Despite the hottest summer in years, Dart Group's (DTG) leisure airline Jet2.com still whisked 4.1 passengers away from its northern heartland during the six months to end-September; that's 13 per cent more than last year. Group profits surged over a third in the period and - while focusing on summer breaks means losses during the seasonally quieter second half are likely to swell - bosses are "cautiously optimistic" about the full-year outcome.
Canaccord Genuity is, too. The broker forecasts full-year adjusted pre-tax profit of £41.2m, giving adjusted EPS of 21.5p (from £37.6m and 19.8p in 2013).
As usual, much of the demand is being driven by Dart's package holiday business Jet2holidays. The number of passengers buying popular all-inclusive deals doubled again and revenue her soared by 110 per cent to over £380m. Given most of them use Dart's planes, then the 19 per cent surge in airline revenue to £463m is unsurprising.
Demand outstripped seat capacity growth and more travellers are heading for the Mediterranean and Canary Islands where ticket yields are better. Dart is selling more extras like travel insurance and car hire, too.
Business at the less glamorous distribution and logistics operation was, however, disappointing. Contract losses at the end of last year, volatile demand from supermarkets and increased investment, all helped to trim operating profit there.
DART GROUP (DTG) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 221p | MARKET VALUE: | £321m | |
| TOUCH: | 220-221p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 280p | Low: 96p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.9% | PE RATIO: | 7 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 150p* | NET CASH: | £240.6m | |
| Half-year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 585 | 57.0 | 30.1 | 0.54 |
| 2013 | 787 | 78.1 | 41.5 | 0.60 |
| % change | +35 | +37 | +38 | +11 |
Ex-div: 31 Dec Payment: 3 Feb | ||||
