June 5 (Reuters) - Budget carrier Wizz Air ( WZZAF ) on

Thursday reported an annual operating profit that fell short of

analysts' expectations, as capacity constraints due to grounded

planes and stubbornly high costs continued to weigh on

performance.

European airlines have warned of longstanding delivery

delays and uncertainty around maintaining post-COVID demand amid

the economic turmoil tied to U.S. President Donald Trump's

tariff threats. However, the sector has largely benefited from

lower fuel prices.

Wizz Air ( WZZAF ) in particular has been affected by repair problems

with RTX-owned Pratt and Whitney engines, limiting its

ability to increase capacity. It has issued two profit warnings

in the last year.

Chief Executive Jozsef Varadi emphasized the carrier's

resilience, blaming challenges on grounded planes.

"We have the benefit of more than a year of experience

operating under these unique circumstances - conditions airlines

would never experience when demand exceeds supply," he said in a

statement.

Wizz Air ( WZZAF ) reported an operating profit of 167.5 million euros

($191.05 million) for the financial year, down 61.7% from a year

ago and missing the 246 million euros projected by analysts

polled by LSEG.

Wizz Air ( WZZAF ) uses a financial year running from April 1 to March

31.

The company said on Thursday that it would not provide

guidance for 2026 at this stage of the year, citing limited

visibility across its trading seasons.

In January, Varadi said that he expects the airline to be

impacted by the engine repair challenges for another two to

three years.

Wizz Air ( WZZAF ) shares have dropped more than 30% in the last year,

continuing the carrier's streak as the worst share performer

among European airlines.

($1 = 0.8767 euros)