Dart Group operating profits up but takes hit from flight delay case

DART Group has seen revenues rise 15% to £902.2m and operating profit increase to £89.4m which it said was underpinned by continued growth in its leisure travel business.

However, the Leeds-based group which owns Jet2, said that after accounting for a £17m exceptional item to cover potential historical claims after its appeal to the Supreme Court surrounding a flight delay case was rejected, overall profit before tax fell 8% to £71.7m in the half year to September.

The court, the highest in Britain, refused to hear appeals by Jet2 and Thomson Airways against two passengers who won compensation after suffering long delays.

Passenger Ronald Huzar made a claim against Jet2.com after his flight from Malaga to Manchester in 2011 was delayed for 27 hours.

The airline claimed a technical fault was ‘unforeseeable’ and they shouldn’t have to pay compensation. But the judges ruled the fault was not an ‘extraordinary circumstance’ and they must pay.

Dart said its leisure travel operation saw revenue growth of 16% to £824.1m (2013: £708.9m) reflecting a 12% increase in total passengers flown.

The company said that with winter 14/15 leisure travel bookings continuing to perform in line with expectations, it is optimistic that current market expectations for full year operating profit, before adjusting for the exceptional provision of £17m, will be achieved.

“We have been encouraged by the group’s underlying operating profit growth of 10%, particularly in light of the less than buoyant consumer demand and weak market pricing experienced in the early summer months,” Dart said.