Higher passenger numbers saw budget airline Wizz Air (WIZZ) hit the top end of its lowered profit guidance for the 12 months to 31 March off the back of a 16.7 per cent increase in passenger numbers. Wizz had dropped its guidance on net profit from €310m-€340m (£274m-£301m) to €270m-€300m, but hit €292m in the year to March. At the same time, fuel costs jumped 39.2 per cent year on year to €668m, rising alongside staff costs (up 34.6 per cent) and aircraft rental (up 18 per cent).
Chief executive József Váradi said the carrier could withstand these increases better than other airlines. “We expect these macro conditions to provide Wizz Air with market share opportunities as weaker carriers withdraw unprofitable capacity,” he said. Váradi said air traffic control issues would continue across Europe, though. One response has been to follow Ryanair’s lead on charging for larger cabin bags, which it says will speed up boarding. Berenberg reported this had contributed to a 15 per cent increase in non-ticket revenue in the December quarter, although the ratio between ticket and ancillary revenue remains flat at 1.4 times.
Bloomberg consensus forecasts suggest adjusted pre-tax profit of £373m and EPS of 276¢ for the March 2020 year-end, climbing to £459m and 332¢ in FY2021.
| WIZZ AIR (WIZZ) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 3,051p | MARKET VALUE: | £2.22bn | |
| TOUCH: | 3,039-3,051p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 3,814p | LOW: 2,300p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | NIL | PE RATIO: | 8 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 2,098¢* | NET DEBT: | 84% | |
| Year to March 31 | Turnover (€bn) | Pre-tax profit (€m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
| 2016 | 1.43 | 201 | 362 | nil |
| 2017 | 1.57 | 256 | 430 | nil |
| 2018 | 1.94 | 287 | 402 | nil |
| 2019 | 2.32 | 300 | 406 | nil |
| % change | +20 | +4 | +1 | - |
| Ex-div: | na | |||
| Payment: | na | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £20.5m, or 28p a share, £1=€1.13 | ||||
