Stobart Group Ltd (LON:STOB) has continued to commercialise its core operating businesses, delivering operational progress in its Aviation and Energy divisions.
In a pre-close trading update covering the six months to the end of August, the owner of Southend Airport said it had seen passenger numbers rise 37% year-on-year.
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With Ryanair flights set to start next spring, the group expects at least one million additional passengers in the first year of Ryanair’s operation and more than 5mln in the first five years.
A new agreement with The Restaurant Group to introduce six new food and beverage brands to the airport will help maximise the commercial value of these passengers, Stobart said.
Stobart Energy has significantly increased underlying earnings (EBITDA) and tonnes supplied compared to the prior year.
The increase has been achieved despite continued delays in the commissioning of third-party energy plants. These delays have put pressure on the supply chain for the second year running and exaggerated the impact of non-underlying costs, as a result of which results for the Energy division will be slightly below expectations in the short term; however, the group has invested in infrastructure and is confident Stobart Energy is well positioned to deliver strong profitability per tonne when energy plants are operating to target.
In the Stobart Rail & Civils division, the adoption of a more prudent approach to revenue recognition on long-term contracts means the full-year result for the division will be below expectations.
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The first half of the fiscal year saw the spotlight more on boardroom upheavals than operational progress but the chief executive, Warwick Brady, said the group is confident it can “meet our commitment to shareholders to unify the business and provide the framework for the delivery of the company's strategy to the benefit of all stakeholders."
Shares in Stobart were down 2p at 240.5p in early deals.