DFDS — Earnings Release 2018

May 9, 2018

DFDS A/S: INTERIM REPORT Q1 2018: STRONG Q1 GROWTH

DFDS A/S: INTERIM REPORT Q1 2018: STRONG Q1 GROWTH

Company announcement no. 38

*REVENUE UP 8% TO DKK 3.5BN***
*EBITDA UP 10% TO DKK 453M***
*STRONG LOGISTICS PERFORMANCE IN Q1***

Q1 2018

· Revenue growth of 9%, adjusted

· Passenger volumes up 14% boosted by Easter

· Ferry freight volumes up 3% despite negative impact from Easter and a collision

· Profit before special items and tax up 18%

OUTLOOK 2018

· Revenue growth increased to 4% from 2%, excl. U.N. Ro-Ro

· EBITDA range of DKK 3,000-3,200m, incl. U.N. Ro-Ro

· Investments of DKK 5.2bn, incl. U.N. Ro-Ro

"Both growth and earnings were ahead of expectations in Q1 and our full-year growth expectation is now raised to 4% and to 10% including U.N. Ro-Ro. European growth is robust and continues to support our ferry routes and logistics activities. Our continuous improvement projects are on track and will also contribute to earnings this year," says Niels Smedegaard, CEO.

KEY FIGURES
DKK m	2018	2017		2017-18	2016-17		2017
Before special items	Q1	Q1	CH. %	LTM	LTM	CH. %	FY
Revenue	3,485	3,220	8.2%	14,593	13,922	4.8%	14,328
EBITDA	453	414	9.5%	2,742	2,598	5.6%	2,702
EBIT	216	189	14.3%	1,809	1,652	9.5%	1,782
Profit before tax	204	173	18.1%	1,758	1,616	8.8%	1,727

In Q1, revenue increased 9% adjusted for non-comparable items. Reported revenue was up 8% to DKK 3.5bn.

EBITDA before special items increased 10% to DKK 453m following higher earnings from both ferry routes and logistics activities. The result includes a one-off cost of DKK 15m related to the effects of a freight ferry collision. 

Freight ferry volumes were up 3%, including a negative comparison impact from the early Easter in March this year compared to the late Easter in 2017. On the other hand, passenger volumes increased 14% as they were boosted by the Easter timing difference.

There was a high level of activity for several large logistics contracts in Q1 which increased the results considerably for the Nordic and Continent business units.

Outlook 2018

The outlook includes U.N. Ro-Ro after the expected completion of the transaction in June 2018.

The Group's revenue, excluding U.N. Ro-Ro, is now expected to increase by around 4% in 2018 up from previously 2%. The increase is due to higher actvity for both ferry routes and logistics activities. The Group's revenue, including U.N. Ro-Ro, is expected to increase by around 10% in 2018.

The outlook range for EBITDA before special items was DKK 2,650-2,850m before U.N. Ro-Ro. Including  U.N. Ro-Ro, the outlook range for EBITDA before special items is DKK 3,000-3,200m (2017: DKK 2,702m).

Investments are expected to amount to around DKK 5.2bn, inluding DKK 3.7bn related to the acquisition of U.N. Ro-Ro.

Read the Interim Report 2018 here:

https://www.dfds.com/en-gb/about/investors/reports-and-presentations

Contact:

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

Gert Jakobsen, Communications, +45 33 42 32 97

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5 -12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. 

Attachments:

• UK_Q1_2018_DFDS