DSV, 1161 – INTERIM FINANCIAL REPORT Q3 2025
Company Announcement No. 1161
Fast progression on the integration of Schenker and stable financial performance under challenging market conditions
- In Q3 2025, the integration of Schenker maintained strong momentum, with the first country integrations commencing in August and acceleration of the country integrations during the quarter.
- The DSV Group reported EBIT before special items of DKK 5,434 million in Q3 2025, including a positive contribution of DKK 1,463 million from Schenker. Overall, organic earnings remained stable compared to the previous quarter, despite increasingly challenging market conditions, especially in the sea freight market.
- We are executing on the deleveraging plan with net interest-bearing debt reduced by more than DKK 4 billion since the end of last quarter supported by a strong adjusted free cash flow of DKK 4,276 million and an adjusted cash conversion of 96% in Q3 2025.
- We reiterate the expected synergies in the level of DKK 9 billion by the end of 2028 with an expected financial impact of around DKK 800 million for the full-year 2025, based on the assumption that 30% of the integration will be completed by year end.
- Full-year 2025 guidance for EBIT before special items has been narrowed to the range of DKK 19.5-20.5 billion. Market outlook for the remaining part of the year remains highly uncertain, especially in Air & Sea, due to risks related to trade tariffs and macroeconomics.
Jens H. Lund, Group CEO: “During the third quarter, we have made significant progress on the integration of Schenker, which has accelerated our synergies. This is our largest and most complex integration to date, and at this stage in the process, we are very satisfied with how it is developing. Through this integration, we are continuing to strengthen both our organisation and global network to even better support our customers’ supply chains. Despite tough market conditions and lower volumes in some sectors, our commercial approach is driving increased activity among our largest customers. As short-term volatility persists, we will closely monitor productivity and financial performance, while working to achieve further integration benefits.”
Selected key figures and ratios for the period 1 January – 30 September 2025
Q3 2025 | Q3 2024 | YTD 2025 | YTD 2024 | |
Key figures (DKKm) | ||||
Revenue | 71,983 | 44,095 | 175,646 | 123,592 |
Gross profit | 19,508 | 11,080 | 47,740 | 32,186 |
Operating profit (EBIT) before special items | 5,434 | 4,420 | 14,019 | 12,160 |
Special items, costs | 1,154 | 124 | 1,971 | 124 |
Profit for the period from continuing operations | 2,160 | 2,845 | 7,328 | 7,950 |
Adjusted earnings for the period | 3,730 | 3,001 | 9,662 | 8,254 |
Adjusted free cash flow | 4,276 | 2,524 | 11,423 | 4,196 |
Ratios | ||||
Conversion ratio | 27.9% | 39.9% | 29.4% | 37.8% |
Diluted adjusted earnings per share of DKK 1 for the last 12 months | 53.1 | 53.8 |
Performance in Q3 2025
The challenging market conditions related to trade tariffs and macroeconomic factors became more visible in global trade flows during Q3 2025. Volume developments showed increased volatility during the quarter, with downtrading in certain sectors, especially impacting sea freight. DSV reported EBIT before special items of DKK 5,434 million in Q3 2025 compared to DKK 4,420 million in the same period last year. The growth in EBIT before special items was driven by a positive contribution from the acquisition of Schenker.
The Air & Sea division reported higher EBIT before special items of DKK 3,532 million, compared to DKK 3,260 million in the same period last year. Schenker made a positive contribution, while the organic earnings were impacted by slightly lower gross profit in sea freight compared to the same period last year.
Road reported higher EBIT before special items of DKK 798 million in Q3 2025, compared to DKK 514 million in the same period last year. Schenker contributed positively to earnings, and while European market conditions showed some signs of stabilisation, the organic earnings remained lower compared to the same period last year.
Contract Logistics also reported higher EBIT before special items of DKK 1,098 million in Q3 2025, compared to DKK 636 million in the same period last year. Schenker contributed positively to the earnings growth, while improved organic earnings were driven by commercial initiatives leading to higher utilisation and a continued focus on cost efficiency.
The integration of Schenker has continued the strong momentum with the first countries starting integration in August with an acceleration of country integrations in the following months. Similar to previous transactions, Air & Sea is the fastest to deliver synergies due to the division’s standardised IT setup and asset-light model. For Road and Contract Logistics, the synergies also consist of optimisation of physical infrastructure which takes longer. Commercially, the integration is progressing well with positive dialogue with the customers.
Outlook for 2025
Based on performance in the first nine months of 2025 and the expectations for Q4 2025, our full-year outlook for 2025 is presented below:
- EBIT before special items has been narrowed to the range of DKK 19.5-20.5 billion (previously DKK 19.5-21.5 billion).
- Full-year 2025 financial impact from synergies related to the Schenker integration now expected of around DKK 800 million (previously DKK 500-600 million).
- Amortisation of purchase price allocations below DKK 500 million (unchanged).
- Special items related to transaction and integration costs in the range of DKK 2.5-3.0 billion (previously DKK 2.0-2.5 billion).
- The fast progress of the Schenker integration has led to a temporary increase in the effective tax rate, which is now expected to be around 29% (previously 26-28%).
The current market uncertainties related to trade tariffs, the geopolitical landscape, including the Red Sea situation, and macroeconomic factors, are expected to persist. These factors may continue to impact the global trading environment and activity levels, and unforeseen changes may impact our financial outlook. We will continue to monitor activity levels across the organisation and will adjust capacity and our cost base as necessary. These changes may extend beyond the synergies anticipated from the Schenker transaction.
Synergies and integration costs related to Schenker
We maintain our expectation of reaching annual synergies in the level of DKK 9 billion by the end of 2028, when the integration is expected to be finalised. Due to strong integration progress, we now expect around 30% of the integration to be completed by the end of 2025 (previously 15%), with an expected financial impact on EBIT before special items of around DKK 800 million in 2025 (previously DKK 500-600 million). We now expect around 70% of the integration to be completed by end of 2026 (previously 50%). Total transaction and integration costs are still anticipated at around DKK 11 billion, with most of these costs expected in 2026 and 2027. These costs will be charged to the statement of profit and loss under special items.
Contacts
Investor Relations
Stig Frederiksen, tel. +45 43 20 36 38, stig.frederiksen@dsv.com
Alexander Plenborg, tel. +45 43 20 33 73, alexander.plenborg@dsv.com
Media
Jonatan Rying Larsen, tel. +45 25 41 77 37, press@dsv.com
Yours sincerely,
DSV A/S
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