Freight boosts DFDS’s profits 89% in 2006

Freight boosts DFDSÆs profits 89% in 2006 Danish short-sea and ferries operator DFDS said that increased freight activity helped it record a profit of DKK364 million ($64 million) in 2006, up 88.6 percent compared to DKK193 million in the prior year.
   DFDS's activities are organized in two divisions: DFDS Tor Line, which operates freight shipping and combined freight and passenger shipping using ro-pax tonnage; and DFDS Seaways, which operates passenger shipping on overnight routes by deploying cruise-ferry tonnage, that also carries freight.
   Operating profit at DFDS Tor Line rose 63.8 percent to DKK588 million ($103.4 million) while revenue improved 27.5 percent to DKK5.7 billion ($1 billion). DFDS Tor Line’s operating profit included profits from sales of ships, properties and terminals totaling DKK26 million ($4.6 million).
   DFDS Seaways’ operating profit for the year declined 48.3 percent to DKK61 million ($10.7 million) with revenue flat at DKK1.8 billion ($323 million).
   “The improved performance can be attributed to DFDS Tor Line’s freight activities, where the market growth exceeded expectations, which increased capacity utilization and thereby earnings,” DFDS said in a statement.
   Looking ahead to 2007’s result, DFDS expects a pre-tax profit of DKK425 million ($74.7 million) on revenue growth of 8 percent to 10 percent.
   The company said its acquisition of Rotterdam/Ireland lift-on/lift-off container operator Norfolkline Containers (now rebranded as DFDS Container Line) from A.P. Moller-Maersk in late 2006 is expected to account for about 80 percent of the anticipated sales growth in 2007.