By Scott Kanowsky
Investing.com -- London-listed shares in Wizz Air Holdings PLC (LON:WIZZ) slumped on Monday after the European budget carrier said it expects to report a loss in its first-quarter earnings and laid out plans to draw down aircraft usage during the key summer travel season.
In a trading update, Wizz Air announced that it will post a quarterly operating loss of €285 million, citing flight disruptions, rising fuel costs, and negative effects from an uptick in the strength of the U.S. dollar against the euro.
On a net basis, the first-quarter loss is expected to total €450 million.
Wizz Air also flagged that it may lower its aircraft utilization this summer by 5% in a bid to reduce the impact from a recent increase in labor actions and staff shortages at airports across Europe.
"To be able to avoid cancellations and secure a more punctual operation to our customers, we have further improved the agility and resilience of our network including adjusting schedules where we have seen a higher occurrence of issues," Wizz Air said in a statement.
The company warned that it faces a "challenging macro and operational backdrop," but said it still plans to make a "material" operating profit in the second quarter thanks to higher fares and solid summer passenger demand.
Wizz Air will release its full first-quarter results on July 27.