Wizz Air Holdings PLC (AIM:WIZZ) has reported more than doubled revenues and reduced losses for the third quarter, as passenger numbers soared by 59.1%.
In a trading update, the budget airline operator posted third-quarter revenues of €911.7mln, up 123.2% with an EBITDA loss of €2.8mln, down from €87.5mln last year.
Operating losses for the quarter were €155.5mln compared to €213.6mln last time, while the load factor improved by 10.2 percentage points to 87.3.
Revenue per available seat kilometre (RASK) jumped 50% to 3.73 euro cents and is now 4% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
The company still expects to post an overall net loss in fiscal year 2023, but remains "confident” that fiscal year 2024 will be profitable.
On costs, operational adjustments contributed to significantly lower flight disruption costs compared to prior quarters, while the strengthening euro helped to reduce overall fuel and certain maintenance costs, the company said.
But the biggest impact was on revaluation of US dollar leasing liabilities, reversing most of the prior two quarters' losses and helping to deliver a net profit of €33.5mln for the quarter.
Bookings in January are ahead of 2022, in line with expectations, Wizz Air said.
“We remain optimistic and maintain our RASK guidance for H2 F23 at mid-single digits above the same period in 2019,” commented József Váradi, Wizz Air group chief executive officer.
Wizz Air said it remains on track to operate at 35% plus higher capacity versus the second half of 2020 and for the first half of fiscal year 2024, the planned average seat kilometre growth is over 30% against 2023.
The company added; “As with the third quarter, we expect to see slightly more ASK contribution from longer routes, connecting locations in Middle and Near East, as this region continues to attract a higher volume of passengers in the months to come. This should also bode well for better pricing opportunities.”