Virgin Australia credits business travelers for its return to profitability

Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd., the nation’s second-largest airline, says it returned to profitability in the last fiscal year due to growth in the corporate travel sector.

The budget airline’s net profit of 22.8 million Australian dollars ($23.6 million) posted Tuesday for the year to June 30 reversed a loss of AU$67.8 million in the previous 12 months.

Australia’s largest airline, Qantas Airways Ltd., last week reported a AU$245 million annual loss in profits, hurt by rising fuel prices, a series of strikes that temporarily grounded its fleet and its struggling international division.