Wizz Air is expected to make a net profit of €350 - 450 million in the current financial year subject to the absence of adverse events such as an incremental impact from the war in Ukraine or delivery delays coupled with strong demand for travel.
This would be a huge improvement over the 12-months financial statement of Wizz Air where it posted a net loss of $572.8 million citing Russia-Ukraine war and rising fuel price as the reasons for loss.
Wizz said it was seeing strong bookings and higher fares for summer, in line with rivals which have pointed to consumers prioritising travel despite squeezed incomes due to high inflation and rising interest rates.
Commenting on the future, József Váradi, Group Chief Executive Officer, Wizz Air said: "As we look ahead, we are optimistic for the current financial year and our focus continues to be on returning to net profit in F24. This will be driven by low cost, operational excellence, including continued high aircraft utilization, productivity improvements and increased flight completion factors. In F24 we look forward to becoming an employer of +8,000 people and an airline of +200 aircraft, with 63 per cent share of NEOs and a fleet with an average seat count of 226, one of the highest in the world in the narrow-body aircraft segment."
"The demand for our services remains very strong across our network, especially in our traditional CEE markets, where we have scaled up, while continuing to make significant progress in Western Europe. We continue to innovate in terms of our geographic network coverage and the opportunity in the Middle East remains incredibly exciting with nine aircraft deployed to date and our plan is to reach 16 over the next twelve months," Varadi added.
Revenue more than doubled to €3.9bn, while passenger numbers were up 88% to 51 million. The airline reported a positive EBITDA at €134.3 million, registering an increase by €157.6 million over a loss in F22. The airline reported an operating loss at€466.8 million in F23 compared to €465.3 million in F22. The airline's net €466.8 million in F23 compared to €465.3 million in F22.
The airline's total cash reported at the end of March 2023 was €1,529.0 million of which €120.4 million was restricted cash.
"F23 was a year of significant growth for the business, with our key operational and financial performance metrics moving in the right direction as we transition into the post-COVID era. During the year Wizz Air delivered industry-leading capacity increases by operating 76 per cent more ASKs versus last year (and +40 per cent vs F20). Our strategy of driving profitable growth across our core CEE network, Western Europe and the Middle East has helped deliver a Company record revenue for F23 of €3,896 million, up 134 per cent year-on-year and a 41 per cent increase on pre-COVID levels in F20. This strong revenue performance has also been driven by strengthening load factors throughout the financial year – reaching 92.2% for the final month of F23," Varadi said.
The airline focussed on expansion and increasing frequencies on existing routes and joining existing airport in FY23. The airline has restored the capacity at its core CEE region and retained its market position with 24% market share. The airline recently expanded in Poland and Georgia.
In the twelve months ended 31 March 2023 Wizz Air has taken delivery of 35 new A321neo aircraft, while returning nine A320ceo aircraft, ending the year with a total fleet of 179 aircraft: 50x A320ceo, 41x A321ceo, 6x A320neo, 82x A321neo. Wizz Air’s delivery backlog comprises of a firm order for 13x A320neo, 305x A321neo and 47x A321XLR aircraft, a total of 365 aircraft.