SOK Communications and publications 27 January 2005 1 (4)

Press release, 27 January 2005 Released for immediate publication

The performed well amidst tough competition sales up 11 per cent

The S Group’s retail sales rose to EUR 8,080 million last year, an increase of 11.0 per cent on the previous year. The S Group’s largest retail area, the grocery trade, reported hefty sales growth in of 11.4 per cent – a big increase compared with the trend in Finland’s grocery trade nationwide.

The S Group’s retail sales in Finland rose to EUR 7,929 million last year. Growth amounted to 10.9 per cent, outpacing the average growth in Finland’s retail trade. The cooperative societies’ share of the S Group’s retail sales was EUR 6,653 million, or 83.9 per cent, and SOK Corporation accounted for 16.1 per cent. The cooperative societies’ retail sales increased by 12.9 per cent and SOK Corporation’s in turn by 1.7 per cent on the figures a year earlier.

“The S Group’s good growth figures in 2004 are attributable to several different factors. Apart from the sales increase brought by the merger of HOK and Elanto, the other cooperative societies also turned in good results in their own areas of operations. Furthermore, our success stems in large measure from the growth in sales by SOK’s businesses. What’s more, the number of customer-owners of the S Group’s regional cooperative societies grew by over 100,000 new members for the fourth year in succession. Another important factor is that customer-owners are making an increasing proportion of their purchases at stores and other locations operated by the S Group,” observes Kari Neilimo, SOK’s chief executive.

According to Neilimo, not only the grocery trade, but especially the ABC service station stores and the Sokos department stores have shown positive development. All the business areas developed favourably, and the units in the Baltic countries have also performed well. An extensive and versatile palette of services has been one of the cornerstones of the S Group’s success.

The grocery trade gains market share

The S Group’s grocery sales in Finland increased by 11.4 per cent on the previous year and were EUR 3,963 million, or 50.0 per cent of the entire S Group’s retail sales.

“The growth in the S Group’s grocery trade outpaced the nationwide average many times over,” observes CEO Kari Neilimo. He estimates that the market share of the S Group’s SOK Communications and publications 27 January 2005 2 (4)

grocery trade now exceeds 33.5 per cent. The corresponding figure a year ago was 31.1 per cent.

Grocery sales in the Baltic countries amounted to about EUR 53 million, up 15.7 per cent on the previous year.

Bonus sales hit nearly 60 per cent

Bonus sales by the S Group’s companies totalled EUR 4,729 million, up 16 per cent. Of the S Group’s aggregate sales, bonus sales to customer-owners accounted for 59.6 per cent, representing growth of 2.4 percentage points on the previous year.

Customer-owners were paid EUR 167 million in Bonuses, an increase of 27 per cent on the figure a year earlier.

The number of customer-owners grew by more than 282,000 new members during the year, reaching a total membership of 1,468,572 at the end of the year.

During 2004 the S Group’s nationwide bonus system partners have been the Asko home furnishing stores, the Silmäasema opticians, Tapiola Insurance Company, Elisa, a mobile operator, and Matka-Vekka, a travel operator. Purchases by customer-owners from partners granting a Bonus increased by 29 per cent and reached EUR 715 million.

The S Group’s retail sales by business area

1 Oct. – 31 Dec. 2004 1 Jan. – 31 Dec. 2004 EUR million Change % EUR million Change %

Grocery trade 1 251 13.7 4 660 12.2

Service station stores 158 29.6 594 19.2

Department stores and 114 9.9 346 15.8 speciality goods

Hotel and restaurant business 159 9.8 601 11.2

Car trade 160 -1.7 719 4.2

Agricultural and hardware trade 244 6.4 997 3.8

Finland, total 2 089 12.0 7 929 10.9

Baltic operations 38 6.6 151 19.1

S Group, total 2 127 11.9 8 080 11.0

SOK Communications and publications 27 January 2005 3 (4)

The S Group’s commercial chains

The S markets are still both the S Group’s and the country’s largest chain of grocery markets. At the end of the year, the chain comprised 369 locations, an increase of 22 locations. The chain’s aggregate sales amounted to EUR 2,283 million, an increase of 10.7 per cent.

The Prisma hypermarkets reported continued strong growth in sales, which rose to EUR 1,896 million, up 12.0 per cent. There were 46 Prismas at the end of the year, an increase of five locations. In addition, four Prismas are operating in .

The Sale and Alepa chains had aggregate sales of EUR 464 million, a rise of 21.6 per cent. The number of locations increased by 37 and totalled 242 at the end of the year.

The S Group operated 62 ABC service station stores and 168 ABC unmanned petrol stations at the end of the year. All in all, there were 280 fuel distribution sites, or 27 more than in the previous year. The chain had sales of EUR 594 million, an increase of 19.2 per cent. Counting the unmanned stations at the market locations, the chain had aggregate sales of EUR 796 million.

There were 20 Sokos department stores towards the end of the year, an increase of one location. The chain had sales of EUR 299 million, up 14.1 per cent.

At the end of the year, the chain comprised 36 hotels in Finland as well as the Sokos Hotel Viru in Tallinn. The Radisson SAS chain included 6 hotels. In addition, the S Group had six smaller hotels. Sales by the hotel and restaurant chains amounted to EUR 601 million, an increase on the previous year of 11.2 per cent. Thirty-eight new locations were added to the chain. The S Group operated a total of 479 restaurants and cafes, which generated aggregate sales of EUR 677 million.

The S Group had 45 car showrooms – two more than a year ago – at the end of the year. They generated sales of EUR 719 million, an increase of 4.2 per cent. In addition, SOK operated units in the motor trade in and Latvia.

The S Group had 154 agricultural and hardware locations at the end of the year, of which 132 were Agrimarkets, 8 were machine centres and the other 14 were agricultural and hardware stores. These units had sales, including the grain trade, of EUR 997 million. Sales by the agricultural and hardware locations increased by 3.8 per cent on the previous year. In addition, Hankkija Agriculture Ltd’s subsidiary Agribalt Oy operated in the agricultural trade in Estonia and Latvia. The agricultural businesses in the Baltic countries – AS Agribalt and SIA Agribalt – were sold to AS Mecro of Estonia at the end of the year.

SOK Communications and publications 27 January 2005 4 (4)

The S Group had 1371 locations in Finland at year-end, or 119 locations more than a year ago. In addition, there were 11 locations in the Baltic countries.

For additional information, contact: CEO Kari Neilimo, tel. +358 (0)9 188 2100 Jukka Salminen, Director of the Administrative Division, tel. +358 (0)9 188 2119, +358 (0)50 63 827

SOK Corporation’s financial statement press release and advance information on the S Group’s result will be published on 17 February 2005.