P&O LIBERTE © P&O Ferries

P&O Ferries reported increased losses in 2024

FinanceP&O Ferries latest set of accounts show an overall net loss of GBP 99 million in 2024, up from GBP 91.4 million the year before, as turnover fell by 8.9 per cent. Freight volumes during 2024 declined, as did passenger numbers, with P&O Ferries carrying 1.3 million passengers during the year under review, down slightly on the year before and almost half the 8.4 million who travelled on the company’s vessels in 2018.

Following P&O Ferries controversial sackings of its crew in March 2022, the governments of the UK and France changed the law in 2024 to require ferry operators to pay crewmembers the minimum wage in their territorial waters. These changes are expected to push up P&O Ferries cost further for 2025.

The ferry operator continues to rely on financial support from its parent company, DP World in Dubai. By the end of 2024 P&O Ferries had borrowed GBP 449 million from its parent company, up from GBP 295 million a year earlier. The load is currently not being paid and is accruing interest.

P&O Ferries has been a loss-maker since 2022, when the COVID pandemic severely disrupted travel and trade.

P&O Ferries accounts show DP World has provided a formal letter of support, committing to funding the company's losses for at least another year. The accounts also reveal that P&O Ferries has been registered in Dubai as Dubai Ferries Holdings FZE, although it will continue to operate as normal in the UK.

jan 20 2026