Virgin Australia has recorded a positive yearly performance with a group revenue of AUD$5.4 billion ($3.6 billion), a 6.8% increase in comparison to results from 2023. Underlying EBIT for the group was AUD$519 million ($349 million), an 18.2% increase in comparison to last year.
Virgin Australia’s airline business recorded a total revenue of AUD$5.1 billion ($3.4 billion) across the year with an underlying EBIT of AUD$392 million ($263 million) - which is an increase of 8.2% - when compared to results from 2023.
Elsewhere within the group, Velocity Frequent Flyer - Virgin Australia’s official loyalty program – recorded a total revenue of AUD$409 million ($275 million), an increase of 23.8% when compared to results from the previous financial year. Underlying EBIT was AUD$115 million ($77 million). The loyalty program delivered increased member engagement with a 13% increase in active members – compared to 2023 results - growing to 12 million members.
“Virgin Australia has delivered a very strong performance in FY24. This is our second consecutive year of after-tax profit following the FY23 milestone of returning the business to profitability for the first time in 11 years,” said Jayne Hrdlicka, CEO of Virgin Australia.
She continued: “This strong performance demonstrates the ongoing success of our transformation journey, despite what has been a challenging year for our industry. I want to thank each one of our team members and, of course, our customers for helping Virgin Australia find its place again as a wonderful and competitive airline. The collective achievement comes at an exciting time - with the proposed minority equity investment by the World’s Best Airline, Qatar Airways,”
The existing partnership between Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways is set to be strengthened further, as it was announced in late September that the Qatar Airways Group intends to acquire a minority 25% equity stake in Virgin Australia from private investment firm Bain Capital, subject to FIRB approval. Qatar Airways Group’s equity investment in Virgin Australia is set to increase cooperation between the two airlines.
In addition to financial results - Virgin Australia has invested in its customer experience and its fleet renewal across the financial year - with six new 737 MAX-8 aircraft being delivered to the airline. This is alongside 14 737-800 aircraft being reconfigured with new interiors.
The airline also recorded a total of 19.2 million passengers for the period, with Virgin Australia operating nearly 400 daily flights across the financial year.
Race Strauss, Virgin Australia’s chief financial officer commented: “This is a strong result that demonstrates the success of our transformation program which has offset cost inflation and strengthened our balance sheet, enabling further strategic investments in our customers and people.”
Strauss added: “While we are operating in an environment of higher costs, our disciplined approach to cost management has enabled us to deliver even better value for our customers. In FY25, Virgin Australia will build on this momentum continuing its focus on ensuring the execution of transformation initiatives which will be crucial to mitigating the ongoing impact of inflation.”