If you’d had the courage to buy shares in £985m cap travel, logistics and distribution firm Dart Group (LSE: DTG) last November you would have seen your capital double in value over the last nine months.
Don’t kick yourself if you didn’t make that purchase. Based on today’s final results (and despite the market’s initial reaction to them), I still think the shares have further to climb.
Over the year to the end of March, group revenue jumped 23% to £1.73bn. Thanks to strong demand last summer and heavier price discounting in H2, overall revenue at its leisure travel business rose 24% to £1.57bn. Dart’s airline, Jet2.com, carried over 7m passengers to holiday destinations in 2016 — a 17% increase on the previous year. There was also a 42% rise in the number of customers buying package holidays from the company. Revenue at its Distribution and Logistics arm rose 14% to £163.5m.
So, why on earth are shares trading 12% lower this morning?
A lot of this will be down to the fall in pre-tax profits. These flew 14% lower to just over £90m following “considerable investment” in the company’s two new Jet2.com operating bases at Birmingham and London Stansted Airports and a £10.9m charge for foreign exchange revaluation losses. The £900,000 fall in profit at its Logistics arm (to £4.5m) was blamed on a hugely competitive market and a £400,000 bad debt write-off after one customer went into administration.
Despite all this, Dart stated that both of its businesses had made “satisfactory starts” to the 2017/18 financial year and that it was confident of meeting profit expectations, particularly as the new bases should allow it to strengthen its position in the Midlands and attract new customers from London and the East of England. Concerns over Brexit aside, the additional investment undertaken by the company (which also includes the purchase of new and mid-life aircraft and an extension to its Teynham distribution centre) should also pay off over the longer term.
At 13 times trailing earnings, boasting a huge net cash position (£168.5m) and excellent levels of free cashflow, Dart still looks worthy of investment. Today’s sell-off smacks of market impatience, a degree of profit-taking and unchecked expectations.
Whizzing higher
For evidence that it might be best for private investors to ignore any short-term reaction from the market, look no further than Wizz Air (LSE: WIZZ). After dropping as low as 1,560p following February’s Q3 profit warning, shares have rebounded strongly to now trade at 2,553p. That’s a 44% return in just five months.
At 14 times forecast earnings and despite recent gains, shares in Wizz still offer reasonable value, in my opinion. The company’s recent decision to set up camp at Luton Airport (also home to sector peer and FTSE 100 constituent, easyJet) can be taken as a clear statement of intent by management that it won’t be held back by concerns over the impact of Brexit on the European aviation industry.
Elsewhere, the £1.9bn cap’s finances continue to look in excellent shape. It’s got stacks of cash and no debt. What’s more, the returns Wizz manages to generate on the money it invests tend to be far higher than most of its peers.
With Q1 results expected next Wednesday, I wouldn’t be surprised if the stock climbs further over the next month or so, assuming there are no nasty surprises awaiting investors.
