Virgin territory
Virgin Australia’s flashy ASX return began with Middle East chaos and ended with a share price pop. But big questions remain about its long-term prospects.
Dave Emerson was up at 3:30am, taking calls from his operations team as Virgin Australia diverted flights from Doha following thwarted Iranian strikes against a US military base.
It was the last thing the CEO needed just hours before he was due to ring the bell and return the airline to the ASX, and yet another sign of the volatility discouraging new listings. But it wasn’t long before the apparent escalation was being spun as a ceasefire, sinking the oil price and delivering yet another tailwind for Virgin.
“I thought it was going to be a long day, but it’s been a great day,” Emerson said, speaking minutes after Virgin shares floated, immediately trading 8% north of their IPO price. “Things are trending in a good direction, much more quickly than I might have thought when I woke up this morning.”
On Tuesday, the airline painted the ASX red — not typically the colour a company wishes for on listing day, but unavoidable in this case. Along a red carpet that led into the depths of the exchange floor, more than a dozen flight attendants stood at attention to greet guests.
