Virgin Australia second-quarter earnings slide 37 percent in tough market

Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd on Friday posted a 37 percent fall in second-quarter underlying earnings before taxes as tough conditions persisted in the domestic aviation market. Australia's second-biggest airline reported an underlying profit before tax of A$45.9 million (28 million pounds) for the quarter ended Dec. 30, compared with an underlying profit before tax of A$73 million a year earlier. Virgin will report first-half results later this month, but the figure released on Friday indicate