European budget carrier Wizz Air flies back into profits after 3 years

European budget carrier Wizz Air flies back into profits after 3 years

For the current 12-month financial year run, Wizz Air is forecasting a further round of solid growth despite geopolitical issues the industry has to deal with. Image Credit: Courtesy: Wizz Air

Dubai: The European budget carrier Wizz Air has swung back into profits for 2023, for the first time in three years, after delivering a strong 21.4 per cent increase in passenger numbers to 62 million.

Profit for the financial year ending March 31 came to 365.9 million euros, from a loss of 535.1 million euros a year ago. Revenues totalled 5 billion euros, a 30.2 per cent increase on the year before 3.89 billion euros.

Wizz also operates an Abu Dhabi based airline, which is a joint venture with the UAE investment company ADQ.

Despite the revenue and return to profit, the financial year provided Wizz Air with quite a few challenges. “We also faced unprecedented supply chain disruption due to mandatory engine material inspections, affecting our (Airbus) neo aircraft fleet,” said József Váradi, CEO, in a statement.

“We placed a sharp focus on increasing utilisation, improving load factors and lowering unit costs (fuel and ex-fuel), and continued to invest in our operations. Our efforts saw us carry a record number