Wizz Air profit falls 66.6% as fuel costs surge

Wizz Air’s net profit fell by 66.6 per cent to €108.1 million in the six months to the end of September, as sharply higher fuel costs outweighed growth in passenger numbers and revenue.

The Hungarian budget airline said fuel costs rose by about a third in the first half of its financial year, to more than €1.2 billion. The report attributed the rise in fuel prices to the war in Iran.

Passenger numbers increased by more than a quarter and revenue also grew, but those gains did not prevent the fall in profit compared with the same period a year earlier.

Chief executive József Váradi praised the resilience of Wizz Air’s business model and said demand for its relatively low-cost flights remained healthy. He described fuel as the company’s main headwind in the period ahead.

The report said high fuel prices had also weighed on the financial performance of other airlines in recent months.