Central and eastern European low-cost carrier Wizz Air has announced record profits and margin in a full-year trading update today.
Figures to the end of March show the carrier increased revenues by 21% to €1,227 million while net profit hit €183 million, an increase of 109%, and passenger number were up 18%.
Underlying net profit, minus exceptional income for the year, was €146 million, an increase of 67%, while underlying net profit margin was 11.9%, an increase of 3.3 percentage points.
Wizz Air listed on the London Stock Exchange within the last year and the annual results are its first as a publically listed company.
Performance in the fourth quarter saw revenue growth of 19%, seat capacity growth of 20% and load factors increase by 2.2 percentage points to 83.6%.
In the last year Wizz Air has undertaken a rebrand, brought in fully-allocated seating and opened two new bases and 63 new routes, taking the network to 380 routes to 22 countries.
Looking ahead to 2016, the airlines said it expects to see 17% growth in the year, but does not expect to benefit from lower fuel prices as these will feed through to lower fares.
However, it expects to see a further significant rise in post-tax underlying net profit in the 2016 financial year to a range of between €165 million and €175 million.
Wizz Air described trading so far this financial year as “robust”. Josef Varadi, Wizz Air chief executive said: “The last 12 months have been an exciting period for Wizz Air.
“Having successfully listed on the London Stock Exchange, we have continued to grow our network and increase our passenger numbers throughout the period while maintaining an industry leading, ultra low cost base.
“Today we are pleased to announce a record set of results for the full year with a strong performance against all key operating and financial performance measures.
“We continue to deliver against our ambition to make safe, reliable, affordable air travel available to everyone in Central and Eastern Europe.
“Our ultra-low-cost model gives us a clear cost advantage versus most of our rivals, including many other low-cost airlines, and as a result we are able to offer our passengers low fares and sustain a relatively high growth rate compared to other carriers.
“Last year alone we carried 2.6 million more passengers than in the previous year and we look forward to driving traffic growth further in the year ahead.
“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.”