DFDS A/S - Company Announcement
SALE OF ROUTES ON THE IRISH SEA

Stena Line acquires two of the four
DFDS routes on the Irish Sea

Copenhagen, 2 December 2010

DFDS has today sold two routes in the northern part of the Irish Sea to Stena Line. The sale covers the routes Belfast-Birkenhead and Belfast-Heysham, plus two ro-ro vessels (Hibernia Seaways and Scotia Seaways) and two chartered ro-pax vessels. Stena Line will in addition take over operations at the port terminals of Belfast, Birkenhead and Heysham. Turnover on the routes in 2009 was DKK 520m.

Stena Line acquires a company that owns and operates the routes, plus two ships. The overall consideration, on a debt-free basis, is DKK 354m (EUR 47.5m) and will result in an accounting profit in 2010 of approximately DKK 185m.

There are no conditions attached to the completion of the sale.

Responsible solution
"The Irish routes we took over at the purchase of Norfolkline have, in the last two years, lost around a quarter of a billion Danish kroner. The prospect of continuing very difficult market conditions and overcapacity on the Irish Sea means it could be a long time before earnings improve significantly. That is not in harmony with our financial objectives and we have therefore decided to scale down our activity in this region," says Niels Smedegaard, CEO of DFDS.

Background to the sale
Improving profitability on the Irish Sea has been, and remains, an important area of focus in DFDS' integration plan for Norfolkline. Besides the two routes that are now divested, the activities include two routes from Dublin to Birkenhead and Heysham respectively, plus agency and port activities.

The Irish Sea activities have in recent years made substantial losses due to considerable overcapacity on the market. This is a result of a sharp decline in demand since 2008 and lack of adjustment of capacity. Against this background it has not been possible to develop a business plan that in the short term is able to create a satisfactory return through optimisation and more efficient operations on the northern routes. DFDS has therefore chosen a structural solution and divested these routes.

DFDS will continue to analyse the remaining activities
Operation of the routes between Dublin and the UK will continue as before, with two ro-pax ships on the route to Birkenhead and one ro-ro ship on the route to Heysham. Port terminal operations in Dublin and sales agency activities will likewise continue. Terminal services in Birkenhead and Heysham will be provided through Stena Line. The strategic and operational analysis that was initiated when Norfolkline was acquired will continue for the remaining activities. This work is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2011.

Profit expectation for 2010 upgraded by gain from sale
As a result of the above-mentioned gain of DKK 185m, DFDS' profit forecast for 2010 is upgraded accordingly from a pre-tax profit of DKK 250m to a pre-tax profit of DKK 435m.

DFDS