Virgin Blue plunges to A$160 million full-year loss

Virgin Blue Holdings blamed the tough operating environment, one-off charges and nonrecurring costs for a A$160 million ($133.2 million) loss in the fiscal year ended June 30, the company's worst-ever result and a reversal from the A$97.7 million surplus reported the prior year.

The loss occurred despite a 12.8% lift in revenue to A$2.63 billion. Last month, Blue announced a A$231 million capital raising and said it expected a full-year loss of approximately A$165 million (ATWOnline, July 28). At that time, the company highlighted the one-time costs associated with the launch of its V Australia subsidiary.

Yesterday, Blue said the long-haul arm suffered an operating loss of A$64 million through its first four months and the segment contributed a A$124 million loss when one-time costs were added.

Group airlines flew 21.8 billion RPKs during the year, up 16%, against a 19.3% rise in capacity to 27.8 billion ASKs. Load factor fell 0.6 point to 79.1%. Yield was down 5.3% to 10.84 Australian cents and unit cost excluding fuel eased 4% to 6.53 Australian cents. It expects a breakeven result in the current fiscal year.