6th April 2021 -IAM, News
Daniel Pfund, Senior Financial Analyst
Dufry, the world’s leading duty free company, has successfully placed a convertible bond for CHF 200 million. Holders of this new convertible bond will receive a coupon of 0.75% per year until maturity (March 2026). They will have the option to convert the bond into Dufry shares at a price of CHF 87. The current price is around CHF 60, which represents a conversion premium of about 45%. It should be noted that the Dufry share has been strongly shaken by the COVID crisis and all the air travel restrictions. A year ago, the stock collapsed from a high of CHF 90 to a low of under CHF 20. The volatility of the stock is huge as the uncertainty about the reopening of borders and thus travel is high. Nevertheless, the company has sharply reduced its costs and is targeting a break-even free cash flow with 2021 sales down -40% compared to 2019 (after a loss of more than CHF 1 billion in 2020). The company remains highly leveraged with a net debt position of CHF 3.3 billion at the end of 2020.
