Wizz Air has announced that its total revenue during its third quarter – the three months to end December 2019 - increased 24.6% to €637.3 million, with ticket revenue up by 15.5% to €336.3 million. Ancillary revenues increased 36.7% to €301.1 million. Profit for the period was a record €21.4 million in Q3, a year-on-year increase of €42.4 million.
Unit revenues increased 1.9% year-on-year to 3.60 Euro cents per available seat kilometre (ASK), with total unit costs down by 2.1% year-on-year to 3.47 Euro cents per ASK. Excluding fuel, unit costs decreased by 5.6% year-on-year to 2.26 Euro cents per ASK, while fuel unit costs increased by 5.2% year-on-year to 1.21 Euro cents per ASK.
Wizz Air’s total cash at the end of December 2019 was €1,501.4 million, of which €1,319.9 million was free cash
Wizz Air total passengers carried during the period increased 23.2% to 10.0 million.
The airline has announced 105 new routes since the beginning of the current fiscal year and now offers more than 710 routes to 45 countries from 25 bases. Its fleet continued to grow with the delivery of one new Airbus A321neo during the period, taking the fleet to 120 aircraft at the end of the third quarter, with an average aircraft age of five years.
“Wizz Air again reports a record financial performance in the third quarter as our low-fare, low-cost business model delivered a net profit of €21.4 million compared to a broadly breakeven operational outcome in the same period last year,” said József Váradi, Wizz Air Chief Executive. “We have delivered unit cost reduction ahead of expectations with ex-fuel CASK improving 5.6% year-on-year. Whilst growing passenger volumes by an industry leading 23% in the third quarter, we have achieved both higher load factors and improved yields. In short, it has been another quarter of significant achievement.”
Commenting on new business developments, specifically the creation of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, Váradi said that the new venture “will be an incremental path of growth for Wizz Air, built on our successful ultra-low cost business model, bringing affordable travel to ever more customers. We believe the new airline which is expected to be operational in the second half of 2020 has the potential to be a significant player in the region operating over 50 aircraft within ten years.”
Wizz Air states that it has reinvested some of its outperformance of the first half in the third quarter, and intends to grow even faster in the fourth quarter, delivering a growth rate of 24%. “The company will benefit from this additional growth in the next financial year as new routes will be in place ahead of the all-important summer period,” says Váradi. “Wizz Air also confirms that the current trading conditions continue to be favourable with a relatively benign competitive environment, stable fuel prices and a positive yield environment. Despite our additional investment in growth in the fourth quarter, the company is today raising its net profits guidance to a range of between €350m to €355m for the full year.”