Shares of Leeds-based leisure and logistics firm Dart Group, owner of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, rose 17% after it said in a trading update that it expects its underlying profit before taxation for the year ending March 31, 2018, to be “materially ahead of current market expectations.”
Dart Group said that was due to “the continued success of our growing leisure travel business and a more normalised pricing environment after the heavy discounting in the market over the past year …”
Dart Group shares rose to about 760p to give it a current stock market value of around £1.1 billion, according to Bloomberg data.
“Looking ahead to the year ending 31 March 2019, forward bookings in our leisure travel business for summer 2018 are presently satisfactory,” said Dart.
“We also remain encouraged by the performance of our two new operating bases at London Stansted and Birmingham airports.
“Our distribution & logistics business, Fowler Welch, continues to focus on growing its revenue pipeline and developing existing and new business opportunities.
“It is still early in the leisure travel booking cycle and we remain cautious on pricing.
“However, given the satisfactory forward bookings and the execution of our growth strategy, the board currently expects the group’s trading performance for the year ending 31 March 2019 to be broadly in line with the current financial year.”