Wizz Air Holdings PLC (LON:WIZZ) investors will be hoping the carrier has managed to dodge the pressures facing budget airlines when it posts its final results on Friday.
Rising fuel costs, Brexit uncertainty and tough competition has led budget airlines to cut fares, putting a squeeze on margins and hurting profits.
However, Wizz Air’s exposure to the faster-growing economies of Eastern Europe could help to offset some of these issues.
The group has previously said it expects net profits for the year to be at the “upper half” of its guidance range of between €270mln-€300mln as it tries to keep costs under control and drive up ancillary revenues from extras like food, seat selection and baggage.
Analysts at Numis expect the airline to continue to take market share from national and legacy carriers as Wizz is one of the lowest cost airlines and “material cost tailwinds” are yet to come in.
Charles Stanley stands to gain from market recovery
Charles Stanley Group PLC (LON:CAY) also reports its full-year results on Friday.
The wealth manger had a difficult final quarter with the value of funds under management (FUM) dropping by almost 9% to £22.8bn at the end of December amid weak equity markets.
In the three months to December, the FTSE 100 index dropped by 10.4% and Charles Stanley said every service type was affected.
Markets have since recovered, however, and this is likely to have boosted Charles Stanley in the first quarter of the new financial year.
Significant announcements expected on Friday:
Finals: Wizz Air Holdings PLC (LON:WIZZ), Charles Stanley Group PLC (LON:CAY)
AGMs: Alba Mineral Resources plc (LON:ALBA)
Economic data: Nationwide house prices; US personal income/spending; US Chicago PMI; US University of Michigan final consumer confidence index