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* Wizz Air plans to list in London by the end of June
* No-frills Wizz is largest airline in central Europe
* Profit nearly tripled in FY 2014 to EUR 89 mln
* Eyes further growth as airline market consolidates (Adds analyst, context, writes through)
By Freya Berry and Marton Dunai
LONDON/BUDAPEST, May 22 (Reuters) - Wizz Air, centraleastern Europe's largest airline, plans to list its shares onthe London Stock Exchange, seeking to raise 200 millioneuros ($273.3 million) to strengthen its balance sheet as itseeks more growth.
Wizz Air, which started to fly 10 years ago, is the largestbudget airline of central and eastern Europe with a market shareof 38 percent, and makes money while traditional local airlineshave struggled or went bust in recent years.
"We will continue to grow the business. New markets can bestimulated," Chief Executive Jozsef Varadi told Reuters onThursday. He said the company, which has a fleet of 46 Airbus planes, plans to expand its fleet to 82 Airbus A320s bythe end of 2017.
Wizz, whose no-frills rivals include Ryanair andEasyJet, said it aimed to complete its share sale nextmonth but gave no detail on the number of shares it plans tosell or at what price.
The listing comes as London sees a surge in stock marketflotations, with 30 companies raising $7.4 billion so far thisyear, up 163 percent on the year before, according to ThomsonReuters data.
However not all listing plans have completed. Fashionretailer Fat Face for instance pulled its proposal on Thursday.
In Hungary, where Wizz Air started in 2004, national flagcarrier Malev went bankrupt in 2012 after years of heavy lossesand repeated government attempts to save it. Wizz Air stepped inand was able to sharply increase its capacity in Budapest.
FLAG CARRIERS STRUGGLE
Other flag carriers have also struggled in the region.Poland's LOT turned a profit for the first time lastyear after years of heavy losses, while Czech Airlines (CSA) hasalso struggled to operate a profitable business.
Meanwhile Wizz Air grew to fly 13.9 passengers in the yearthrough March, compared with 4.6 million for LOT in 2013 and 2.9million for CSA in 2012, the last year with available data.
Wizz Air had revenue of 1 billion euros in the fiscal yearthrough March 2014 and net profit of 89 million - nearlytripling its level the previous year.
Varadi said he wanted Wizz Air to benefit from consolidationin the sector. "We expect more consolidation in the market. Itis hard to say when and where but we expect consolidation and wewant to be able to act."
The airline's nine base countries serve 35 countries inEurope, more than any other low-cost airline in the region,Varadi said.
"We believe that pricing is of key importance to customers,"Varadi said. "We try to be the local airline to them. We have 19languages on our website, and accept 17 currencies."
Ascend Aviation analyst Peter Morris said Wizz Air has acompetitive advantage over traditional airlines in the region. "Wizz Air has no baggage, no inadequate fleet or staff likeits flag carrier competitors," he said.
The listing is being run by Barclays, Citi and JP Morgan, with Nomura acting as leadmanager. (Editing by Erica Billingham and David Holmes)
