Battle · 4 companies
Ferry operators
Riding the waves, or taking on water?
Stena Line leads on 4 of the five measures that matter most: turnover, pre-tax profit, profit margin, growth and net assets. Stena Line is the biggest by turnover at £591m, against £90m at P&O Ferries. Stena Line keeps the most of every £100 it takes, £6.33 as pre-tax profit.
The year ends are up to 12 months apart, so this compares each company's most recent filing rather than the same twelve months. Condor Ferries files group accounts that include subsidiaries; P&O Ferries, DFDS and Stena Line file for a single company, which flatters the group on size.
Accounts compared: P&O Ferries to Dec 2024 · DFDS to Dec 2025 · Stena Line to Dec 2025 · Condor Ferries to Mar 2025
The Numbers
| # | Company | Turnover | Change | Pre-tax profit | Margin | Employees | Pay per head | Turnover per head | Net assets | Bank and cash | Accounts to | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stena LineStena Line Limited | £591m | -2.0% | £37m | 6.3% | 2,244 | £46,000 | £263,000 | £135m | £27m | Dec 2025 | Single company |
| 2 | P&O FerriesP&O Ferries Limited | £90m | -21.5% | £0.7m | 0.8% | 636 | £59,000 | £141,000 | -£64m | £1.9m | Dec 2024 | Single company |
| 3 | DFDSDFDS Seaways PLC | £78m | +5.3% | £1.2m | 1.5% | 559 | £43,000 | £139,000 | £5m | n/d | Dec 2025 | Single company |
| 4 | Condor FerriesCondor UK Holdings Limited | £15m | -1.6% | -£1.3m | -8.9% | 172 | £40,000 | £88,000 | £2m | £0.5m | Mar 2025 | Group |
Ranked by turnover. Click any column to sort. The leader on each measure is highlighted. Movements are against each company's own prior year. Pre-tax profit is filed except where marked (est.).
Category winners
Biggest by turnover
Stena Line
£591m
Most pre-tax profit
Stena Line
£37m
Highest profit margin
Stena Line
6.3%
Fastest-growing turnover
DFDS
+5.3%
Biggest employer
Stena Line
2,244 staff
Highest pay per head
P&O Ferries
£59,000
Most turnover per head
Stena Line
£263,000
Largest net assets
Stena Line
£135m
Most cash
Stena Line
£27m
The Takeaway
- Stena Line converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £6.33 reaches pre-tax profit, against a loss of £8.90 at Condor Ferries.
- Stena Line is the largest on the top line, £591m of turnover, 6.6x P&O Ferries's £90m.
- DFDS is growing fastest, turnover +5.3% on its own prior year. P&O Ferries, Stena Line and Condor Ferries went backwards.
- Stena Line is the biggest employer with 2,244 people; P&O Ferries pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £59,000.
- Stena Line has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £135m.
Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?
Stena Line keeps the most: £6.33 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. Condor Ferries does worst, losing £8.90.
Financing bites hardest at DFDS: £5.14 of every £100 goes on interest.
Every profit figure here is the one the company filed.
The chart splits each company's turnover into £100: what goes on people, on interest and on everything else, and what is left as profit.
Out of every £100 of turnover
Each column is £100 of that company's own turnover, so companies of any size compare on one scale; the figures are pounds out of each £100, not millions. Companies run from the best margin to the worst. Payroll is staff costs, financing is interest paid, other running costs are everything else, and profit is pre-tax profit, filed or estimated as marked in the table. A loss is not an extra cost: it is the part of the costs that runs past the £100 line, marked with a red bracket. Hover over any segment for its figure.
Who is the biggest, and does the comparison hold?
By turnover the order is Stena Line (£591m), P&O Ferries (£90m), DFDS (£78m), Condor Ferries (£15m).
By headcount, Stena Line leads with 2,244 employees.
The comparison holds with the dates stated plainly: P&O Ferries to Dec 2024, DFDS to Dec 2025, Stena Line to Dec 2025, Condor Ferries to Mar 2025. The bases differ: group accounts include the businesses a company owns, single-company accounts do not.
Turnover on the latest filing
Who is growing fastest?
DFDS grew fastest, turnover +5.3% on its own prior year, ahead of Condor Ferries (-1.6%), Stena Line (-2.0%), P&O Ferries (-21.5%).
Turnover change on each company's own prior year
Who employs the most, who pays the most, and who brings in the most per head?
Stena Line employs the most, 2,244 people, against 636 at P&O Ferries.
P&O Ferries has the highest average staff cost, about £59,000 a head; Condor Ferries the lowest, about £40,000.
Stena Line brings in the most turnover per employee, about £263,000, against £88,000 at Condor Ferries. It says as much about the business model as the workforce: a marketplace or a wholesaler needs far fewer people per pound than a restaurant or a gym.
P&O Ferries
636
employees, about £59,000 pay a head, £141,000 turnover a head, -8.5% on the year
DFDS
559
employees, about £43,000 pay a head, £139,000 turnover a head, -1.1% on the year
Stena Line
2,244
employees, about £46,000 pay a head, £263,000 turnover a head, +3.6% on the year
Condor Ferries
172
employees, about £40,000 pay a head, £88,000 turnover a head, -3.4% on the year
Who owns each one?
Ownership as recorded on the Companies House register of people with significant control, in the bands the register uses.
Held by P&O Ferries Division Holdings Ltd
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 1 outstanding charge on the register.
Who owns P&O Ferries →
DFDS Seaways PLC · 01554521Held by Dfds A/S
An individual recorded as a person with significant control.
Who owns DFDS →
Stena Line Limited · 01402237Held by Stena Line (Uk) Ltd
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 17 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Stena Line →
Condor UK Holdings Limited · 04421657No controller recorded
The register shows no person with significant control.
Who owns Condor Ferries →
What does the full ledger show?
| Measure | P&O Ferries | DFDS | Stena Line | Condor Ferries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered name | P&O FERRIES LIMITED | DFDS SEAWAYS PLC | STENA LINE LIMITED | CONDOR UK HOLDINGS LIMITED |
| Company number | 00237626 | 01554521 | 01402237 | 04421657 |
| Incorporated | 1929 | 1981 | 1978 | 2002 |
| Accounts filed | 4 January 2026 | 11 July 2026 | 1 May 2026 | 4 June 2026 |
| Turnover, prior year | £114m | £74m | £603m | £15m |
| Pre-tax profit, prior year | £2m | -£3m | £42m | -£0.3m |
| Staff costs | £37m | £24m | £103m | £7m |
| Payroll share of turnover | 41.7% | 30.7% | 17.4% | 45.2% |
| Employees, prior year | 695 | 565 | 2,167 | 178 |
| Dividends paid | n/d | n/d | £15m | n/d |
| Charges outstanding | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
A figure the filing does not disclose is shown as n/d; a zero in a filing is treated as not disclosed. Rounding: below £0.1m in thousands, £0.1m to £2m to one decimal place, above that to the nearest million.
Ferry operators: common questions
Who is the biggest of P&O Ferries, DFDS, Stena Line or Condor Ferries?
Stena Line, with turnover of £591m in the year to December 2025.
Which makes the most profit?
Stena Line: £37m pre-tax in the year to December 2025.
Which employs the most people?
Stena Line, with 2,244 employees in its latest accounts.
P&O Ferries or DFDS: which is bigger?
P&O Ferries, with turnover of £90m against £78m at DFDS on their latest filings. On margin, DFDS keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
P&O Ferries or Stena Line: which is bigger?
Stena Line, with turnover of £591m against £90m at P&O Ferries on their latest filings. On margin, Stena Line keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
P&O Ferries or Condor Ferries: which is bigger?
P&O Ferries, with turnover of £90m against £15m at Condor Ferries on their latest filings. On margin, P&O Ferries keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
DFDS or Stena Line: which is bigger?
Stena Line, with turnover of £591m against £78m at DFDS on their latest filings. On margin, Stena Line keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
DFDS or Condor Ferries: which is bigger?
DFDS, with turnover of £78m against £15m at Condor Ferries on their latest filings. On margin, DFDS keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Stena Line or Condor Ferries: which is bigger?
Stena Line, with turnover of £591m against £15m at Condor Ferries on their latest filings. On margin, Stena Line keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Where do these figures come from?
Each company's latest accounts filed at Companies House. Each links to its full Spark Intel profile, which names the filing it comes from.
Related
UK holiday airlines
Flying high, or stuck in a holding pattern?
easyJet · Jet2 · TUI
3 companies compared →
TRAVELUK airports
Cleared for take-off, or grounded?
Heathrow · Gatwick · Manchester Airports Group · Edinburgh Airport · Birmingham Airport · Bristol Airport · Luton Airport
7 companies compared →
TRAVELTrain operators
On track or hitting the buffers: the railway ranking
Avanti West Coast · LNER · GWR · Southeastern · Northern
5 companies compared →
TRAVELOnline travel
Dream destination, or lost in transit?
On the Beach · Hostelworld · Jet2 · easyJet
4 companies compared →