GENEVA — Wizz Air Holdings reported net profit of €108.1m for the six months ended September 30, down 66.6% from €323.5m a year earlier, as the airline group warned of higher full-year costs excluding fuel.
The November 12 unaudited results show revenue rising 13.8% to €3.80bn and passenger numbers increasing 26.2% to 46.1 million. Revenue per available seat-kilometer fell 2.9%, while total cost per available seat-kilometer increased 4.3%. Growth in traffic therefore did not translate into stronger half-year earnings.
The result also masks a better second quarter. Net profit for that three-month period rose 7.4% to €306.3m. Wizz attributed the weaker first-half operating result to disruption in the Middle East during the first quarter.
Aircraft Retirements Add to Cost Pressure
Wizz expects full-year unit costs excluding fuel to rise by a mid-single-digit percentage. Chief Executive József Váradi told Reuters that phasing out older Airbus A320ceo aircraft would bring more than €100m in incremental second-half costs, the largest individual cost item he identified for the period.
Reuters reported that first-half fuel expenses rose 33.7% to €1.24bn. That total bill measures a different pressure from unit costs: it reflects spending across the operation, while costs per available seat-kilometer adjust for the amount of capacity flown.
For the fiscal third quarter, Wizz forecasts approximately 19% more seats and a low-single-digit increase in revenue per available seat-kilometer. Those are forecasts, rather than results already achieved.
The combination leaves Wizz trying to earn more from a growing winter schedule while absorbing fleet-transition expenses. Fuel hedging offers some protection: the group says 82% of its second-half fuel requirements are hedged. It still faces the separate task of containing costs outside the fuel bill.
Featured image: Ivan Oleinik/Airways
