24th May 2018 10:10
LONDON (Alliance News) - Wizz Air Holdings PLC on Thursday reported profit and revenue growth in its 2018 financial year and said it appointed a former Airbus SE executive to its board.
The low-cost airline reported pretax profit of EUR286.1 million for the year to the end of March, up from EUR255.8 million the prior year, with revenue rising 24% to EUR1.95 billion from EUR1.57 billion.
Ticket revenue rose 24% year-on-year to EUR1.13 billion from EUR915.5 million while ancillary revenue also grew 24% to EUR815.8 million from EUR655.7 million.
The number of passengers carried rose 25% in the year to 29.6 million from 23.8 million the year before, and load factor increased to 91.3% from 90.1%.
Wizz Air launched 98 new routes during the year, taking its route network to 525 routes from 27 bases.
Looking to the year ahead, the company guided for net profit of between EUR310.0 million to EUR340.0 million for its current financial year, underpinned by a "solid start" to financial 2019 and the timing of Easter.
However, it did say this guidance is dependent on the revenue performance in the summer period and second half, for which it currently has limited visibility. In addition, the company said it expects to increase its passenger numbers by 20% to 39.0 million.
"The 2018 financial year was another year of investment and driving efficiencies in Wizz Air's operations as we continue to our mission to become Europe's undisputed airline cost leader," said Chief Executive Jozsef Varadi.
"As 2019 financial year begins we remain very optimistic for the coming twelve months," added Varadi.
In a separate statement on Thursday, Wizz Air said it hired Airbus Americas Inc Chief Executive Officer Barry Eccleston as non-executive director from June. Eccleston was previously responsible for all aspects of Airbus' commercial airplane business in North America for over a decade.
"I am delighted that Barry has agreed to join the board of Wizz Air," said Chairman William Franke.
"He brings to the board significant expertise following his successful international career at the highest levels of some of the world's largest aviation manufacturers," Franke added.
Shares in Wizz Air were trading 5.7% higher at 3,316.00 pence each on Thursday.
Related Shares:
Wizz Air