Wizz Air today revealed that annual financial results are due to come in at the “upper half” of its expected level of between €270 million-€300 million.
This follows trading in the three months to March 31 – the final quarter of the budget carrier’s financial year – as being in line with expectations.
The eastern and central European airline saw annual carryings rise by 16.7% to 34.5 million passengers in the year to March.
The Hungarian carrier said: “Demand across the company’s markets remains robust with load factors up a healthy 2.6 percentage points to 94.1% year-on-year.
“The company has also experienced an excellent operational performance in March with only one cancelled flight compared to 68 in March 2018 and on-time performance also improved by 10 percentage points to 85%.”
Revenue is forecast to be up by 4% in the current quarter to June, driven by ancillary revenues, a trend which is expected to continue into the summer and the timing of Easter.
The positive Wizz Air messages comes in contrast to UK rival easyJet which yesterday warned that uncertainty over Brexit is hitting demand for flights over the summer.
Wizz Air has taken delivery of its first two Airbus A321neos, taking its fleet up to 112 aircraft.
“The continued rollout of these larger and more fuel efficient aircraft which, combined with the company’s industry leading unit costs, a highly valued employee base and investment grade balance sheet, makes Wizz Air a structural winner in the European airline industry,” the carrier said.
The update came as Wizz Air reported March carryings up by 9.9% year-on-year to 2.7 million passengers with an improved load factor 94.12%.
Annual financial results for the year to March 31 are due to be issued on May 31 together with and outlook on summer trading.
