Shares in Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (ASX: VAH) soared as high as 22% on Friday after Wilson Asset Management chairman Geoff Wilson endorsed the stock at an investment conference. Wilson reportedly said Virgin is in the same position as Qantas Airways Limited (ASX:QAN) was three years ago and is on track for annualised savings of $350 million over the next three years.
Shares in Virgin, at their worst, were down almost 30% this year and so far the company hasn't been able to make the most of gains made elsewhere in the industry. Despite this, things seem to be improving with Virgin reporting first quarter pre tax profit of $18 million, a vast improvement on last year's $3.6 million loss. Virgin has also raised more than $1 billion from its stakeholders this year, in an effort to pay off debt, cut costs, and improve cash flow.
Analysts expect Virgin to post a pre-tax underlying profit of $74 million this year.
