27th May 2015 07:30
LONDON (Alliance News) - Central and Eastern Europe-focused budget carrier Wizz Air Holdings PLC on Wednesday said its net profit more than doubled in its 2015 financial year as the group carried more passengers and improved its load factor and profit margin.
Wizz Air said its profit after tax for the year to the end of March was EUR183 million, more than double the EUR88 million posted a year earlier. Total revenue in the year was up to EUR1.23 billion from EUR1.01 billion, up 21%, as ticket revenue rose by 20% to EUR794 million and ancillary revenue rose 23% to EUR434 million.
The group net profit margin for the year improved by 6.2 percentage points to 14.9%. Unit costs for the company fell to 3.61 euro cents per available seat kilometre, as Wizz Air benefited from lower fuel prices due to the collapse in the oil price in the second half of 2014.
Wizz Air's load factor increased by one percentage point in the year to 86.7%. It added nine aircraft to its fleet over the course of the year, bringing the total to 55 Airbus A320s, and has now converted all deliveries for November 2015 to December 2017 to the largest Airbus A321 in order to serve busier routes.
The company said trading so far in its 2016 financial year has been strong and said it expects to grow capacity by around 17% in the coming year. It also expects a further rise in post-tax profit in the coming year.
"We will continue to expand on our route network, drive efficiency in our operating model, and enhance our compelling customer proposition to sustain growth and drive returns for shareholders," said Chief Executive Josef Varadi.
Shares in Wizz Air were up 1.5% to 1,471.00 pence in early trade on Wednesday.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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