FTSE 250 movers: Wizz flies lower as president goes; Baltic Classifieds rises

The president of Wizz Air Holdings has left the budget airline, it was confirmed on Wednesday, prompting a shake-up of senior management.

The London-listed Hungarian carrier said Robert Carey, 44, had departed to pursue other interests after three years as president. A former travel, transport and logistics partner at McKinsey & Co, Carey joined Wizz in 2021 from easyJet, where he was chief commercial and customer officer.

In response, Wizz has announced three internal promotions. Chief operations officer Michael Delehant becomes senior chief commercial and operations officer, reporting to Jozsef Varadi, chief executive; Diarmuid O’Conghaile, managing director of Wizz Air Malta, replaces Delehant as chief operations officer; and head of operations control Mauro Peneda replaces O’Conghaile.

Varadi said: “These promotions underscore Wizz Air’s steadfast commitment to promoting from within, based on performance and merit. Their leadership and contributions will continue to drive our success.

“We thank Robert for his contribution and wish him success in his future endeavours.”

Baltic Classifieds Group reported a strong full-year performance across its business lines on Wednesday.

The FTSE 250 group's revenue increased 19% to €72.1m, up from €60.8m in 2023.

Core classifieds revenue streams, B2C and C2C, which account for 90% of total revenue, saw growth of 22% and 18% respectively.

EBITDA grew 20% to €55.3m, with the EBITDA margin expanding by one percentage point to 77%.

The firm’s operating profit saw a significant rise of 32%, reaching €38.3m.

Adjusted basic earnings per share increased 20% to 9.2 euro cents, while basic earnings per share grew 40% to 6.5 euro cents.

Its adjusted net income rose 18% to €45m, reflecting adjustments such as the amortisation of acquired intangibles and a one-off tax credit.

The profit for the period jumped 38% to €32m.

BCG said it generated €59m from operating activities, a 23% increase, maintaining a cash conversion rate of 99%.

It voluntarily repaid €20m of debt, ending the year with a gross loan balance of €50m and reducing net debt to €27.5m.

The net debt-to-EBITDA ratio improved to 0.5x.

BCG returned €32.6m to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends, and the board proposed a final dividend of 2.1 euro cents per share, bringing the total dividends for the year to 3.1 euro cents per share.

“2024 marked another year of solid financial, operational and strategic execution for BCG, with strong momentum observed across each of our business segments,” said chief executive officer Justinas Šimkus.

“We are in the early stages of our monetisation journey, which underpins the resilience of our top line and EBITDA growth, and, we are particularly pleased that our operational leverage is once again flowing through to our EBITDA margin now that public listed company costs have been normalised.”

Šimkus said the company’s platforms had established themselves as a “key destination” for those looking for transactions in automotive, real estate, jobs, services and general merchandise.

“The attractive business environment in which we operate - part of the EU, the euro area and NATO - enhances our prospects for further success and expansion.

“And the fact that we are based in Lithuania, a country which, based on the World Happiness Report, is renowned for having the happiest young people in the world reflects the joy we have in running this company.”

Market Movers

FTSE 250 - Risers

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 184.00p 6.11%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 439.20p 5.58%
Pennon Group (PNN) 588.50p 4.44%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,644.00p 4.18%
Inchcape (INCH) 777.00p 3.95%
Drax Group (DRX) 518.50p 3.70%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 249.50p 3.53%
Playtech (PTEC) 473.00p 2.94%
SThree (STEM) 424.00p 2.91%
SSP Group (SSPG) 148.70p 2.91%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

PureTech Health (PRTC) 178.60p -3.25%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,752.00p -1.79%
Indivior (INDV) 1,191.00p -1.65%
Carnival (CCL) 1,267.00p -1.13%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,044.00p -1.06%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 294.20p -1.04%
Ascential (ASCL) 352.60p -0.83%
Foresight Group Holdings Limited NPV (FSG) 490.00p -0.81%
Ruffer Investment Company Ltd Red PTG Pref Shares (RICA) 269.50p -0.74%
Bellevue Healthcare Trust (Red) (BBH) 139.00p -0.71%