Itella Oyj - Company Announcement

Itella to renew its logistics services in Scandinavia

ITELLA CORPORATION, STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE, OCTOBER 21, 2014 AT 15:00

Itella will renew its logistics services in Scandinavia. In the future, Itella
will concentrate on road transport between its countries of operation. In this
field, Itella already has a firm foothold and the possibility to increase its
market share. Itella's aim is also to develop its offering in road transport in
selected market areas in Europe. 

As part of the renewal, Itella plans to give up air and sea freight as well as
its service warehouses in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Additionally, according
to the plans, the internal distribution logistics in the countries is to be
outsourced. 

The renewal will also initiate cooperation negotiations concerning a total of
300 persons in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The need for personnel reductions
will be defined in the negotiations concerning the operations, and the
country-specific cooperation negotiations. 

Itella expanded in the Nordic Region in 2005 as part of its
internationalization strategy in logistics. The decline of the economy and
intense competition have, however, weakened the profitability of logistics
operations in the region since the financial crisis began. In accordance with
the new strategy published in 2013, Itella is focusing its operations on
Finland, Russia and the surrounding areas.  Additionally, Itella's market share
of the Scandinavian operations to undergo restructuring has been small. 

- The profitability of operations in Scandinavia has not been at an adequate
level and this is why we need a new strategy. Itella's goal is to ensure the
profitability of its operations in all situations over the short and long term.
The changes that are being planned now are necessary to reach this goal, says
Senior Vice President Jani Jolkkonen. 

The planned renewal does not affect Itella's logistics services in Finland,
Baltics or other countries outside the scope of the changes. 

Due to the restructuring approximately EUR 13 million of non-recurring items
will be recorded in the company's operating result, of which EUR 2 million will
be recorded under the result of the third quarter. It is estimated that the
change as a whole will not have a negative impact on cash flow. 



For further information, please contact:

Tomas Olsson, Head of Itella Logistics Scandinavia and Baltics, tel. +46 733
163 820 
Itella MediaDesk, tel. 020 452 3366 (mon-fri klo 9 am - 4.30 pm)