9th Nov 2016 08:15
LONDON (Alliance News) - Central and Eastern Europe-focused budget airline Wizz Air Holdings PLC on Wednesday reported robust growth in pretax profit in the first half of its financial year as it carried more passengers and said it remains committed to growing its presence in the UK.
Wizz Air said its made a pretax profit of EUR262.5 million in the half to the end of September, up 38% from the EUR190.9 million a year before. Revenue for the group rose to EUR921.5 million from EUR836.4 million, up 10%, as it benefited in part from the weakness of the pound against the euro after the Brexit vote in the UK.
The company carried 12.5 million passengers in the half, up 17% from 10.7 million the year before, boosted by the opening of new bases in Romania and Georgia. The company started flying 54 new routes in the first half and now offers a total of 450 routes to 38 countries from 26 bases. Its load factor for the half was 91.1%, up from 90.7% a year before.
Wizz Air said it continues to anticipate falling air fares in the second half due to lower fuel prices, but said it remains confident on meeting its previous underlying net profit guidance of EUR245.0 million to EUR255.0 million for the year to the end of March 2017.
The group added it continues to be committed to growing in the UK, despite the country's vote to leave the European Union.
"Our ultra-low cost model, reinforced with a delivery stream of brand new A321 aircraft, gives us a clear cost advantage versus most of our rivals. We have a strong balance sheet, proven management team, best-in-class fleet and the leading market position in CEE. This winning formula leaves Wizz Air well placed to continue to deliver significant growth and returns for our shareholders," said Wizz Air Chief Executive Jozsef Varadi.
Shares in Wizz Air were down 3.0% to 1,533.00 pence early Wednesday.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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