Preliminary results announcem

RNS Number : 5310W

Dart Group PLC

30 July 2009

 



DART GROUP PLC

PRELIMINARY UNAUDITED RESULTS FOR YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2009

Dart Group PLC (the 'Group'), the aviation and distribution group, announces its preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2009. These results are presented under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). 

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

I am pleased to report on the Group's trading for the year ended 31 March 2009 - a successful year for the Group. Although turnover grew only slightly to £439m (2008: £429m), profitability was improved, principally through stronger trading performance in Jet2.com. Profit before tax amounted to £33.5m (2008: £11.8m) with earnings per share of 19.3p (2008: 6.2p).  Underlying profit before tax, before specific IAS 39 fair value movements, would have been £28.8m (2008: £3.9m). In the light of Summer 2009 trading, the Board has concluded that it is appropriate to resume payment of a dividend at a level of 0.71p per share.

Capital expenditure for the year ended 31 March 2009 was £27.9m (2008: £38.5m), with the reduction principally related to the phasing of long term maintenance spend on engines and airframes. As at 31 March 2009, the Group's net cash position amounted to £11.8m, which represents a significant improvement from 31 March 2008, at which time the Group had net debt of £17.2m. 

All of Jet2.com's expected fuel requirements for its passenger operations have been hedged for the year ending 31 March 2010, as have nearly all of the Group's forecast US$ and Euro requirements. Neither Jet2.com's freight operations nor Fowler Welch-Coolchain currently have any material exposure to oil price risk as this is substantially covered in their commercial contracts.

Aviation 

Jet2.com, the Group's leisure airline, focused its development in 2008/9 on a wider range of leisure sun routes.  New leisure routes were added, principally from Leeds and Manchester.  In order to match supply with expected market demand, Jet2.com managed down overall capacity both in Summer 2008 and in Winter 2008/9.  Summer seat capacity was reduced by 21% with some city routes being discontinued, and Winter capacity was reduced by 49% in recognition of the economic downturn, principally through reduction in flight frequencies to Western Mediterranean destinations. Encouragingly, the business continues to win awards - a recent customer satisfaction survey conducted by Which? identified Jet2.com as having the highest level of satisfaction amongst UK short haul carriers.

The Group's tour operator, Jet2holidays.com, grew more slowly than hoped for, with 36,128 passengers in the year (2007/8: 34,339), booked through internet sales, telephone sales via our UK based call centre and via travel agencies. We are working to grow this segment of our aviation business, packaging attractive hotels with Jet2.com scheduled flights and offering flexible holidays to a wide range of destinations.

The Jet2.com in-house developed reservation system, which went live in February 2008, was further developed during the year, with the introduction of a number of enhancements including on-line seat assignment, a 'shopping basket' facility for multiple purchases and a specific travel agency portal. The introduction of our own reservation system allows us to tailor the system constantly to meet customer needs quickly and effectively, improving the shopping experience and consequently generating additional non-ticket revenues.

Our passenger charter airline operations had a very strong year, as a result of both increased market demand and additional aircraft availability. The Group's freight operations continue to deliver a significant revenue stream; in particular the night flights for Royal Mail on 'Quick Change' aircraft allow us to maximise the use of the Group's aircraft through day and night time operations.

Looking forward, Jet2.com will continue to focus its growth in the leisure sector of the airline market. The continuing development of its in-house IT capabilities is recognised as being particularly important to ensure that both its scheduled flights and holiday offerings meet the evolving demands of its growing customer base. The Group also intends to continue to work closely with the travel trade in making its flight and holiday offerings more accessible to all forms of distribution.

Distribution

The Group's logistics operation, Fowler Welch-Coolchain, primarily provides an integrated supply chain solution to supermarkets and their suppliers as well as food manufacturers, growers and importers. Its capabilities include both chilled and ambient distribution together with warehousing and pick-to-order services. It offers national coverage from a network of eight distribution and storage operations.

Revenues for the year ended 31 March 2009 decreased by 6%, principally as a result of customer losses at the beginning of the year. Whilst the cost base was reduced, reflecting both the flexible nature of the business  and action taken during the year to improve efficiency, profitability was impacted.  'Manhattan', the company's new warehouse management system was introduced at our Spalding site in the year, providing real-time online visibility of stock levels as well as inbound and outbound movements.

During the year, Fowler Welch-Coolchain continued to ensure that it operated the optimum mix of own and sub-contractor vehicles and drivers.  Fowler Welch-Coolchain continues to invest in new technology with the introduction of further dual fuel vehicles and double deck trailers into the fleet, together with further investment in its driver training initiative. These investments are expected to continue to deliver a reduction in both operating costs and carbon emissions.

It is our intention to continue to grow this operation both organically and by selective acquisition, should any attractive opportunities arise to add skills or scale.

Our Staff

I am sad to report that Jim Welch, President of Fowler Welch-Coolchain, passed away in January of this year. Jim was the founder of Fowler Welch Limited. Jim retired from active involvement in Fowler Welch, but retained a passion for and real interest in the business, being a source of both inspiration and valuable advice.  His former business partner, Maurice Fowler, sadly also passed away in January this year. On behalf of all our colleagues, we send sincere condolences to the families and are hugely grateful for the vision and hard work that led to the creation and success of Fowler Welch. 

All our businesses have earned a reputation for high quality customer service from their customers. This can only be achieved through the dedication and hard work of all of the Group's operational and administrative staff in Fowler Welch-Coolchain, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays.com.  Our businesses are customer-focused and operationally demanding at all hours of the day.  We are grateful to all and look forward to continuing to grow our business together.

Outlook

We expect to grow both our businesses cautiously in the year ahead given current market conditions.  In Fowler Welch-Coolchain, we will also evaluate acquisition opportunities as these arise and continue to develop the business infrastructure.

We will invest in the development of the aviation business, through a growing focus on leisure flights and package holidays, increasingly to longer haul destinations. In the current trading environment, the key to success will continue to focus on matching flight schedules and frequencies to market demand. With our expected fuel requirements fully hedged and a carefully tailored flying programme, we are well placed to deliver satisfactory financial performance in this financial year in difficult trading conditions.

Philip Meeson 

Chairman

29 July 2009

For further information about Dart Group PLC and its subsidiary companies please visit our website, www.dartgroup.co.uk

BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL REVIEW

The Group is comprised of two principal operating businesses, Aviation and Distribution, which trade in separate market segments.

2008/9 Performance

Dart Group PLC's financial performance for the year to 31 March 2009 is reported in line with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as adopted by the EU, which were effective at the year end. Under IFRS, the Group was not able to adopt hedge accounting in restating its 2006/7 results, since IFRS compliant hedge documentation was not in place prior to April 2007.  To be consistent with previous announcements, these results are also presented as if hedge accounting had been available to the Group in 2006/7 under IFRS across all of these periods.

Although Group turnover increased by 2.3%, EBITDA increased by 77.2% and underlying Group profit before tax increased from £3.9m to £28.8m, reflecting a focus on profitability rather than growth in Jet2.com, our leisure airline operation. The Group's effective tax rate for the year of 19% was lower than last year (2008: 26%), principally reflecting the recognition of deferred tax assets from tax losses arising in prior years.

After careful consideration, the Group has decided to pay a final dividend of 0.71p for the year ended 31 March 2009.

The Group's cash position improved by £29.0m in the year, with a positive net cash position as at 31 March 2009 of £11.8m (2008: £17.2m net debt). The Group's improved cash generation was driven by a combination of improved EBITDA and lower capital expenditure, in part offset by an increase in working capital requirements.

With improved profitability in the year and considerable positive cash generation, the Group's balance sheet strengthened in the year. The resultant increase in shareholders' equity and the positive net cash position are the principal changes in the shape of the balance sheet from the previous year end.

Segmental Performance

Aviation

The Aviation division comprises the Group's passenger and freight charter operations, scheduled leisure airline and associated tour operator activities trading under the Jet2.com and Jet2holidays.com brands. It operates 21 Boeing 737-300 aircraft, including eight 'Quick-Change' aircraft, and nine Boeing 757-200 aircraft from its home base of Leeds Bradford International Airport and five other northern bases.

During 2008/9, Jet2.com increased the focus of its scheduled airline activities on leisure routes, adding a number of additional routes, particularly out of Leeds Bradford International Airport, with a number of city routes being discontinued out of Manchester. Overall scheduled airline seat capacity was reduced by 21% for Summer 2008 and by 49% for Winter 2008/9. The Winter reductions centred on lower frequency on Western Mediterranean routes.

This successful route and capacity management resulted in a significant increase in load factor to 78% (2007/8: 72%), at improved yields. The Group added an additional, leased, Boeing 757 aircraft to the fleet in May 2008 to support its increased focus on longer haul leisure destinations.

Retail revenues are a very important source of income for the scheduled airline business, allowing low fares to be maintained.  Retail revenue per passenger increased from £9.10 to £14.93 in 2008/9, generated from a number of sources including hold baggage charges and online seat assignment.

Jet2.com switched over to its own in-house developed reservation system in February 2008. The introduction of our own reservation system allows us to tailor our offering more quickly and effectively to meet customer needs, and improve the online shopping experience.  Retail revenues, in particular online seat assignment and extra leg room, have increased significantly as a result of the introduction of this system. A trade portal into this system has been developed to improve access to Jet2.com for the travel trade.  Jet2.com also introduced a loyalty scheme in November 2008 to reward regular fliers.

Jet2.com's charter activities were further expanded in the year. The Royal Mail contract, under which night mail flights are undertaken from six UK airports, continues to be serviced well, with industry leading punctuality, to enable the Royal Mail to meet its service obligations. The passenger charter operation provides flights for tour operators, specialist holiday providers and in support of promotional and sporting events. Increasingly we are working with tour operators on a part aircraft basis, to supplement load factor on our scheduled services, as well as using charter activity to improve utilisation of aircraft outside peak periods. Passenger charter revenues grew significantly in 2008/9 as a result of greater aircraft availability and strong market demand, partly influenced by the market exit of some competitors.

In its second full year of operation, Jet2holidays.com sold over 36,000 holidays, all on Jet2.com flights. Holidays are packaged dynamically by linking flights with accommodation provided by our bed supplier and a range of airport transfer options. During the year, the holidays call centre was repatriated to the UK to ensure that direct customers calling us obtained the best possible advice. A trade portal was also developed during the year to improve travel agency access to Jet2holidays.com.

Having fully hedged its fuel costs in advance of the relevant season, the business was not subject to the very significant fuel price increases which impacted the industry during the financial year.

The business has fully hedged its anticipated fuel requirement for the year ending March 2010.

We continue to benefit from the long term agreement with Pratt & Whitney for the fixed price maintenance of the CFM56-3 series engines, which power our Boeing 737-300 aircraft. Pratt & Whitney have also started to manufacture and supply a range of parts for these engines at attractive pricing under their Global Material Solutions Programme. This agreement delivers increased engine efficiency, cost certainty and price reductions for the business.

Reducing fuel burn and consequent emissions is a high profile project within Jet2.com. The company has a significant checklist of actions which include efficient aircraft loading, lower aircraft flying speeds made possible by the introduction of a newly implemented flight planning system. Two Boeing 757s have had fuel efficient winglets fitted and a further two aircraft are to be fitted with winglets this Autumn. Overall year on year fuel savings and consequent emission reductions in excess of 3.5% were achieved.

Jet2.com's financial performance was significantly improved by the focus on leisure routes and tailoring of seat capacity to demand, leading to increased load factors and yield. Total aviation revenues grew by 6% despite the overall 28% reduction in scheduled seat capacity.

Jet2.com reduced its cost base in 2008/9. The reduction in seat capacity allowed the business to eliminate the need for short term wet leased aircraft which had been required in Summer 2007 to supplement the owned fleet.

Distribution

The Group's Distribution business, Fowler Welch-Coolchain, is one of the UK's leading logistics providers serving UK retailers, importers and manufacturers. Focusing on food and drink, the business operates from eight strategic locations and offers a range of logistics solutions including storage, case pick-to-order and national distribution of both temperature controlled and ambient products.

The company's origins are built around consolidating numerous suppliers' products into specific temperature groups for onward 'on time' delivery to end destination. These complex and time-sensitive operations offer the ideal solution for clients serving the 'Just in Time' supply chains demanded by UK retailers.  Typically Fowler Welch-Coolchain picks and delivers approximately 1.25 million cases of prepared meats, ready meals, citrus juice and pasta on a weekly basis.

Trailer load fill is an important KPI for the business and the introduction of additional double deck trailers further enhanced efficiencies through increased load fill, whilst also contributing to the company's carbon footprint reduction programme.

Revenues reduced by 6% in the year, principally as a result of two customer losses sustained in the early part of the year, following very aggressive competitor pricing.  By the end of the year, this business volume had been replaced through a combination of new business wins, in particular a significant contract for a chilled meats supplier, and additional activity undertaken for existing customers.

Given the flexible nature of the operation, Fowler Welch-Coolchain was able to manage its costs down largely in line with reduced business volumes, to minimise the profit impact of reduced revenues. Action was also taken to improve efficiency by optimising the own driver to contractor mix, particularly in Spalding and Washington. This has put the business in a stronger position for the current financial year.  The Company has focused heavily on fleet utilisation, both at individual depot level and also through optimising national network synergies.

This has delivered both efficiencies and environmental benefits through fleet reductions and fewer empty miles. We believe this trend will continue into the year ahead.

During the year, the company successfully introduced a new warehouse management system for a number of customers, allowing real-time online visibility of stock levels as well as inbound and outbound movements. This will be fully rolled out during the current financial year.

Over the last 12 months, the company has made substantial progress in reducing the environmental impact of its operations and has identified four key elements in its aim to reduce its carbon footprint. By increasing both payload utilisation and reducing empty running, the net carbon impact per unit of product delivered is reduced.  Fowler Welch-Coolchain has made further investments in training, management processes and technology in order to achieve these goals. This investment includes an enhanced telematics system currently being deployed across the entire fleet. This will permit real-time vehicle, driver, route and consignment management. Linked to the company's existing transport management system and with further interfaces to key client systems, we hope to further reduce empty running, the impact of congestion, poor driving behaviour and, consequently, the net carbon footprint per unit delivered.

We continue to work closely with commercial vehicle manufacturers to identify potential fuel saving initiatives. We are currently undertaking initial trials with hydrogen injection systems for diesel engines, as well as long term testing of liquid petroleum gas powered vehicles. All of our newly acquired tractor units comply with the latest EURO V emissions standard and our latest refrigerated trailers are the most fuel efficient in the market place.

For our warehouse operations, we are in the process of replacing the refrigerant in our chillers with the latest environmentally friendly alternatives in accordance with European Directives. We have also invested in some upgrades to both sealed dock-levelers and internal structures in order to minimise heat ingress. We continue to work with the Carbon Trust in order to progress our agenda in this key area.

Investment in driver training continues and will remain ongoing. Continuing fleet evaluation enables the Company to make critical decisions with fleet replacement programmes, thus ensuring that the most fuel efficient vehicles are purchased.

Despite the economic slowdown, the company increased its portside activities handling more imported containers. This activity complements fleet utilisation and extends the service offering to provide true end-to-end logistics capabilities.

Not surprisingly, the sector has seen considerable consolidation and this has provided the company with both organic and targeted acquisitive growth opportunities.

As cost pressures continue, the requirement of sustainable lean supply chains will grow. The company is well established and renowned for its ability to service short order lead times with FMCG and through its strategically situated locations is well placed to secure additional volumes.

The ongoing need to be cost competitive remains a key driver of the business, and the company anticipates it will be competitively placed to take full advantage of further opportunities in this sector.

For further information contact:

Dart Group PLC	Tel:	0113 238 7444
Philip Meeson Group Chairman and Chief Executive	Mobile:	07785 258666
Andrew Merrick Group Finance Director	Mobile:	07788 565358
Andy Pedrette Smith & Williamson Corporate Finance Limited	Tel:	020 7131 4000

Consolidated Group Income Statement

for the year ended 31 March 2009

	Unaudited Year ended 31 March 2009			Audited Year ended 31 March 2008
	Results before specific IAS 39 fair value movements	Specific fair value movements (1)	Results for the year	Results before specific IAS 39 fair value movements	Specific  fair value movements (1)	Results for the year
	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m
Revenue	439.3	-	439.3	429.3	-	429.3
Net operating expenses	(404.1)	4.7	(399.4)	(423.7)	7.9	(415.8)
Operating profit	35.2	4.7	39.9	5.6	7.9	13.5
Finance income	0.9	-	0.9	2.7	-	2.7
Finance costs	(7.3)	-	(7.3)	(5.7)	-	(5.7)
Net financing costs	(6.4)	-	(6.4)	(3.0)	-	(3.0)
Profit on disposal of property, plant and equipment	-	-	-	1.3	-	1.3
Profit before taxation	28.8	4.7	33.5	3.9	7.9	11.8
Taxation	(5.1)	(1.3)	(6.4)	(0.8)	(2.3)	(3.1)
Profit for the year (all attributable to equity shareholders of the parent)	23.7	3.4	27.1	3.1	5.6	8.7

Earnings per share

- basic	16.87p		19.27p	2.15p		6.18p
- diluted	16.46p		18.80p	2.12p		6.13p

Notes

(1) In order to assist the reader to understand the underlying business performance, the Group discloses separately within the income statement specific IAS 39 fair value movements.

Consolidated Group Balance Sheet

at 31 March 2009

	Unaudited 2009	Audited 2008
	£m	£m
Non-current assets
Goodwill	6.8	6.8
Property, plant and equipment	190.5	193.4
Derivative financial instruments	2.4	1.6
Deferred Tax Assets	-	2.8
	199.7	204.6
Current assets
Inventories	0.4	0.3
Trade and other receivables	45.1	50.0
Derivative financial instruments	32.7	13.7
Cash and cash equivalents	11.8	4.0
	90.0	68.0
Total assets	289.7	272.6
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables	139.9	147.1
Derivative financial instruments	30.8	5.9
	170.7	153.0
Non-current liabilities
Other non current liabilities	6.4	2.9
Borrowings	-	21.2
Derivative financial instruments	0.2	2.5
Deferred tax liabilities	19.0	18.5
	25.6	42.4
Total liabilities	196.3	198.2
Net assets	93.4	74.4
Shareholders' equity
Share capital	1.8	1.8
Share premium	9.3	9.3
Cash flow hedging reserve	1.9	10.0
Retained earnings	80.4	53.1
Other reserves	-	0.2
Total Shareholders' equity	93.4	74.4

Consolidated Group Cash Flow Statement

for the year ended 31 March 2009

	Unaudited 2009	Audited 2008
	£m	£m
Cash flows from operating activities
Profit for the year	27.1	8.7
Adjustments for:
Tax charge	6.4	3.1
Finance income	(0.9)	(2.7)
Finance costs	7.3	5.7
Profit on disposal of property, plant and equipment	-	(1.3)
Depreciation	30.7	30.3
Equity settled share based payments	0.2	0.2
Specific fair value adjustments	(4.7)	(7.9)
Operating cash flows before movements in working capital	66.1	36.1
Increase in inventories	(0.1)	(0.1)
Increase in trade and other receivables	(5.3)	(6.5)
Increase in trade and other payables	7.3	12.9
Increase in financial instruments	(6.5)	-
Cash generated from operations	61.5	42.4
Interest received	0.1	0.1
Interest paid	(2.8)	(4.4)
Income taxes paid	(0.4)	(0.5)
Net cash from operating activities	58.4	37.6
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment	(27.9)	(38.5)
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment	0.1	1.5
Net cash used in investing activities	(27.8)	(37.0)
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from issue of share capital	-	0.1
Net draw down of credit facilities	-	3.2
Repayment of borrowings	(22.0)	-
Transaction costs paid	(0.9)	-
Equity dividends paid	-	(2.9)
Net cash (used in) / generated from  financing activities	(22.9)	0.4
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes	0.1	(0.9)
Net increase in cash in the year	7.8	0.1
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year	4.0	3.9
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year	11.8	4.0

Consolidated Statement of Recognised Income and Expense

for the year ended 31 March 2009

	Unaudited 2009	Audited 2008
	£m	£m
Fair value (losses)/gains, gross of tax:
On cash flow hedges:
Transfers to profit and loss on maturity of cash flow hedges	2.3	(0.9)
Changes in fair value of cash flow hedges	(14.1)	13.9
Taxation on items taken directly to equity	3.7	(3.9)
Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations	(0.2)	0.2
Net Income and expense recognised directly in equity	(8.3)	9.3
Profit for the year	27.1	8.7
Total recognised income and expense for the year (all attributable to equity holders of the parent)	18.8	18.0

NOTES TO THE GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1. General information 

The Group's Financial Statements consolidate the Financial Statements of Dart Group PLC and its subsidiaries. The Group's Financial Statements have been prepared and approved by the Directors in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ('IFRSs') as adopted by the European Union ('Adopted IFRSs').

2. Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention except for all derivative financial instruments that have been measured at fair value and disposal groups held for sale that have been measured at the lower of fair value less costs to sell and their carrying amounts prior to the decision to treat them as held for sale.

In order to allow a better understanding of the financial information presented, and specifically the Group's underlying business performance, the Group presents its income statement in three columns such that it identifies: (i) results excluding specific IAS 39 fair value movements; (ii) the effect of specific IAS 39 fair value movements; and (iii) results for the year. For the purpose of clarity, in the explanation of the basis of preparation applied in these consolidated financial statements, we describe these columns as the 'left hand column', the 'middle column' and the 'right hand column' respectively.

The Group uses forward foreign currency contracts, currency option products and aviation fuel swaps to hedge exposure to foreign exchange rates and aviation fuel price volatility. Such derivative financial instruments are stated at fair value. 

Ineffectiveness in qualifying cash flow hedges under IAS 39 can arise as a result of the difference between the contractual profile of a hedge and the profile of transactions defined as the hedged item. IAS 39 requires ineffectiveness in qualifying cash flow hedges to be recorded in the income statement, and therefore the Group records this ineffectiveness in the left hand column when it relates to a cash flow hedge.

IFRS compliant hedge documentation was not in place prior to 1 April 2007. Movements in the fair value of derivatives in existence at this time, along with subsequent fair value movements on these cash flow hedges that would have qualified for hedge accounting had the documentation requirement been met, are separately presented in the middle column to assist the readers understanding of underlying business performance and to provide a more meaningful presentation.  For the avoidance of doubt, references to underlying performance refer to the left hand column.

The right hand column presents the results for the year showing all gains and losses recorded in the Consolidated Group Income Statement.

The financial information in this announcement is presented in pounds sterling and all values are rounded to the nearest £100,000, except where indicated otherwise.

The accounting policies adopted are consistent with those described in the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2008 with the exception of the following:

Revenue

The Group operates a loyalty programme. The programme operates through the airline's 'myJet2' loyalty scheme and allows members of the scheme to accumulate points that entitle them to primarily free travel. Revenue is recorded at the amount of consideration received or receivable, less the fair value of the points awarded. The full fair value of the points is deducted from the consideration, and carried forward as a liability.

3. Earnings per share

Earnings per share is presented both before specific IAS 39 fair value movements and after specific IAS 39 fair value movements in order to allow a better understanding of the financial information presented, and specifically the Group's underlying business performance. 

	Unaudited 2009	Audited 2008
	No.	No.
Basic weighted average number of shares in issue	141,065,694	141,029,664
Dilutive potential ordinary shares:
Employee share options	3,524 ,964	2,062,732
Diluted weighted average number of shares in issue	144,590,658	143,092,396

Basis of calculation - earnings (basic and diluted)	£m	£m
Profit before specific IAS 39 fair value movements	23.7	3.1
Specific IAS 39 fair value movements	3.4	5.6
Profit after specific IAS 39 fair value movements for the purposes of calculating basic and diluted earnings	27.1	8.7

		Year to 31 March 2009			Year to 31 March 2008
		Before specific IAS 39 fair value movements	After specific  IAS 39 fair value movements		Before specific IAS 39 fair value movements	After specific  IAS 39 fair value movements
Earnings per share - Total
- basic		16.87p	19.27p		2.15p	6.18p
- diluted		16.46p	18.80p		2.12p	6.13p

4. Segmental Reporting

Business segments

The primary reporting segment format is business segments as the Group's risk and rates of return are affected predominantly by the different services provided. Secondary segmental information is reported geographically.

Unaudited  Year ended 31 March 2009	Distribution	Aviation	Un-allocated	Total
	£m	£m	£m	£m
Revenue	112.9	326.4	-	439.3
Operating profit before specific fair value movements	4.1	31.1	-	35.2
Specific fair value movements	-	4.7	-	4.7
Operating profit after specific fair value movements	4.1	35.8	-	39.9
Finance income	-	0.8	0.1	0.9
Finance costs	-	(2.8)	(4.5)	(7.3)
Profit/(loss) before taxation	4.1	33.8	(4.4)	33.5
Taxation	-	-	(6.4)	(6.4)
Profit/(loss) for the year after taxation	4.1	33.8	(10.8)	27.1

Audited  Year ended 31 March 2008	Distribution	Aviation	Un-allocated	Total
	£m	£m	£m	£m
Revenue	120.5	308.8	-	429.3
Operating profit before specific fair value movements	5.3	0.3	-	5.6
Specific fair value movements	-	7.9	-	7.9
Operating profit after fair value movements	5.3	8.2	-	13.5
Profit on disposal of property, plant and equipment	-	1.3	-	1.3
Finance income	-	2.6	0.1	2.7
Finance costs	-	(1.3)	(4.4)	(5.7)
Profit/(loss) before taxation	5.3	10.8	(4.3)	11.8
Taxation	-	-	(3.1)	(3.1)
Profit/(loss) for the year after taxation	5.3	10.8	(7.4)	8.7

5. The financial information set out above does not constitute the company's statutory accounts for the years ended 31 March 2009 or 2008. The financial information for 2008 is derived from the statutory accounts for 2008 which have been delivered to the registrar of companies. The auditors have reported on the 2008 accounts; their report was (i) unqualified, (ii) did not include a reference to any matters to which the auditors drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying their report and (iii) did not contain a statement under section 237(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985. The statutory accounts for 2009 will be finalised on the basis of the financial information presented by the directors in this preliminary announcement and will be delivered to the registrar of companies in due course.

6. The 2009 Annual Report and Accounts (together with the Auditor's Report) will be posted to shareholders no later than 11 August 2009. The Annual General Meeting will be held on 9 September 2009.

 

END

 

 

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