QUARTERLY RESULT AS EXPECTED IN WEAKENING MARKET
DFDS presents unsurprising quarterly result
Q3 revenue was DKK 3,170m (DKK 3,110m) and operating profit (EBITDA) before special items was DKK 503m (DKK 561m). Results were as expected in Q3, which is the high season of DFDS. The wheels of Europe's economies, and thereby the transport sector, turned somewhat more slowly in Q3. "This was foreseen and included in our profit expectation for the full-year 2012, which therefore remains unchanged. We will, however, most likely pass the finishing line at the low end of the expected interval, as halfway through Q4 we see continued weakening of demand in Northern Europe," says CEO Niels Smedegaard. The weakening of demand is causing overcapacity on several markets and pressure on earnings.
"The return on the invested capital is therefore lower than our goal. We continue to strive to improve our competitiveness by adjusting costs to market con-ditions and strengthening relations with our customers, including an increase in customer focus that involves everybody in the company, says Niels Smedegaard. Net interest-bearing debt has been reduced substantially, and this enables us to pursue interesting opportunities that may arise to expand our activities," adds Niels Smedegaard.