Underlying pre-tax profit declines $27.1 million to $45.9 million for the quarter.
Virgin Australia has just issued a trading update, indicating ongoing softness in the domestic market which “continued to adversely impact revenue during the second quarter”.
The carrier said it was actively managing capacity in response to the conditions, with total sectors for the three months to 31 December down 5% on the prior corresponding period.
Statutory profit after tax for the period was $13.1 million, including the impact of restructuring charges under the three year Better Business program. Other key financial indicators improved, with a $936 million reduction in net debt and a total cash balance of almost $1.6 billion – the highest ever reported figure for the group.
Total revenue passenger numbers across the group rose 3.2% to 6.3 million for the quarter, with an 81.3% load factor, up one point. The carrier said the subdued industry trading conditions were impacting its revenue performance, with the Virgin Australia domestic business now expected to generate an underlying EBIT margin of between 3 and 6% for the 2017 financial year.
More details in today’s issue of Travel Daily.