Virgin Australia’s outgoing chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka has told staff the airline increased its margins and recorded $236 million in profit over the December half, amid speculation Bain Capital ousted her over concerns about the carrier’s dwindling performance.

In a letter sent to staff on Tuesday obtained by this masthead, Hrdlicka said the business recorded $2.8 billion in revenue over the six months to December, up from $2.5 billion in the same period in 2023. Virgin was taken private after it was purchased out of administration by Bain Capital in 2020 for $3.5 billion.

As a private company, the airline does not publicly release its half-yearly results.

Virgin reported a full-year profit of $129 million to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission in 2023. The airline flies about 31 per cent of domestic travellers and is the second-biggest player in the domestic market behind Qantas’ 60 per cent stronghold.

“In rough numbers, we delivered revenue of $2.8 billion and profit of $236 million, a strong increase in profit compared to the same period last year. This represents a group-level profit margin of 8.5 per cent for the half year versus 5 per cent last year’s first half,” Hrdlicka said.

Hrdlicka shocked much of the airline business and broader industry last month when she announced she would soon step down from Virgin after four years at the helm. She is yet to provide a specific exit date but said she would not commit to staying in the role for its return to the market.

“The next phase of this journey is another three to five years, making now the perfect juncture to begin the process of leadership transition to deliver the next few chapters of what I’m sure will be a significant long-term success story,” Hrdlicka said last month.

Sources close to Virgin and its private equity controller, who were not authorised to speak publicly, have alleged Hrdlicka had fallen out of favour with Bain executives, who had hoped to refloat the airline on the Australian Securities Exchange by the end of this financial year.

Bain cancelled its non-deal roadshow investor meetings in April last year and has not rescheduled them since. The business’ former chief development officer, David Marr, who was charged with leading the group’s plans to float, quit in October. The group’s head of investor relations, Chris Vagg, has also resigned. These retirements mean the three executives originally scheduled to pitch the potential float to investors have since left the business.