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Virgin Blue Holdings (ASX:VBA) has announced a fall in its first half profit and cautioned that flat consumer confidence and recent severe weather conditions are likely to impact its second half result.
The airline’s net profit for the six months to 31 December was $23.8 million, at the bottom end of its earlier forecast guidance and 62 per cent under the $62.5 million achieved a year before.
In the same period, revenue in rose 12 per cent to $1.7 billion.
CEO John Borghetti says that Virgin is on track to significantly strengthen its position in both leisure and corporate markets in fiscal 2012.
Virgin is aiming to double its 10 per cent share of the corporate travel market, but advises that the domestic leisure market continues to suffer with consumer confidence, forecast industry capacity growth and recent weather events.
In the 2010 financial year Virgin Blue booked a net profit of $21.3 million.
