Wizz Air Holdings Plc shareholders approved a two-year extension to Chief Executive Officer Jozsef Varadi’s £100 million ($127 million) bonus plan despite significant opposition from owners including CalPers.
(Bloomberg) — Wizz Air Holdings Plc shareholders approved a two-year extension to Chief Executive Officer Jozsef Varadi’s £100 million ($127 million) bonus plan despite significant opposition from owners including CalPers.
The Hungarian low-cost carrier received 74% votes in favor of changes to the so-called Value Creation Plan, Wizz said in a filing after its annual general meeting in Geneva. The carrier said it will “continue to consult” with major shareholders on remuneration and “wider governance matters,” and publish an update on the engagement with six months of the AGM.
Wizz offer Varadi a bonus of as much as £100 million following a plunge in air travel amid the Covid-19 pandemic, conditional on him lifting the company’s market value to almost £12 billion over five years. The carrier proposed extending the bonus plan to 2028, after its board said the company’s remuneration policy no longer motivated management.
Proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services recommended investors vote against the Value Creation Plan, saying in a report that it was already controversial and the airline hadn’t provided a sufficient reason to change it. Some shareholders including State Board of Administration of Florida and California Public Employees’ Retirement System said they’d vote against the pay proposal.
Varadi, 57, has led the discount airline which rivals the likes of Ryanair Holdings Plc in Europe since its founding in 2003. Over the past year, Wizz has faced criticism over flight cancellations and its handling of customer refunds amid a chaotic 2022 summer travel season. The carrier also faced higher fuel prices triggered by the Ukraine war because it was late to hedge for volatility.
Since the bonus plan was announced in July 2021, Wizz shares have fallen by almost half, clipping the company to a market value of about £2.43 billion. Wizz is scheduled to report fiscal first-quarter results on Thursday.
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