Wizz Air Posts Record H1 Profit

Wizz Air’s underlying profit after tax was up 12.5 percent in the first half to EUR€231.6 million (USD$252.7 million).

The Hungarian carrier, which styles itself as the largest low-cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe, said the result was a record for H1.

Revenue for the six months to end September was up 10.1 percent at EUR€921.2 million as it carried 12.5 million passengers, a 17.4 percent increase from the prior year period.

Unit revenue (per available seat km - ASK), fell 8.5 percent, but the airline reduced ASK unit costs by 11 percent as fuel unit costs dropped by 29.8 percent.

During the quarter Wizz launched 54 new routes and added six Airbus A321s to take its fleet size to 73. Load factor rose 0.4 percentage points to 91.1 percent.

Wizz Air said it remained committed to the UK despite shifting some capacity to other markets after the post-Brexit drop in the pound.

Wizz Air chief executive József Váradi said the airline expects fares to continue falling on the back of low fuel prices, and reconfirmed full year guidance for underlying net profit of between EUR€245 million and EUR€255 million.