Virgin Australia has turned its first profit in 11 years following a 124 per cent increase in revenue off the back of record demand for leisure travel.
The airline announced on Tuesday a statutory net profit after tax of $129 million for financial year 2023, after clocking a loss of $565.5 million in the previous 12 months.
Virgin Australia said revenue hit $5 billion “as the company responded strongly to increased customer demand following COVID-19” despite cost-of-living pressures.
“Record travel demand for leisure and the return of SME customers to pre-COVID levels alongside a slower but important return of corporate travellers, enabled significant revenue recovery,” the airline said.
“Virgin Australia continues to see healthy demand as customers prioritise travel in the face of cost-of-living pressure.”
The result signals a remarkable turnaround for the airline, which was plunged into voluntary administration in April 2020 amid the pandemic and debts of $6.8 billion.
The airline was brought back into operation in November that year after being snapped up by American private equity firm Bain Capital for $3.5 billion.
Virgin Australia said revenue from its airline business was $4.8 billion, which was up 126 per cent owing to increased flying activity including international services to Tokyo, Queenstown, Samoa and Vanuatu.
Velocity, the airline’s loyalty business, posted revenue of $330 million, an increase of 68 per cent after membership soared to a record 11.5 million individuals.
“These results are an important milestone for Virgin Australia. It has been 11 years since Virgin Australia returned a profit, and our results signal that the transformation of Virgin Australia is progressing well,” Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said.
(Sky News)
