Shares of Hungarian no-frills carrier Wizz Air started trading on the Budapest Stock Exchange's BETa Market on December 17, where investors can trade with foreign equities the likes of Adidas, BMW, Daimler, Lufthansa, SAP and Volkswagen in forints. Wizz Air shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

"Capital market financing has played an important role in the growth of our company. Therefore, we are glad that Hungarian investors will be able to access our shares through the Budapest Stock Exchange, and thus share in the success of Wizz Air," co-founder and CEO Jozsef Varadi said after ringing the bourse's opening bell.

Before Wizz Air went public in 2015 it planned an IPO in Hungary, but it chose the LSE due to the strong capital fundamentals of the bourse, Varadi told Portfolio business portal.

When asked about a possible dual listing, Varadi said it is not on the table and there are no talks with BSE.

Shares gained 15% this year to an all-time high on the LSE.

The financial markets are increasingly overlooking the pandemic issues and pricing is based on the post-crisis position of airlines, he said. Wizz Air has one of the highest liquidity reserves, coupled with one of the lowest cost structures, and it is the most agile in exploiting market opportunities, Varadi said.

Wizz Air incurred a €243mn loss in the first half of its business year from April to September as traffic plunged due to the pandemic. In the base period, the company reported a €368mn in profit. The company carried 6.5mn passengers in the quarter, down 70.7% y/y, while passenger load fell 94.6% to 64.3%.

Before the crisis, the airline was flying on 710 routes to 154 airports in 45 countries. CEE's leading airline did not give guidance for its fiscal year 2021 due to the uncertainty of the current situation. The airline closed 2019-2020 with a profit of €281mn on €2.76bn revenue carrying 40mn passengers.

 

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