Wizz Air has revealed its annual profits slumped as the budget airline grappled with a fifth of its planes being grounded over issues with the engines.
Shares in the firm plunged by about a quarter after unveiling its annual financial results.
The Hungarian company said it was flying more passengers than ever despite the “significant challenges” it faced.
It reported an operating profit of 167.5 million euros (£141 million) for the year to the end of March, about a 62% drop from the 437.9 million euros (£368.7 million) generated the previous year.
Nevertheless, revenues for the group edged up 3.8% and it carried a record 63.4 million passengers.
The low-cost European airline was forced to ground an average of 44 planes over the year because of issues with the engines, which are made by US aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney.
This amounted to almost a fifth of the entire fleet.
Wizz secured a two-year compensation package with Pratt & Whitney at the end of 2024 over the grounding of Airbus A320neo aircraft.
It said the support was set to mitigate “some, but not all, of the operational and financial impacts on the business”.
Jozsef Varadi, Wizz Air’s chief executive, said: “Despite the unproductivity of a grounded fleet, we successfully delivered a second consecutive year of profitability.
“The number of grounded aircraft will start reducing in both absolute and relative terms and this is why we have reached a transformation point.”
It had 37 planes on the ground last month, and is expecting roughly 34 to remain grounded by the end of September.
The company also flagged higher airport and flight costs that helped drive up its total expenses by a 10th year-on-year.
Airport, maintenance, and crew costs have been rising, while the European air traffic controller increased charges from the start of the year, Wizz Air told investors.
Wizz Air said it was not providing a forecast for the year ahead because of uncertainties, but that it was expecting revenues to be higher.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets for Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The airline is still mired in problems, and although management have said the number of grounded aircraft will start reducing, the issues are expected to linger for two to three years.
“There’s clearly significantly more opportunity for the company to seize, with so many more people ringfencing budgets to spend on holidays.
“But until the company can fly away from its operations problems, investor sentiment is set to remain subdued, especially given the concerns about potential geopolitical turbulence which are also clouding its route ahead.”
