Wizz Air quarterly results impacted by supply chain, lowers full year profit guidance

Wizz Air lowered its full year profit guidance after its operating profit slumped around 44% to €44.6 million in the first quarter of the 2025 fiscal year. Its total revenues were up 16% to €274.6 million in the same period. It reported a net profit for the period of €1.2 million, down from €61.1 million. Following the results, the airline's outlook for the year anticipates its full fiscal year net income to be in the range of €350-450 million, having previously estimated the range to be around €500 million and €600 million. The all-Airbus fleet airline has contended with the geared turbofan (GTF) engine issues. As of June 30, 2024, the airline had 46 aircraft on ground (AOG) due to the GTF engine issues and it expects its peak AOGs to be 47 in September 2025. Wizz Air received 14 GTF spare engines in the period and expects a further two engines to limit the grounding of its next-generation Airbus fleet. The A320neo family aircraft equates to over 60% of its fleet. The total GTF spare engine pool is set to exceed 56 by the end of summer this year. In AE79, Wizz Air CEO József Váradi discussed the airline's spare engine and fleet growth plans. During the quarter, it secured eight wet-leased aircraft - leased from half a year to a year - to mitigate the impact of GTF engine inspections. It also dry-leased three A320ceo aircraft. Váradi commented: ""Cost per available seat kilometre (CASK), excluding fuel, increased by 8.2% to €2.72 cents, substantially reflecting the aircraft groundings and the cost of strategic wet leases. These were secured to protect our market positions during the peak summer season, and to ensure that our customers were able to rely on a stable network."" Its capacity is expected to remain flat in the first and second half of the fiscal year, with a full year load factor of 92%. Váradi added: ""Looking ahead, capacity is stabilising and we are focusing on further optimising our operations, with an emphasis on improving our most profitable bases and enhancing efficiency... We remain on track to return to annual capacity growth in F26, underpinned by the pipeline of Airbus deliveries."" While the airline's long-term growth plan - wanting to expand the fleet to over 500 by the end of the decade - remains unchanged though with Airbus scaling down its output, the airline anticipates 30-35 aircraft to be delayed from F26.