Suominen Oyj - Company Announcement

Suominen further strengthens its strategic focus on nonwovens by divesting its wet wipes business

Helsinki, Finland, 2013-06-17 15:30 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Suominen
Corporation  Stock exchange release   17 June 2013 at 16.30 (EEST) 

SUOMINEN FURTHER STRENGTHENS ITS STRATEGIC FOCUS ON NONWOVENS BY DIVESTING ITS
WET WIPES BUSINESS 

Suominen Corporation divests its wet wipes business unit, Codi Wipes, to Value
Enhancement Partners investment company. The deal further strengthens
Suominen's strategic focus on nonwovens and clarifies its corporate structure.
Due to the divestment, Suominen revises its outlook concerning the Group net
sales development in 2013. 

The sale of all Suominen's shares in its subsidiary, Codi International BV, to
Cogitandum BV, a subsidiary of Value Enhancement Partners, has been confirmed
today. Codi International is a leading European wet wipes producer located in
the Netherlands, with net sales of nearly EUR 50 million in 2012. 

The estimated acquisition price is in total EUR 9.2 million. The final
acquisition price will be contingent on the financial performance of Codi
International in 2013 and on other conventional terms and conditions of the
transaction. Due to the divestment, Suominen will recognize, in accordance with
the IFRS 5 standard, a loss of approximately MEUR 16 in the second quarter
result of 2013 of its discontinued operations. Previously, Codi International
has been reported as part of Suominen's Wiping segment. The transaction has
been approved by the local works council. The closing of the transaction is
still dependent on the fulfillment of the conditions precedent by both parties. 

“Divesting Codi Wipes business unit is very well in line with our “In the Lead”
strategy as the deal clarifies both our corporate structure and our position in
wipes value chain, particularly in relation to our nonwovens customers. We can
now concentrate even better on further strengthening our competitiveness in
nonwovens”, Nina Kopola, President and CEO of Suominen Corporation says. 

“Due to our major expansion in nonwovens, the strategic role of an own
converting unit has clearly diminished from 2003, when Codi International was
acquired. For Codi International, this transaction assures an owner with
strategic interest to develop the company further”, Nina Kopola continues. 

“Codi International holds a very strong position in the European wet wipes
industry with a highly automated production that provides some of the highest
quality converting possibilities in Europe. The fragmented market and growth in
upcoming markets presents opportunities to increase the scale of the company
and to diversify its production into more geographies and products, thereby
also potentially being better able to serve its globally operating customers.
We look forward to realizing the growth plans together with management”,
Kenneth Tjon, Managing Partner of Value Enhancement Partners says. 

After the closing of the deal, Suominen will operate two business units,
Nonwovens and Flexibles, which will be reported in two separate reporting
segments. 

Due to the divestment, Suominen revises its outlook concerning the net sales
development for 2013. Suominen expects that the full year 2013 net sales of its
continuing operations will remain at the level of 2012. Previously, Suominen
had stated that its net sales for the full year 2013 would remain at the level
of 2012. 

Suominen's outlook regarding the operating profit remains unchanged. Operating
profit excluding non-recurring items is expected to improve from year 2012. 

In 2012, the net sales of Suominen's continuing operations totaled MEUR 409.6.
The operating profit of the continuing operations excluding non-recurring items
was MEUR 12.9. The group operating profit excluding non-recurring items was
MEUR 13.7 in 2012. 


Suominen Corporation
Nina Kopola, President and CEO


For additional information, please contact
Nina Kopola, President and CEO, tel. +358 (0)10 214 300

Suominen in brief

Suominen supplies its industrial and retail customers with nonwovens, wet wipes
and flexible packaging for use in consumer products worldwide. Suominen is the
global market leader in nonwovens for wipes. The company employs approximately
1,200 people in Europe and in the United States. Suominen's net sales in 2012
amounted to MEUR 454.9 and operating profit excluding non-recurring items was
MEUR 13.7. The Suominen share (SUY1V) is listed in NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Stock
Exchange. Read more at www.suominen.fi. 

Value Enhancement Partners in brief

Value Enhancement Partners (VEP) is a privately owned investment firm founded
in 1999 and based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. VEP focuses on medium sized
industrial companies in the Benelux and adjacent geographies, where it actively
teams up with management in realizing opportunities to accelerate performance
and growth. 


Distribution:
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.
Main media
www.suominen.fi