Latest news with #JózsefVáradi
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Wizz Air suffers £500m slump as engine troubles ground planes
Almost half a billion pounds has been wiped off the value of Wizz Air after engine troubles forced it to ground dozens of planes and triggered a slump in earnings. Wizz Air shares fell by more than 25pc on Wednesday after the low-cost airline said operating profit in the 12 months through to March had dropped to barely a third of the previous year's total. The slump saw the company's market capitalisation fall by £480m to £1.25bn. The Hungarian airline's problems stem from issues with the Pratt & Whitney GTF engines that power Wizz's Airbus A320-series jets, problems that have plagued all operators that use these components. Wear and tear to the engines have left a significant chunk of Wizz's fleet idled at any one time as turbines are sent off for repair. The Pratt engine crisis, caused by the use of contaminated powdered metal during manufacturing, which causes components to crack, has affected more than 40 A320 operators. However, Wizz has been the worst hit in Europe. József Váradi, the chief executive of Wizz, said the company was forced to lease a dozen aircraft and 40 spare engines to fulfil its flight schedule and defend key markets. Only a proportion of these costs were covered by a compensation package from US-based Pratt, leading to the sharp drop in earnings. He said: 'We had to protect capacity in the strategic interests of the company. That has cost us a lot of money, but otherwise competitors would have taken those markets that we had invested in previously. 'Even then, we're simply not able to fly the total fleet as much as we would, which also comes with significant costs.' The measures pushed up overall expenses, excluding fuel, by 20pc. Operating profit fell from €438m (£369m) to just €168m, sending Wizz shares tumbling, while net income was lower than expected. Wizz also saw its operations curtailed by the conflict in Ukraine. While listed in London, the company is based in Hungary and is a leading carrier in several East European countries where the war has limited flights. Services to Israel, a major market for the airline, operated only intermittently in response to the fluctuating security situation. While Wizz predicted revenue would increase this year, it declined to provide profit guidance. Management also warned that Wizz was having to cut fares to attract customers. Mr Varadi said the fleet situation should ease in the next year. The number of planes grounded dropped from 42 at the end of March to 37 as of May 9 and should be reduced to 34 by September. Despite the recent setback, Wizz Air still has ambitious expansion plans. It has signed a deal for more than 300 Airbus jets worth more than $45m (£33m), to be delivered by the end of the decade. It has ordered the biggest 230-seat A321s in a bid to undercut larger rivals Ryanair and easyJet. Mr Varadi said Wizz Air could double the size of its British-based fleet from 20 planes to 40 if airport expansion plans go ahead as expected. Government backing for a second runway at Gatwick is expected to be given later this year, while plans for expansion of Luton, Wizz's biggest UK hub, were signed off by Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, in April.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Wizz Air sees income hit by engine issues and grounded aircraft
Wizz Air recorded a net profit of €213.9 million in the fiscal year 2025, representing a 41.5% year-on-year decline. The low-cost Hungarian airline also reported a comprehensive profit of €225.8m, missing its target of €250m to €300m. EBITDA, meanwhile, came in at €1.1 billion, a decrease of €58.9m compared to the prior fiscal year. Total revenue showed a 3.8% rise on the year, at €5.3bn, and the firm reported record traffic, amounting to 63.4 million passengers. 'I describe our fiscal year F25 with two words: resilience and transformation. In an environment where rare challenges have become recurrent, Wizz Air has evolved structurally, embedding increased flexibility into our standard operating model,' József Váradi, Wizz Air Chief Executive Officer, said in the earnings release. Related AirBaltic CEO lauds new Starlink installation despite Musk controversy Would you 'suffer the pain' of a long-haul budget flight? Wizz Air hopes so with new Saudi service Among the challenges facing the airline this fiscal year was an obligation to ground its Airbus jets because of faulty engines. 'At end of F25, there were 42 grounded aircraft due to GTF engine inspections and 3 grounded aircraft in Ukraine,' said the firm. By the end of the first half of the next fiscal year, it expects to have about 34 planes grounded. "Wizz Air is a more resilient business today," added Váradi. "Despite the unproductivity of a grounded fleet, we successfully delivered a second consecutive year of profitability. We have the benefit of more than a year of experience operating under these unique circumstances - conditions airlines would never experience when demand exceeds supply." Wizz Air shares were down around 23.5% in daily trading just after 10am CEST in daily trading. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Euronews
5 days ago
- Business
- Euronews
Wizz Air sees income hit by engine issues and grounded aircraft
Wizz Air recorded a net profit of €213.9 million in the fiscal year 2025, representing a 41.5% year-on-year decline. The low-cost Hungarian airline also reported a comprehensive profit of €225.8m, missing its target of €250m to €300m. EBITDA, meanwhile, came in at €1.1 billion, a decrease of €58.9m compared to the prior fiscal year. Total revenue showed a 3.8% rise on the year, at €5.3bn, and the firm reported record traffic, amounting to 63.4 million passengers. 'I describe our fiscal year F25 with two words: resilience and transformation. In an environment where rare challenges have become recurrent, Wizz Air has evolved structurally, embedding increased flexibility into our standard operating model,' József Váradi, Wizz Air Chief Executive Officer, said in the earnings release. Among the challenges facing the airline this fiscal year was an obligation to ground its Airbus jets because of faulty engines. 'At end of F25, there were 42 grounded aircraft due to GTF engine inspections and 3 grounded aircraft in Ukraine,' said the firm. By the end of the first half of the next fiscal year, it expects to have about 34 planes grounded. "Wizz Air is a more resilient business today," added Váradi. "Despite the unproductivity of a grounded fleet, we successfully delivered a second consecutive year of profitability. We have the benefit of more than a year of experience operating under these unique circumstances - conditions airlines would never experience when demand exceeds supply." Wizz Air shares were down around 23.5% in daily trading just after 10am CEST in daily trading.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wizz Air reveals details on resuming flights in Ukraine
Hungarian airline Wizz Air is ready to return to Ukraine and is close to reaching an agreement on resuming commercial operations with some Ukrainian airports. Source: CEO József Váradi during the Logistics as a Driver of Economic Growth conference organised by the think tank We Build Ukraine Details: Váradi stated that Wizz Air has big plans for Ukraine and sees significant potential in the country's aviation sector. He mentioned that Wizz Air was planning not only to operate flights to Ukraine but also to restore operational bases and resume flights from the country. Váradi reported that Wizz Air has developed a plan to establish a network of around 100 routes within the first six months of resuming operations, aiming to achieve an annual passenger flow of five million. Váradi added that they were already prepared and actively negotiating with airports in Lviv and Kyiv, being close to finalising a commercial agreement. Background: Ryanair, one of the world's largest low-cost airlines, has developed a five-year plan to resume flights to Ukraine, but CEO Michael O'Leary says the airports the company has approached with the proposed deal are ignoring it. Ryanair is preparing a plan to restart flights to Ukraine within four to six weeks after the war with Russia is suspended. Viktor Mykyta, Deputy Head of the Ukrainian President's Office, told Forbes Ukraine that every effort would be made to reopen the airport in the city of Uzhhorod, but the final decision lies with the military personnel. Wizz Air intends to resume flights to Ukraine shortly after a ceasefire with Russia is announced, restoring about 30 inbound routes within six weeks. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
