DFDS

DFDS has appointed Sandeep Shahi as Chief Digital & Information Officer and member of its Executive Management Team. He will join the company on 16 November 2026.

Shahi is currently Chief Information Officer for FedEx in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, India and South Africa. He also leads Global Field IT worldwide. He previously held senior technology roles at DHL Group and SAP.

He succeeds Rune Keldsen, who will leave DFDS at the end of September to become Chief Information Officer at Ørsted.

DFDS shareholders elected Niels Smedegaard and Jan Johan Kühl to the company’s Board of Directors during an Extraordinary General Meeting on 8 September 2026.

Smedegaard was subsequently appointed Chair of the Board, while Kristian V. Mørch continues as Vice Chair.

Claus V. Hemmingsen stepped down from the Board at the EGM, as previously announced.

Following the Board changes, DFDS has moved the publication of its Q3 2026 results from 5 November to 11 November.

DFDS transported 3.5m freight lane metres in July 2026, down 3.2% compared with July 2025.

North Sea volumes were just below last year as growth on Continent–UK routes was offset by lower volumes out of Scandinavia. Mediterranean volumes declined due to a softer overall market and reduced capacity on certain routes, while Channel volumes were also below 2025.

Baltic Sea freight volumes remained stable. Strait of Gibraltar volumes increased, while growth continued on the Egypt route.

Over the last twelve months, freight volumes increased 0.3% to 41.8m lane metres, but decreased 0.5% when adjusted for route changes.

Passenger volumes decreased 1.6% in July to 752,000, mainly due to lower traffic on the Strait of Gibraltar. On a rolling twelve-month basis, passenger numbers were down 15.0%, or 5.1% adjusted for route changes.

DFDS will convene an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) following a request from its largest shareholder, Lauritzen Fonden Holding ApS, to elect two new Board members.

Former DFDS CEO Niels Smedegaard and Polaris Management Managing Partner Jan Johan Kühl will be proposed for election.

The move comes as DFDS embarks on a review of its future strategy. Lauritzen Fonden Holding believes that the development and subsequent execution of the new strategy should also be accompanied by a change of Chair.

Claus V. Hemmingsen will therefore step down from the Board in connection with the EGM. He has served on the DFDS Board since 2012 and as Chair since 2017.

Niels Smedegaard led DFDS as CEO from 2007 to 2019 and currently chairs several companies, including ISS, Falck and Nordic Ferry Infrastructure.

The EGM is expected to take place on 8 September 2026. Following the meeting, the Board is expected to elect a new Chair.

DFDS reported total ferry freight volumes of 3.5 million lane metres in June 2026, an increase of 3.3% compared with June 2025.

Growth was driven by stronger performances in the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Strait of Gibraltar networks. North Sea volumes benefited from higher traffic on most routes and a favourable comparison with June 2025, when a national strike in Sweden impacted volumes. In the Mediterranean, overall freight volumes were lower due to reduced capacity on certain routes, although growth continued on services to Egypt and Tunisia.

Channel volumes were slightly below the level recorded in June 2025.

Over the last twelve months, DFDS transported 41.9 million lane metres of freight, up 0.8% from 41.5 million lane metres in the previous twelve-month period. Adjusted for route changes, freight volumes decreased by 0.4%.

Passenger volumes declined in June. DFDS carried 413,000 passengers, down 8.0% compared with June 2025. The decrease was mainly attributed to fewer departures and lower traffic volumes on the Strait of Gibraltar routes and the Dover Strait.

For the last twelve months, passenger numbers totalled 5.0 million, a decrease of 17.7% compared with 6.1 million in the previous period. Adjusted for route changes, the decline was 5.3%.