Latest news with #Varadi
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Record
Popular budget airline sees stocks tumble after admitting one in five planes grounded
Wizz Air is one of the most popular budget airlines for Brits jetting off on holiday, but the Hungarian firm has seen a 62 per cent drop in profits while 20 per cent of its planes are grounded A popular budget airline, often chosen by British holidaymakers looking for cheap flights, has seen its shares slump after disclosing that 20 per cent of its fleet is grounded due to engine issues. Wizz Air operated over 63 million flights to and from the UK last year, offering connections to favourite getaway locations such as Spain, Greece, and Italy. Nonetheless, the airliner's profits took a nosedive by 62 per cent to £141 million, largely due to ongoing strife in two key markets – Israel and Ukraine. Adding to their woes, about 40 of their jets are currently idle because of global complications with some Airbus engines, putting a significant chunk of Wizz's profit generators out of action. As a repercussion, share prices plunged to 1207p, a steep fall from their high of 5500p in 2021. Despite these challenges, Wizz Air has experienced an uptick in British customers, with over 12 million Brits opting for the budget carrier for trips abroad. Battling substantial adversities, however, the airline had to signal two profit warnings within a year. The Chief Executive, Jozsef Varadi, conveyed to the Mail: "Wizz Air is a more resilient business today. Despite the unproductivity of a grounded fleet, we successfully delivered a second year of profitability.", reports the Express. He also noted: "We have the benefit of more than a year of experience operating under unique circumstances - conditions airlines would never experience when demand exceeds supply." The budget operator's plummeting share value and profits have raised red flags for airports throughout the UK. With operations from key international hubs such as Luton as well as regional airports including Liverpool, Birmingham, Doncaster, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh, Wizz Air's financial performance is significant. Recovery does not seem on the horizon for Wizz Air, with engine checks and services on its Airbus fleet experiencing extensive delays, now reaching 300 days and potentially stretching into 2027. The troubles started back in 2023 after the manufacturer issued a recall of certain engine models due to fears of powdered metal tainting the manufacturing process. However, the airline's CEO has declared that they are at a "transformation point" concerning these issues. Despite having 44 aircraft out of a fleet of 200 impacted, the company anticipates reducing this figure to 37 by September, thereby missing the peak summer period. As one of the most severely impacted airlines in Europe, Wizz Air has managed to negotiate a compensation arrangement with Pratt & Whitney, the company responsible for manufacturing the engines for Airbus. CEO Varadi said this agreement helps alleviate "some, but not all, of the operational and financial impacts on the business." AJ Bell's Investment Director Russ Mould remarked: 'The aviation firm labelled its previous year as "resilience and transformation", yet market reactions imply "awful" would be more apt. "Formerly seen as the ambitious growth contender, even considering acquiring Easyjet back in 2021, Wizz Air now appears to be falling behind in the race. 'With shares at a fraction of their peak, failure to resolve its problems could see Wizz turn from predator to prey. '.
RTÉ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
Wizz Air profit slumps on grounded planes, shares tumble
Budget carrier Wizz Air's grounded planes that are awaiting engine repairs took their toll on annual profits today, sending the shares down 23%. Wizz Air had 37 aircraft grounded as of May 9. By the end of the first half of its 2026 financial year, it expects 34 aircraft to remain grounded, with a repair shop visit expected at around 300 days. The planes have been affected by problems with RTX-owned Pratt and Whitney engines, limiting the airline's ability to increase capacity. It has issued two profit warnings in the past year. "You look at the performance of the supply chain, of the industry, and there are cracks all over the place," Chief Executive Jozsef Varadi told Reuters in an interview. Varadi previously said he expected the airline to be impacted by the engine repair issues for another two to three years. "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," he said in the statement today. Operating profit for the financial year ended March 31 fell 61.7% from a year ago to 167.5 million euros missing the 246 million euros projected by analysts polled by LSEG. The London-listed shares fell 26% to 1,227p at 9.10am (GMT), having dropped 48% year-on-year to continue the carrier's streak as the worst stock performer among European airlines. Wizz Air has subsidiaries in Hungary, Britain, Abu Dhabi and Malta. That appeared to weigh on other airlines, with Lufthansa, easyjet and British Airways-owner IAG down 1.5% to 2.7%. European airlines have warned of longstanding delivery delays and uncertainty around maintaining a boom in post-COVID demand amid economic turmoil tied to US President Donald Trump's tariff threats. The sector has, however, benefited from lower fuel prices. Wizz said ticket prices were slightly lower than last year. Analysts have pointed to other potential rising costs. In particular, costs due to the retiring of Wizz's A320ceo fleet projected for next year. The company said it would not provide guidance for 2026 at this stage of the year, citing limited visibility.
The Independent
13-02-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Wizz Air wants restart of Ukraine flights as soon as possible after any ceasefire
Wizz Air is poised to swiftly resume flights to Ukraine if a ceasefire with Russia is declared. Chief executive Jozsef Varadi revealed the airline 's ambitious plan to reinstate approximately 30 inbound routes within six weeks of any such announcement. "We have a firm plan for the restart of Ukraine, because I think it can happen any moment," Varadi stated, emphasizing the airline's readiness. He outlined the strategy, explaining, "Once a ceasefire is announced, then we would look at our restart." This rapid resumption hinges on the European Union Aviation Safety Agency's estimated six-to-eight week timeframe to declare Ukrainian airspace safe. Varadi confirmed Wizz Air is actively preparing for this reopening. It comes amid heightened tensions in Ukraine and across Europe after President Donald Trump said he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about a timeline to begin negotiations to end the war that Russia started three years ago this month. The pair discussed the matter on an hour-and-a-half phone call on Wednesday, in which Mr Trump said they agreed to "work together, very closely" – sparking concerns that Kyiv was being shut out of the process. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth denied suggestions that Mr Trump's call, which sparked concern among European officials that a deal was being done over their heads, was an act of betrayal. Wizz Air said it would restart operating bases in Kyiv and Lviv, Varadi said, initially aiming to supply an annualised capacity of about 5 million seats a year to the Ukrainian market across 60 routes. Prior to the war in 2021, the low-cost airline was No. 3 in the Ukrainian market with a 10.1 per cent share. Rival airline Ryanair has also said it would start flying to Ukraine once the war ends. Wizz Air cut its annual net income forecast for the second time in six months in January, as it grapples with rising costs related to the grounding of some 20 per cent of its fleet due to engine problems and economic uncertainties. However, Varadi expects the economic outlook to improve and for capacity to increase by about 20 per cent in the 2025 fiscal year on the expected delivery of 50 new Airbus aircraft between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026. "That is a significant source of growth and also we are recovering some of the engine-related grounded aircraft and they will go back into service," he said. "So if I look at the kind of the next two years of capacity, we're going to be able to add around 80 lines of flying to the business," he said. Shares in some European airlines fell on Tuesday, with Wizz Air down 6.9 per cent by 1304 GMT, with analysts pointing to TUI Group, Europe's largest travel operator, having flagged a slowdown in bookings.
Al Arabiya
11-02-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Wizz Air aims for restart of Ukraine flights within six weeks of any ceasefire
Wizz Air aims to restart flights to Ukraine shortly after the announcement of any ceasefire with Russia, reinstating about 30 inbound routes within six weeks, Chief Executive Jozsef Varadi told Reuters on Tuesday. 'We have a firm plan for the restart of Ukraine, because I think it can happen any moment,' Varadi said. 'Once a ceasefire is announced, then we would look at our restart.' Varadi said the European Union Aviation Safety Agency estimates it would need six-to-eight weeks to safely reopen Ukrainian airspace and Wizz Air was getting ready for that. US President Donald Trump has pledged to bring a swift end to the nearly three-year war in Ukraine and contacts between Russia and the US have intensified, but Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday there was nothing more to add for now. Within six months of the conflict ending, Wizz Air would restart operating bases in Kyiv and Lviv, Varadi said, initially aiming to supply an annualized capacity of about 5 million seats a year to the Ukrainian market across 60 routes. Prior to the war in 2021, the low-cost airline was No. 3 in the Ukrainian market with a 10.1 percent share. Rival airline Ryanair has also said it would start flying to Ukraine once the war ends. Wizz Air cut its annual net income forecast for the second time in six months in January, as it grapples with rising costs related to the grounding of some 20 percent of its fleet due to engine problems and economic uncertainties. However, Varadi expects the economic outlook to improve and for capacity to increase by about 20 percent in the 2025 fiscal year on the expected delivery of 50 new Airbus aircraft between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026. 'That is a significant source of growth and also we are recovering some of the engine-related grounded aircraft and they will go back into service,' he said. 'So if I look at the kind of the next two years of capacity, we're going to be able to add around 80 lines of flying to the business,' he said. Shares in some European airlines fell on Tuesday, with Wizz Air down 6.9 percent by 1304 GMT, with analysts pointing to TUI Group , Europe's largest travel operator, having flagged a slowdown in bookings.
