Wizz Air has reported a fiscal full year 2022 net loss of €643 million on a 125 percent year-over-year increase in revenue to €1.7 billion. At March 31, 2022, the carrier had cash totaling €1.38 billion, including €450 million in short-term deposits and €162 million in restricted cash.
On Wednesday (June 8, 2022), Wizz Air reported their full fiscal year financial results for the period ending March 31, 2022. The carrier reported a FY2022 net loss of €643 million, an increase of €66 million versus the company’s FY2021 net loss, on a year-over-year increase in revenue of 125 percent to €1.7 billion. Wizz Air’s FY22 EBITA was near break even with a loss of €19.0 million versus a loss of €183 million for the previous fiscal year. Net financial expenses for the year increased to €90 million compared to €67 million for FY21. At March 31, 2022, the company had cash totaling €1.38 billion, including €450 million in short-term deposits and €162 million in restricted cash.
Commenting on the airline’s FY2022 results, Wizz Air Group’s CEO, József Váradi, said in part,
“Our investments in staffing, our fleet and diversifying the network enabled us to recover capacity faster and we operated more than twice as many ASKs compared to F21, while carrying 27.1 million passengers, compared to 10.2m in F21. The load factor improved to 78 per cent, significantly ahead of the 64 per cent seen in F21. Whereas F22 passenger numbers and asset utilization remained well below pre-Covid levels resulting in a reported net loss of €642.5m for F22, the reported loss in the fourth quarter was ahead of our guidance driven by an improving trading environment.
“At the end of F22, our cash and cash equivalents position continued to be very strong and we finished the year with a cash position of €1,379 million. Equally, as we close F22, we are able to confirm our investment grade balance sheet (Baa3 by Moody's and BBB- by Fitch). We believe we have now entered into an endemic phase of COVID-19 and have managed the trading impact from the war in Ukraine. On 24 February 2022, the war in Ukraine began and I am incredibly proud of our response in supporting our colleagues and customers and we'll continue to do so by all means at our disposal in the face of this human tragedy. Without Wizz Air employees these efforts would not be possible and we thank them again for a full year of relentless support and resilience.
“The industry is witnessing supply-chain issues across airports, including in our network. Shortages of staff in air traffic control, security and other parts of the supply-chain are impacting airlines, our employees and our customers directly. We are deploying extra resources to minimize disruptions and urge all other stakeholders to do the same, having customers' best interests always in mind…”
Wizz Air’s revenue per available seat kilometer (RASK) increased year-over-year by 3.1 percent to €0.0298, while revenue excluding fuel (RASK-ex) increased by 27.3 percent compared to FY21 to €0.0281. The carrier’s FY22 cost per available seat kilometer (CASK) decreased 18 percent year-over year to €0.0398, while costs excluding fuel (CASK-ex) decreased 27.3 percent versus FY21 to €0.0281.
During the 12 month period ending March 31, 2022, Wizz took delivery of 25 new Airbus A321neos and returned nine A320ceos. The carrier ended the year with a fleet of 159 aircraft including 59 A320ceos, 41 A321ceos, six A320neos and 47 Airbus A321neos. Wizz Air operates one of the youngest fleets in Europe with an average aircraft age of 5.0 years. In November 2021, Wizz signed a purchase agreement with Airbus for an additional 102 A321s (75 A321neos and 27 A321XLRs). The company’s current backlog with Airbus totals 415 aircraft, including 34 A320neos, 244 A321neos, and 47 A321XLRs, plus an additional order for 15 A321neos and purchase rights for 75 A321neos.
Budapest, Hungary-based Wizz Air is the fastest growing European low-cost carrier (LCC) and operates an all Airbus A320 and A321 fleet of 159 aircraft. Wizz Air is the largest LCC in Central and Eastern Europe and offering over 700 routes from 45 bases. During FY 22 (ending March 31, 2022) the airline served approximately 27.1 million guests. Wizz Air offers superior guest service at exceptionally low fares. Shares in the company trade on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol WIZZ.
Source: Wizz Air / RNS Number: 08730