Virgin Atlantic has announced a pre-tax group operating loss of £80.2 million for the year to February 29, 2012, blaming the rise in Air Passenger Duty for its inability to make a profit.

Although revenues increased by 3% to £2.74 billion and passenger numbers increased by 2% to 5.4 million, the group reported a pre-tax group operating loss of £80.2 million.

Commenting on the results CEO Steve Ridgway said: “In an incredibly challenging market, we have managed to grow top line revenues and fly more customers than last year.

“However, with the prevailing uncertainty in the economy, sky high fuel prices and a 25 per cent hike in our air passenger duty fees, converting this sales growth into profit has not been possible.”

The loss compares to a profit of £18.5 million for the previous year, and comes despite a 3 per cent increase in revenues to £2.74 billion, and a 2 per cent rise in
passenger numbers to 5.4 million.

Virgin is implementing an efficiency drive to reduce operating costs by £50 million.