Profits take off at Jet2
JET2 owner Dart Group has seen profits and revenues jump after strong growth in its airline and package holiday businesses.
Group pre-tax profit increased 37% to £78.1m whilst overall group turnover increased by 35% to £787.1m.
The business, which has today announced its results for the six months to the end of September, saw the number of people taking Jet2holidays double with numbers increasing by 103%, to 634,866, representing 31% of all passengers flown, compared to only 17% last year. This arm of the business achieved 110% growth in revenues to £380.1m.
Airline Jet2.com increased revenues by 19.4% to £463.2m and the business said it has added 26 new services, including three new destinations – Fuerteventura, Verona and Vienna for next year. In Dart Group’s logistics division, Fowler Welch, revenues decreased by 2.6%, which the group said was as a result of contract losses towards the end of the last financial year, which has led to the decision to close its European operating base in Holland.
Dart Group, which is based at Leeds Bradford International Airport, said the overall increase in profitability reflects a “satisfactory” summer for Jet2.com, underpinned by the continued successful growth of the Jet2holidays business.
However, it said that because its leisure travel operations continue to concentrate on the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands and European Leisure Cities, the business is becoming increasingly seasonal as it continues to grow and, as a result, increased losses are to be expected in the second half of the year.
Chairman, Philip Meeson, said: “Whilst the group’s trading performance during the first six months of the year has been satisfactory, our leisure travel operations are becoming increasingly seasonal as we continue to grow the business and winter losses are expected to increase materially. Accordingly, with the important winter booking period still to come, the board remains cautiously optimistic in relation to profit growth for the financial year ending March 31 2014.”
