Strong euro helps Wizz Air clock up £31m profit as passenger levels soar to 12.4 million
Wizz Air posted a positive net profit for the second consecutive month as passenger levels continued to rise.
The London-listed airline reported today a €33.5m (£31.1m) net profit for the three months ended 31 December, up from last year’s loss of €267.5m.
This was due to passenger levels soaring 59.1 per cent to 12.4 million people.
Wizz Air’s revenue also skyrocketed 123.2 per cent to €911.7m, while the low-cost carrier shrunk its EBITDA losses to €2.8m.
“As a result, revenue in the quarter grew significantly at 123 per cent versus the same period last year, while revenue per available seat kilometre (ASK) was 50 per cent higher versus the same period last year,” said chief executive Jozsef Varadi in a statement.
ASK is a key metric in aviation, as it measures an airline’s passenger carrying capacity.
According to the chief executive, over the past three months the company has capitalised on a lower flight disruption while the euro’s strengthening helped to reduce “fuel and maintenance costs.”
Looking ahead, Wizz Air remains on track to increase its capacity by 35 per cent, as “we see booking volumes coming in ahead of 2022, which is in line with expectations.”
“We continue to expect an overall net loss in F23, but remain confident that F24 will be profitable,” Varadi added. “We are set to return to pre-Covid-19 utilisation levels and to deploy a fleet of c.185+ of the most efficient narrow body aircraft this summer.”
The results come a day after rival Easyjet expects to return to profitability this year after shrinking its losses to £133m.