According to Virgin Australia’s results announcement, statutory profits are down by 12.3 per cent compared to the previous financial year, which the airline attributes to the costs of its initial public offering that relaunched it as a public company, its Qatar Airways investment and its Future Flight Credits initiative.
Its underlying pro forma results, which include some adjustments for more accurate comparison with the forecasts provided in its IPO prospectus, are largely positive.
These include pro forma underlying net profit after tax of $331 million, a 27.8 per cent lift on the results from the 2024 financial year, pro forma underlying earnings before interest and taxes of $650 million, up 29.6 per cent on last year, and revenue of $5.81 billion, up 8.5 per cent on underlying revenue from the 2024 financial year.
The airline also noted a $450 million benefit from its transformation program, with additional benefits expected in future years, alongside a rise in customer satisfaction via a four point increase in its Net Promoter Score and a 7.2 per cent rise in on-time flight departures, with 76.8 per cent of flights departing on time.
“In FY25, Virgin Australia achieved strong underlying earnings growth, relaunched long-haul services, advanced our transformation program and lifted operational performance – all while delivering exceptional experiences for our guests,” said Virgin Australia CEO and managing director, Dave Emerson.
“We strengthened our partnership with Qatar Airways Group and returned to public ownership through a successful IPO, a strong endorsement of our clear strategy and market position.
“Our unwavering focus on customer service saw Virgin Australia named the World’s Best Cabin Crew for the seventh consecutive year, along with being awarded Best Regional Airline in Australia/Pacific and Best Airline Staff Service in Australia/Pacific by Skytrax.
“These achievements are only possible thanks to our wonderful team, who live our values and bring our ambition to be Australia’s most loved airline to life every day.
“This weekend we celebrate 25 years of Virgin Australia. We have come a long way since our days as an irreverent start-up that shook up Australian aviation, but one thing remains the same – our people, and their care, passion and Virgin flair.”
Virgin Australia’s CFO, Race Strauss, also noted that all key financial metrics from the company’s IPO prospectus were met or exceeded.
Looking ahead, the airline is expecting revenue and underlying profit growth this financial year, in part due to ongoing growth in travel demand. Virgin Australia also flagged an average capacity increase of four per cent for the first half of the financial year.
