Wizz Air SWOT: ultra-low costs drive high growth and margins, in spite of Ryanair competition

In late Oct-2015, ultra-LCC Wizz Air carried its 100 millionth passenger, just 12 years after its 2003 launch. In a further sign that it has joined the ranks of Europe's well established airlines, this year also saw its Feb-2015 floating of its shares on the London Stock Exchange. Wizz Air's 1H results for FY2016 confirmed the ongoing strength of its performance in its first full financial year after its share listing. Wizz Air's underlying net profit grew by 34% and its operating profit increased by 28%. Revenues grew by 15%, with passenger numbers up 20%, and the operating margin gained 2.6 ppts to reach 25.4%.

Wizz Air's success has been built organically and with a largely stable management team under founding CEO Josef Varadi. In this respect, the recent departure of long-serving CFO Mike Powell creates some uncertainty pending his replacement.

Nevertheless, as CAPA's analysis of Wizz Air's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats highlights, the airline is strongly placed to drive further profit growth, provided that it can continue to live with competition from Ryanair.