Copenhagen, 2014-08-21 07:48 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Announcement no. 58
• Revenue growth of 8% driven by organic growth and acquisitions • EBITDA increase of 31% to DKK 403m • Profit before tax and special items up by 143% to DKK 231m • Improved results in North Sea, Channel and Logistics Division • Baltic Sea impacted by conflict between Russia and Ukraine • Increased distribution of DKK 200m to shareholders through new share buy-back • Upgrade of outlook for full-year EBITDA to DKK 1.30–1.45bn (DKK 1.25-1.40bn)
In Q2, DFDS increased revenue by 8% to DKK 3,306m (DKK 3,051m) and operating profit before depreciation (EBITDA) and special items by 31% to DKK 403m (DKK 307m).
The results for DFDS’ North Sea and Channel freight activities continued to grow in Q2. The passenger activities in all areas of the route network benefited from Easter traffic. The result for the logistics services was improved by revenue growth and acquisitions.
“The quarterly result was again somewhat ahead of our expectations, and July, the first month of our Q3 high season, was also slightly above expectations. We expect our North European shipping and logistics services to continue to grow moderately, whereas the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is adversely impacting certain routes in our Baltic Sea network,” says CEO Niels Smedegaard.
“To enhance DFDS’ performance, we are pursuing topline growth through customer focus initiatives and achieved a satisfactory 5% organic growth in our logistics ser-vices. On cost efficiency, we continue to focus on a range of improvement and effi-ciency projects. Given performance in the first half-year we are now more firm on our outlook and have therefore raised the full-year EBITDA range by DKK 50m to between DKK 1.30bn and 1.45bn,” says CEO Niels Smedegaard.
A new share buy-back programme of DKK 200m is planned to be launched after the expected completion of the current programme at the beginning of September 2014. The programme’s purpose is to distribute excess cash funds to shareholders in accord-ance with DFDS’ capital and distribution policy. See also separate announcement on the new share buy-back.
| DFDS Key figures | Q2 2014 | Q2 2013 | Change, % | Change |
| DKK million | ||||
| Revenue | 3,306 | 3,051 | 8 | 255 |
| EBITDA before special items | 403 | 307 | 31 | 96 |
| EBIT before special items | 237 | 123 | 93 | 114 |
| Profit before tax and special items | 231 | 95 | 143 | 136 |
| Special items, net | -14 | -2 | n.a. | -12 |
| Profit before tax | 217 | 93 | 133 | 124 |
Contacts: Niels Smedegaard, CEO +45 33 42 34 00
Torben Carlsen, CFO +45 33 42 32 01
Søren Brøndholt Nielsen, IR +45 33 42 33 59
