Virgin Australia has reported a net profit of $11.3 million in the three months to December, and an underlying pre-tax profit of $55.3 million. The airline has a half yearly underlying pre-tax profit of $10.3million, compares to a $50 million loss in the year-ago period.
Chief financial officer Shankar Narayan said: “We are delivering on our plan to maintain our cost advantage through the disciplined execution of our cost reduction program, while continuing to drive revenue growth from the corporate, government and charter market segments.”
Virgin Australia benefitted by $7 million from lower fuel prices in the three months to December, compared to 12 months earlier. The airline carried 5.25 million passengers in the three months to December, a 1.5% increase over the same period last year. However capacity was also up, by 1.8% from a year ago to 6.7 million.
Tigerair Australia also posted a pre-tax profit during the quarter of $500,000 – compared to an underlying loss of $15.5 million a year earlier.