Wizz Air Fails To Provide Guidance As Staff Shortages Continue To Cause Disruptions

Wizz Air’s full-year 2022 results conveyed a cautious undertone due to industry disruptions caused by staff shortages, which could spill over into the busy summer travel period and harm the strong demand recovery. Management expects to generate a loss in the first fiscal quarter and provided no further guidance about full-year profitability. If the summer period does not result in expected profitability, we believe the airline is on track for another full-year loss as the second half of the year is seasonally weak, even at the best of times. The group also has the weakest hedging position among peers, which could exacerbate cost pressures if energy prices remain elevated. In the longer term we believe the group has a solid growth story and a structurally low-cost base helped by its strong Airbus A320neo order book of fuel-efficient aircraft and one of the youngest fleets in Europe.