REG - Wizz Air Holdings - Q1 F23 Trading Update

Wizz Air HoldingsAnnouncement

11/07/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 9295R  Wizz Air Holdings PLC  11 July 2022

Q1 F23 TRADING UPDATE

 

Ticker:  WIZZ

 

Geneva, 11 July 2022: Wizz Air Holdings Plc ("Wizz Air"), the fastest-growing
and one of the most sustainable European airlines, today provides an update on
its first quarter results ahead of its Q1 F23 earnings release on 27 July
2022.

 

Wizz Air continued to ramp up its operation against a challenging macro and
operational backdrop.

 

Q1 F23 highlights

 

·      ASKs for the quarter were 30% higher versus F20, growing
sequentially month-on-month as most restrictions from Covid-19 were being
discontinued during the March-May 2022 period and as the capacity reallocation
related to the war in Ukraine started to take effect during the course of the
April-June 2022 quarter.

·      RASK for the quarter was down -10% versus F20, with net fares in
line with F20 but load factor at 85%, down 9 ppts, reflecting the efforts of
Wizz Air to pass through higher input cost in its fares. RASK sequentially
improved month on month with April and May at -14% versus the respective month
in F20, and June RASK was at -1.5% on the back of higher net fares (+6% vs
F20).

·      Ancillary revenues for the quarter were up 14% over F20, or 34.2
EUR/pax (up 4.1 EUR/pax vs F20), and, ticket fares were down 12% versus F20.

·      Fuel CASK for the quarter was up 94% versus F20 driven behind an
average fuel price of 1,239 USD/mT.  The Company has recently announced F23
'insurance' hedge coverage levels, which have been completed, and, a return to
systemic hedging starting as of F24.

·      Ex-Fuel CASK for the quarter was up 16% versus F20, at 2.62cts
versus 2.27cts in F20, of which disruptions drove an 0.22cts increase versus
F20, an increase of around 50m EUR.  The balance of the ex-Fuel CASK increase
versus F20 was largely driven by a 10% lower than historical utilization
during the quarter, given the gradual ramp up month on month.

·      The strength of the USD at the end of the quarter (1.04 vs. EUR)
compared to the start of the quarter (1.11 vs. EUR) drove an unrealized FX
loss on the Company of 136m EUR.  This is a non-cash impact.  The impact is
driven by a revaluation of the USD lease liabilities on the balance sheet of
the Company.  This impact will reverse should the EUR regain strength
relative to the USD during the next months and quarters, nevertheless, the
spot rate saw a further strengthening of the USD versus the EUR (1.02 vs EUR).

·      Cumulatively, the unrealized FX losses, the cost of disruptions and
the lower utilization in the quarter, combined with the pricing environment
especially in April and May 2022 drove an operating loss of 285m EUR for the
quarter and  a net reported loss of around 450m EUR (also including the
unrealized FX losses).

·      Wizz Air's liquidity remains strong with the cash balance at the
end of the quarter improving to around 1,570m EUR and the Company continues to
maintain its investment grade rated balance sheet position.

 

Q2 F23 outlook

 

Despite the factors impacting Q1 F23, the Company is expecting a material
operational profit in the second quarter of the FY (July - September) as
revenue and pricing momentum is expected to continue to improve, as we
highlighted during the full year results release.

 

·      We expect continued RASK improvement on the back of higher fares
and improving load factors, resulting in a high-single digit RASK improvement
for the quarter vs. F20.  Load factors as of July improve to above 90% and
the fare environment remains strong, with industry capacity reducing and
consumer demand over summer strong.

·      We expect our higher fleet utilization to help to further improve
our ex-Fuel CASK, returning towards historical ex-Fuel CASK levels for the
quarter and as we reduce the operational impact of disruptions.

·      To be able to avoid cancellations and secure a more punctual
operation to our customers, we have further improved the agility and
resilience of our network including adjusting schedules where we have seen a
higher occurrence of issues (e.g. slot allocation issues, turn-around
timings).  In total for the peak summer period we expect to reduce
utilization a further 5% versus the plan outlined at the full year results to
reduce the impact of ongoing external disruptions.  We now expect summer ASK
growth to be around 35% versus F20.

 

This announcement contains inside information.

 

 

ABOUT WIZZ AIR

Wizz Air, the fastest growing European ultra-low-cost airline and one of the
most sustainable, operates a fleet of 157 Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft. A
team of dedicated aviation professionals delivers superior service and very
low fares, making Wizz Air the preferred choice of 27.1 million passengers in
the Financial Year F22 ending 31 March 2022. Wizz Air is listed on the London
Stock Exchange under the ticker WIZZ. The company was recently named one of
the world's top ten safest airlines by airlineratings.com
(http://airlineratings.com/) , the world's only safety and product rating
agency, and 2020 Airline of the Year by ATW, the most coveted honour an
airline or individual can receive, recognising individuals and organisations
that have distinguished themselves through outstanding performance,
innovation, and superior service, and was also rated the most sustainable
airline in Europe by Sustainalytics in January 2022.

 

 - Ends -

 

 

 For more information:

 Investors:  Zlatko Custovic, Wizz Air                               +36 1 777 9407

 Media:      Zsuzsa Trubek, Wizz Air                                 +36 70 652 4115

             Edward Bridges / Jonathan Neilan, FTI Consulting LLP:   +44 20 3727 1017

 

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