(Reuters) -Virgin Australia reported a near 28% rise in its full-year underlying profit on Friday, in its first result since relisting, as strong demand for air travel underpinned growth in its airline and loyalty program segments.
The airline said its pro forma underlying net profit after tax stood at A$331 million ($215.08 million) for the year, in line with the forecast it provided at the time of its IPO.
Virgin, which is Australia's second-largest airline by market share after Qantas Airways, was
delisted in 2020 after private equity giant Bain Capital rescued it from administration.
The company returned to the Australian Securities Exchange in June this year after an IPO, which valued it at A$2.32 billion on a fully diluted basis.
Virgin said its "transformation program", which currently focuses on revenue, cost and loyalty initiatives, delivered more than A$450 million in gross benefits during the year. That, combined with savings in fuel costs due to hedging, expanded its profit margin.
Meanwhile, underlying earnings at its Airlines segment grew more than 36% as it was able to fill more seats with an improvement in passenger mix, and its loyalty program, Velocity, saw a 10.5% rise in earnings on the back of growth in the active member base.
Virgin said it expects to see growth in both revenue and underlying profit in financial 2026. The company also expects to increase its domestic capacity by 4% in the first half of the current fiscal year.
It did not declare a final dividend.
($1 = 1.5389 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi and Alan Barona)
