Trading Statement

RNS Number : 2438Q

Dart Group PLC

17 October 2011

 



17 October 2011

Dart Group PLC ("the Group")

Trading Statement and Notice of Results

Dart Group PLC, the aviation and distribution Group, updates the market on trading for the first half of the financial year ending 31 March 2012 in its principal businesses, Jet2.com, the northern UK based leisure airline, Jet2holidays.com, the ATOL protected holiday operation, and Fowler Welch, one of the UK's leading logistics providers.

Despite the challenging economic environment, Jet2.com has had a satisfactory summer, with passenger growth of 32% to 3.2m in the 6 months to 30 September 2011.  Load factors have increased by over 2% to almost 90% but yields have been under pressure.  Margins are below last year principally as a result of higher fuel costs.

Our ATOL protected holiday operation, Jet2holidays.com, continues to grow strongly, meeting customer demand for attractively priced package holidays from local airports and will take more than 200,000 customers on holiday this year.

Our distribution business, Fowler Welch, which specialises in the distribution of chilled and ambient foods on behalf of leading supermarkets and their suppliers, continues to deliver leading customer service.  Revenues have grown in line with the Board's expectations, although the business has also experienced some pressure on margins.

Overall, the Group's profit before taxation for the first half of the year will be ahead of the same period in the prior year, with a similar level of losses expected in the second half of the year. The Board still hopes to meet market expectations for the current year.

The Group intends to announce its interim results on 17 November 2011.

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 / Siobhan Sergeant Smith & Williamson Corporate Finance Limited	Tel:	020 7131 4000

 

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