 fell over 8 percent on the London market on Wednesday.){kind=link}
Shares in budget airline Wizz Air (LON:WIZZ) fell over 8 percent on the London market on Wednesday, after severe weather and lower airfares led the group to cut their annual profit forecast.
Although reported net profit for the period was a record 32.5 million euros in the third quarter, a year on year increase of 107.8 percent, underlying net profit for the period was 13.5 million euros, a sizeable 21.5 percent decrease.
In a statement, the company said they had a “profitable third quarter with a strong balance sheet”, but “severe weather” had had a negative effect on finances.
József Váradi, Wizz Air Chief Executive, said he was “pleased to report another quarter of profitable growth increasing passenger numbers by 20 percent year-on-year to 5.7 million in the third quarter.”
“Wizz Air remains on track to strengthen its position during 2017 financial year through continued growth in our core markets and expansion of our network.
“Although the current financial year is looking like a very good year for Wizz Air and we remain excited about our prospects for the next financial year, lower fuel prices continue to feed through to lower airfares, and this downward trend looks likely to continue well into 2017.
“Also, our operations this winter have been disrupted by unusually severe weather conditions in CEE. As a result, management believes it is prudent to trim the company’s guidance for net profit for the full year from the existing range of between 245 – 255 million euros to a range of between 225 – 235 million euros.”
The budget airline has been forced to compete with market leaders Ryanair and Easyjet, who have flooded the market with cheap seats to take advantage of low oil prices. Flybe also faced difficulties in the previous quarter, as it struggles to deal with the impact of sterling’s devaluation.
Wizz Air shares are currently trading down 8.42 percent at 1,631.00 (1116GMT).