SYDNEY, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd VAH.AX said on Wednesday it would cut capacity by 3% this financial year and 5% in the next financial year as demand falls due to the coronavirus after it posted a 78% fall in half-year underlying earnings.
The airline's underlying pre-tax profit, its most closely watched measure, was A$24.5 million ($16.17 million) in the six months ended Dec. 31 adjusted for accounting changes, down from A$111.9 million a year earlier, a figure that had been its highest in a decade.
On a bottom line basis, Virgin Australia posted a A$88.6 million first-half loss and said the coronavirus situation was likely to result in a A$50 million to A$75 million hit to earnings in the second half.
Larger rival Qantas Airways Ltd QAN.AX last week posted flat underlying pre-tax earnings and announced plans to ground the equivalent of 18 planes and freeze recruitment due to the virus. ($1 = 1.5149 Australian dollars)