"an improvement of 50 percent" versus calendar year 2012 performance, according to the company. Passenger revenue grew by £153 million (US$252 million). The number of Premium Economy passengers jumped 7.5 percent during the year while the number of Upper Class passengers edged up 1.8 percent. In changing its financial reporting schedule, Virgin also reported results for the March-December 2013 period, including a £7 million (US$12 million) pre-tax profit. "Going forward, the impact from our Delta relationship, which greatly enhances our revenue opportunities in the U.S., improving result from
Little Red [domestic U.K.] services and improvements in selling activity, supported by a strong focus on managing the cost base and on fuel efficiency gains, mean we are confident that we will deliver on our target and return to profitability" by the end of 2014, according to a statement issued by chief executive Craig Kreeger. Although Virgin did not report results for the first quarter of 2014, Delta indicated that it took a $31 million charge for its share of Virgin's March-quarter loss. Delta owns 49 percent of its U.K. partner.