CEO, Torben Carlsen, comments:

“In 2024, we partnered with our customers to achieve positive organic growth and customer satisfaction improved further. We continued to standardise and digitise our network to enhance customer service and operating efficiency. We also stepped up our efforts on employee safety and remain on track to reach our green transition targets.

Our network was expanded in 2024 to high-growth regions supported by nearshoring through the acquisitions of FRS Iberia/ Maroc (Strait of Gibraltar ferry routes) and Ekol International Transport (Turkish transport and logistics company).

In addition, we were awarded a 20-year Jersey ferry services concession contract beginning from March 2025. Conversely, we divested the Oslo-route in line with our strategic focus.

From a growth perspective, we made good progress on many fronts in 2024.

“The underlying strength of our network is intact, though we have specific challenges to resolve in 2025 before we again can deliver a satisfactory earnings level,” says Torben Carlsen, CEO.

From a financial perspective, 2024 fell short of our expectations, also due to a significant earnings decrease in Q4 2024. While an EBIT of DKK 1.5bn for the full-year 2024 is unsatisfactory, the underlying strength of our network is intact, though we have specific challenges to resolve in 2025 before we can again deliver a satisfactory earnings level.

2025 will be a transitional year with two paths to lay the foundation for improving financial performance.

The first path is to continue to protect & grow the revenue and profits of our business units. Most of these are set to uphold performance or improve in 2025.

The second path of 2025 is to resolve three specific focus areas: Adapting Mediterranean ferry operations to the changed competitive environment and turning the newly acquired Ekol International Transport around to breakeven by year-end 2025. Furthermore to deliver on the Logistics turnaround projects initiated in 2024.”

Capital distribution
In 2024, a total of DKK 599m was distributed to shareholders. For 2025, the Board of Directors proposes to the annual general meeting that no capital is distributed to shareholders in order to prioritise a deleveraging of the capital structure.

Outlook 2025
The profit outlook for 2025 reflects muted expectations for European economic growth and the specific focus areas mentioned above. The Group’s EBIT is in 2025 expected to be around DKK 1.0bn (2024: DKK 1.5bn). The outlook is further detailed in the annual report.”

Turkish logistics turnaround considered on track

The integration and financial recovery of Ekol International Transport, acquired by DFDS in mid-November 2024, is on track to achieve a breakeven result by the end of 2025. CEO Torben Carlsen notes that while the Turkish company bolsters Türkiye’s role as a manufacturing and trading hub, it requires a major turnaround, including the tough decision to lay off 125 office staff. The turnaround involves organisational restructuring, commercial optimisation, and operational improvements. Ekol now operates as a new unit, Türkiye & Europe South, within DFDS’s Logistics Division, with a streamlined head office in Istanbul and refined transport corridors to boost efficiency and growth. Commercially, efforts focus on enhancing customer value and cross-selling, yielding initial contracts. Operationally, DFDS is rightsizing the equipment fleet—selling 278 trailers and planning further disposals in 2025—while subcontracting haulage and improving intermodal transport stability to cut costs and elevate service.

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