Wizz Air sees earnings fall after £43m impact from Iran war
Wizz Air has revealed its annual profits slumped after taking a 50 million euro (£43.1 million) hit from the Iran war but reported “resilience” after flying a record number of passengers.
The low-cost airline said it could not provide an outlook for the year ahead partly because of the volatility stemming from the conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. It reported an operating profit of 139.7 million euros (£120.6 million) for the year to the end of March, down 16.6% on the year before. The company’s net profit was almost entirely wiped out, from 213.9 million euros (£184.6 million) to 1.3 million euros (£1.1 million) year on year.
Wizz Air said it faced a number of one-off costs during the year including maintenance and repairs from the phase-out of an older fleet and delivery of new aircraft, and crew costs jumping by 16%.
Like other airlines, it also had to cancel flights after the onset of the US-Israeli’s war with Iran at the end of February. Cancelling flights to Tel Aviv in Israel and other routes to the Middle East and Cyprus in March impacted its earnings by an estimated 50 million euros (£43.1 million), according to the firm. Flights to Tel Aviv resumed at the end of May, and Wizz Air said it took steps to improve its summer season offers to alternative destinations like Spain, Italy, Croatia and Albania. Despite the cost pressures, Wizz Air said it flew a record 69.7 million passengers in the year to the end of March.