Virgin Blue confirmed today, following completion of signed audited accounts, profit before tax of $8.2M for the 6 month period ended 30 September 2001.
This exceptional result was earned during a period that commenced with fierce competition in a four-airline market and ended with the demise of Ansett and saw the departure of Impulse as an independent operator.

These results build on a $0.5M trading profit before tax for the first seven months of operation ended 30 March 2001. Furthermore, draft unaudited accounts reflect a third quarter (October - December) profit in excess of first half earnings.

Virgin Blue Head of Finance, Manny Gill says, “Management considers this to be an incredibly strong result given the pace of growth over the past six months that have seen the airline fleet expand from six to seventeen aircraft and staff number increase from 600 to over 1500.

“This confirms our position as Australia`s Number 2 airline and it`s only true low fare carrier, and places the company in a strong financial position to meet any future challenges head on”, Manny Gill concluded.

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