Dart Group - a positive trading update, but corporate governance issues remain!
The pre-close trading update from Dart Group, the somewhat bizarrely structured low cost airline (Jet2.com) and distribution group (Fowler Welch-Coolchain) resulted in a steep rise in the share price. I have always considered this an interesting little company but one which leaves any analyst scratching their head.
Since the announcement of its interim results in December, the Group has continued to trade ahead of market (2 brokers cover!) expectations over the second half of the financial year with cash flow remaining strong and positive cash balances at year end – expectations are for £7m to £10m cash at year end. Full year results are now expected to be ahead of current market expectations (previously 10.2p per share), as a result of both the strong trading performance and one-off treasury gains, driven by the strength of the US dollar. The driver of this has been Jet2.com which has…