Wizz Air issues profits warning due to Middle East crisis; China ‘tells refiners to halt diesel and gasoline exports’ – business live
Wizz Air issues profits warning due to Middle East crisis
The travel disruption, the higher oil price and the fall in the euro caused by the Iran war has prompted low-cost airline Wizz Air to issue a profits warning.
Wizz Air warned investors last night that it believes the current crisis in the Middle East will wipe €50m off its profits this financial years.
Wizz had previously predicted that earnings would fall within a profit of €25m to a loss of €25m, so today’s warning means it expects a loss for the year.
The company told the City:
In terms of the expected impact, approximately one third is a result of the cessation of certain scheduled services to the Middle East, with the remainder from the adverse movement in macroeconomic factors as a result of the Iran conflict.
Our assessment of the impact of these macroeconomic factors is based on jet fuel and US$/€ rates as of today, and assumes that these rates will remain at current levels for rest of Fiscal Year 2026.
Key events
Warning war could disrupt semiconductor production
The US-Israel war with Iran could disrupt supplies of key semiconductor manufacturing materials, a South Korean ruling party lawmaker said on Thursday.
South Korea’s chip industry – which supplies around two-thirds of global memory chips – was also concerned that a prolonged conflict in Iran would lead to higher energy costs and prices, Kim Young-bae said after meeting executives from companies such as Samsung Electronics and trade groups.
“Officials raised a possibility that semiconductor production could be disrupted if some of these key materials cannot be sourced from the Middle East,” he said at a press briefing cited by Reuters. He added that South Korean firms sourced some key chip-making materials such as helium from the Middle East.
Our Middle East crisis liveblog has more details:
Oil up 2.75% this morning
The oil price is rising again this morning.
Brent crude is up 2.75% at $83.68 a barrel, approaching the 19-month high hit on Monday.
Deutsche Bank analysts say oil is rising because there are no signs of de-escalation yet in the Middle East conflict, telling clients:
That comes as the IRGC said they would intensify and expand strikes in the coming days, while the US confirmed it had sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka.
There was also little clarity over the war’s potential length, with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying “it could be six, it could be eight, it could be three” weeks. There’s also uncertainty on when shipping will resume through the Strait of Hormuz, and we’ve seen signs of oil importers beginning to adjust behaviour.
For example, Bloomberg reported overnight that China had told the biggest oil refiners to suspend exports of diesel and gasoline.
Bloomberg: China tells top refiners to halt diesel and gasoline exports
Bloomberg are reporting that China’s government has told the country’s largest oil refiners to suspend exports of diesel and gasoline, due to disruption to crude supplies.
It’s a sign that the slowdown in oil shipments out of the Middle East this week is starting to impact Asia-Pacific economies.
Officials from the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planner, met refinery executives and verbally called for a temporary suspension of refined product shipments that would begin immediately, according to people familiar with the matter.
The refiners were asked to stop signing new contracts and to negotiate the cancellation of already-agreed shipments.
Wizz Air issues profits warning due to Middle East crisis
The travel disruption, the higher oil price and the fall in the euro caused by the Iran war has prompted low-cost airline Wizz Air to issue a profits warning.
Wizz Air warned investors last night that it believes the current crisis in the Middle East will wipe €50m off its profits this financial years.
Wizz had previously predicted that earnings would fall within a profit of €25m to a loss of €25m, so today’s warning means it expects a loss for the year.
The company told the City:
In terms of the expected impact, approximately one third is a result of the cessation of certain scheduled services to the Middle East, with the remainder from the adverse movement in macroeconomic factors as a result of the Iran conflict.
Our assessment of the impact of these macroeconomic factors is based on jet fuel and US$/€ rates as of today, and assumes that these rates will remain at current levels for rest of Fiscal Year 2026.
Introduction: Asian shares surge, led by South Korea’s KOSPI
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
The Middle East conflict continues to grip the markets. After heavy losses earlier this week, Asia-Pacific stocks have bounced back today.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan jumped by 3.9% today. South Korea’s KOSPI, which posted its biggest ever fall on Tuesday (-12%), has surged by almost 10% today. Japan’s Nikkei is up 1.9%.
Markets are looking calmer, and more positive, reports Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone.
That news flow has leaned net positive over the last day or so, although kinetic action continues in the Middle East, not only with President Trump having touted insurance guarantees, and potential navy escorts for tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, but also amid reporting (which was later denied) that Iran had reached out to the US via various back-channels to engage in discussions regarding an end to the war.
Airline shares are among the risers, as more flights take off from the Middle East. Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways is up 1.34% in late trading, while Australia’s Qantas Airways has gained 1%.
The agenda
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9am GMT: UK car sales for February
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9.30am GMT: UK construction PMI for February
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1.30pm GMT: US initial jobless claims
