
Aki Ojanen, CEO Aspo Plc, +358 9 5211, +358 400 106 592, aki.ojanen (a)aspo.com,
www.aspo.com
Markus Karjalainen, President ESL Shipping Ltd, +358 400 888 020
markus.karjalainen (a)eslshipping.com, www.eslshipping.com

Aspo is a conglomerate that owns and develops business operations in the Baltic
Sea region focusing on demanding B-to-B customers. Our strong company brands -
ESL Shipping, Leipurin, Telko and Kaukomarkkinat - aim 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 continually
developed without any predefined schedules.

DISTRIBUTION:
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki
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www.aspo.com




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