Shares in Jet2.Com operator Dart Group (LSE: DTG) were given a boost last week after it issued an upbeat trading update. It now believes that operating profit for the full year to 31 March 2016 will be ahead of current market expectations as a result of lower-than-anticipated winter losses.
Furthermore, forward bookings in the leisure travel business for summer 2016 are promising, supported by an increasing number of package holiday customers as a proportion of overall customers. And with trading volumes at Dart Group’s distribution and logistics business, Fowler Welch, also being encouraging, the outlook for the wider company is very bright.
With Dart Group’s bottom line expected to rise by over 64% in the current year, it continues to offer exceptional growth potential. However, its shares trade on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just 11.2, which indicates that there could be capital gains on the horizon. And with consumer confidence improving in the UK and across Europe, the company’s long-term future could be one of more growth, which makes now a good time to buy a slice of the business.
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Nobody’s crying at Boohoo
Also offering strong growth prospects is Boohoo.Com (LSE: BOO). The online fashion retailer is expected to record a rise in earnings of 29% in the 2017 financial year and a further increase in net profit of 22% in the following financial year. This puts Boohoo.Com on a price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio of just 1.1, which indicates that its shares offer considerable upside potential.
As well as upbeat growth prospects, Boohoo.Com may also enjoy a wider economic moat than is currently being priced-in by the market. That’s because it’s a relatively well-diversified business, with it having operations across the globe and this provides it with a degree of stability and resilience that not all of its sector peers enjoy. Furthermore, Boohoo.Com sells its own products and this allows it to build up customer loyalty for its brand, rather than for its sales operation. In the long run, this could prove to be much stronger and allow Boohoo.Com to deliver improved pricing and margins.
Return to growth at Tesco?
Meanwhile, Tesco (LSE: TSCO) continues to be an excellent growth play, with its new strategy set to contribute to an increase in the company’s bottom line of 81% in the current year and a further 33% in the next financial year. As a result, Tesco’s bottom line is due to be 140% higher by 2018 and this could have a hugely positive impact on investor sentiment in the stock, which has thus far remained rather lukewarm. Evidence of this can be seen in Tesco’s valuation, with the supermarket having a PEG ratio of just 0.5 at the present time.
Looking ahead, Tesco is clearly not risk-free, with there still being major competition from Aldi and Lidl. But with a more efficient business model that focuses on its core activity of grocery retailing and an economic tailwind from increasing real terms disposable incomes for its customers, Tesco should be a surprisingly strong growth play over the coming years.
