METRO

Metro International S.A. Financial Results for the Second Quarter Ended 30th June 2008

Luxembourg, 21st July 2008 - Metro International S.A. ("Metro")
(MTROA, MTROB), today announced its financial results for the second
quarter ended 30th June 2008. The Group’s consolidated results have
been prepared according to International Financial Reporting Standards
("IFRS").

HIGHLIGHTS FOR Q2 2008

• Operational sales decreased by 4.1 percent to EUR 77.3 million (2007:
  EUR 80.6 million), excluding closed/divested operations and Bostad. In
  real terms adjusting for the effect of the USD depreciation the sales
  decrease is 2 percent.
• Total net sales decreased by 8.6 percent to EUR 81.5 million (2007: EUR 89.2 million).
• The operating profit was EUR 0.6 million (2007: EUR 3.6 million profit).
• The contribution from subsidiary newspaper operations was an operating profit of
  EUR 5.4 million (2007: EUR 7.2 million profit).
• Metro International recorded a net loss of EUR 1.9 million (2007: net profit EUR 1.0 million).
• Schibsted will acquire 35 percent of the shares in Metro’s Swedish
  subsidiary at a purchase price of SEK 350 million. The transaction is
  subject to regulatory approval and is currently being reviewed by the
  competition authorities. This pending transaction does not affect
  performance in Q2 2008.
• JP/Politiken, the Danish newspaper group,
  acquired 24.5 percent of metroXpress Denmark in exchange for
  transferring the 24 Timer newspaper to the Metro group. 24 Timer’s
  results will be consolidated from Q3 2008 onwards.
• In June, Metro acquired an additional 14 percent in our Mexican joint venture
  operation taking our stake to 49 percent - the maximum allowed foreign
  ownership
• Following the decision to report in Euros (EUR), translation
  differences are restricted to the non-Euro businesses. Year-on-year the
  currency fluctuations increase or decrease the reported revenues as
  follows - US and Hong Kong revenues are reduced by 16 percent.
• The net loss per share for the second quarter 2008 was EUR 0.004 (2007: profit
  EUR 0.002).

FIRST HALF RESULTS

• Operational sales decreased by 3.7 percent to EUR 146.3 million
  excluding closed/divested operations and Bostad (2007: EUR 151.8
  million). In real terms adjusting for the effect of the USD
  depreciation the sales decrease is 1.7 percent.
• Total net sales decreased by 7.4 percent to EUR 154.9 million (2007:
  EUR 167.3 million).
• The operating loss was EUR 4.9 million (2007: EUR 5.2 million loss).
• The contribution from subsidiary newspaper operations was an operating
  profit of EUR 5.0 million (2007: EUR 3.8 million profit).
• Metro International recorded a net loss of EUR 8.3 million (2007: net
  loss EUR 9.8 million).

Per Mikael Jensen, Chief Executive Officer and President of Metro International, said:

"Metro International’s second quarter 2008 has seen much activity
with deals in Sweden, Denmark and Mexico which will contribute to
earnings from Q3 2008. The three deals are in line with the strategy
which was approved by the Board in May and unveiled at the Capital
Markets Day on 3rd June in Amsterdam. Consolidating some of our markets
is an ongoing process.

On a like-for-like basis, excluding divested and closed operations,
Metro’s operational sales declined by 4.1 percent year-on-year. In real
terms, after adjusting for the depreciation of the US dollar, sales
decreased by 2.0 percent. This is a commendable result in difficult
market conditions. As usual, the underlying performance in most of our
markets is quite good but a few operations drag the Group results down.
Those are Spain and the US most importantly and secondly Denmark and
Portugal. All markets except for US, Spain, Denmark and Canada showed a
profit in Q2 2008.

In markets like Sweden, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Latin America and
others, Metro continues to perform very well with profit margins in
double digits.

The advertising market is responding to gloomy economic news around
the world but Metro is answering by emphasising our unique access to
the metropolitan demographic and our price differential against paid
for newspapers. We are also continuing to drive costs down in all of
our countries and at HQ.

The deal with Schibsted was announced on 21st May and it is expected
to deliver exciting opportunities for new advertisement packages for
customers that will drive additional revenues in Sweden. Completion of
the transaction is subject to regulatory approval. Conclusion of the
review by the competition authority is expected in Q4 2008. The
Schibsted deal has no impact on Q2 2008 results.

The deal with JP/Politiken ("JP/Pol") in Denmark was announced on
23rd May and it is expected to deliver synergies across the two titles,
metroXpress and 24 Timer in the Danish market. JP/Pol acquired 24.5
percent of metroXpress and 24 Timer became part of Metro’s growing
stable of group titles. The deal was finally signed in late June so the
first results will be included in the Q3 2008 results.

On 11th July we announced that we had increased our stake in the
Mexican joint venture operation to 49 percent. The Mexican JV has been
performing well and is delivering monthly profits on a regular basis
and has been profitable in H1 2008.

Group EBIT in the second quarter has declined by EUR 3.0 million to
EUR 0.6 million profit year-on-year. The source of the decline is our
controlled operations (-EUR 2.0 million), Joint Ventures (-EUR 0.2
million), Websites (-EUR 0.3 million) and HQ & Other (-EUR 0.2
million).

In our JV operations Brazil and Mexico have moved into profitability
for the quarter and franchise fees have been maintained at last year’s
level.

The launch of the new French website in March has been followed by
the launch of the new Spanish website on 23rd June. Our capital spend
on the global Online project in Q2 2008 was EUR 0.4 million which
brings our capital spend to date to EUR 2.6 million. This development
cost is being recharged to each country as it rolls out the new website.

HQ costs are at the same level as in 2007 but cost-saving measures
have been implemented in July to reduce headcount by 14 percent which
will deliver lower costs in Q3 2008.

Outlook and Risks

Conditions for advertising in Europe and North America are gloomy,
regardless of the category. Markets for advertising in paid-for titles
have been hit badly in some countries - particularly US, UK and
Southern Europe - and less so in other markets in Northern Europe.

In South America, Asia and Russia, the outlook is much brighter.
Spending is expected to grow significantly in the market where Metro is
published, in some areas with double digits. This is partly due to the
better general economic situation, but also due to an increase in media
spending.

With this mixed outlook Metro is obviously most vulnerable in the
US, Canada and Europe. Hence, the defined strategy to grow in Asia,
South America and Russia becomes even more relevant.

Per Mikael Jensen

CEO and President

Metro International

For further information, please visit www.metro.lu , email info@metro.lu or contact:

Per Mikael Jensen, CEO & President

tel: +44 (0) 20 7016 1300

Frank Mooty, CFO

tel: +44 (0) 20 7016 1300

Ingrid Seldén, IR contact

tel: +44 (0)7725 245 881

ABOUT METRO INTERNATIONAL AND METRO

Metro is the largest international newspaper in the world. Metro is
published in over 150 major cities in 21 countries across Europe, North
& South America and Asia. Metro has a unique global reach -
attracting a young, active, well-educated Metropolitan audience of over
20 million daily readers. Metro’s advertising sales have grown at a
compound annual rate of 38% since the launch of the first edition in
1995.

Metro International ‘A’ and ‘B’ shares are listed on the OMX Nordic
Exchange’s Nordic List under the symbols MTRO SBD A and MTRO SBD B.

CONFERENCE CALL

The company will host a conference call today at 10.00 (CET). The
call will also be webcast on Metro’s website at www.metro.lu. To
participate in the conference call, please dial in on the following
numbers:

UK / International:

+44 (0)203043 2436

Sweden:

+46 (0)8 505 598 53

US (free phone):

+1 866 458 40 87

A replay facility will be available shortly after the conclusion of the call at www.metro.lu

The full report with tables can be downloaded from the following link:

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