FLOODS IMPACT VIRGIN BLUE HALF YEAR PROFITS

Virgin Blue has stated that it expects its first-half net profit to fall by 63% over a year ago due to the floods in eastern Australia as well as a consumer slowdown. It said its first-half net profit would be in the $22 million to $26 million range, compared with $62.5m a year earlier. However it also stated that it was still assessing the impact of the floods, which it estimates could be a big as $40 million. Virgin shares fell 1c to 41.5c yesterday in response to the net profit revision.