Positive trend

Rautakesko announces a sales increase of 19.1 per cent for the recently completed financial year to € 2.580 bn. The company realised a sales increase of 10.7 per cent to € 943.7 mio in Finland. International sales (in Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia), rose by 24.5 per cent over the previous year to € 1.636 bn. Included in this total from July 2007 are the sales of the Belorussian company OMA, a subsidiary of the Lithuanian Senukai organisation, in which Rautakesko has a good 50 per cent stake.