The market reacted positively to Dart Group's (DTG) March year-end figures. And the group, which owns Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, reported a promising start to its new financial year, after strong demand for holidays and new business wins at its distribution arm. Operating profits came in at £33.6m, down a third year on year, although the fall back was wholly attributable to a £17m provision for flight delay compensation. Yet again, the group achieved double-digit revenue growth, but operating margins narrowed due to increased staff and accommodation costs.
Jet2.com and Jet2holidays handled travel arrangements for around 3m package holiday and flight-only customers, an increase of 8 per cent. An increase in demand for the group's package holidays means that those customers now account for a third of the total. Consequently, turnover in Dart's leisure travel business increased by 14 per cent to £1.1bn while underlying operating profit increased by 3 per cent to £46.9m. By contrast, revenue at Dart's distribution and logistics business was flat.
Arden Partners predicts adjusted EPS of 32.8p for the March 2016 year-end, against 28.9p for 2015.
| DART GROUP (DTG) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 434p | MARKET VALUE: | £638m | |
| TOUCH: | 427-434p | 12M HIGH / LOW: | 434p | 194p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.7% | PE RATIO: | 19 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 107p | NET CASH: | £294m | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 0.54 | 26.2 | 12.2 | 1.23 |
| 2012 | 0.68 | 28.1 | 16.0 | 1.32 |
| 2013 | 0.87 | 40.5 | 21.7 | 1.87 |
| 2014 | 1.12 | 42.1 | 24.7 | 2.74 |
| 2015 | 1.25 | 40.2 | 22.4 | 3.00 |
| % change | +12 | -5 | -9 | +9 |
Ex-div: 10 Sep Payment: 16 Oct | ||||
