Virgin Australia expects loss of up to USD107m in FY2013, improved booking and yield in early FY2014

Virgin Australia Holdings announced (05-Aug-2013) it expects a statutory loss after tax in the range of AUD95 million (USD92.5 million) to AUD110 million (USD107.1 million), including between AUD5 million (USD4.9 million) and AUD10 million (USD9.7 million) operating loss before tax for the recently acquired Skywest business, reflecting the investments being made in the business to facilitate rapid growth. The group estimates pre-tax loss excluding the one-off pre-tax restructuring and transformation costs and pre-tax loss from Skywest to be between AUD30 million (USD29.2 million) and AUD50 million (USD48.7 million) in FY2013. The loss after tax guidance is also impacted by an estimated AUD45 million (USD43.8 million) to AUD50 million (USD48.7 million) in pre-tax costs from the carbon tax, which it was unable to recover due to the weak economic conditions and the competitive environment. Unit cost per ASK excluding fuel is expected to be approximately equal to FY2012, notwithstanding the significant investment in product enhancements. Looking ahead, the carrier stated forward domestic bookings as at 30-Jun-2013 are around 6% higher than the previous corresponding period, with "early indications for the month of July 2013 are that load factors have improved on those announced for June 2013, with continued yield growth." For 1HFY2014 the company expects domestic capacity growth to be within 3% to 4%. [more - original PR]