The company built up market share by appealing to a young customer base who preferred a pre-pay option, at a time when the four established operators shunned such customers as they attempted to drive up their average revenue per user.
Without the burden of capital spending to build out its own network, the company was able to produce earnings before interest and taxes of 74.7m pounds ($138.5m) in the year to March 31, up from 4.8m pounds ($8.9m) on revenue 53.5% higher at 442m pounds ($819.3m).
The company was reluctant to give a forecast for future growth but CFO Alan Gow said: Our recent growth performance continues to be extremely strong and we’re very confident in our growth prospects.
Commercial director Joe Steel said the company will launch a contract-style offering within a year, as it seeks to cash in on the fact that a huge base amongst the student populations gives it a considerable advantage as they move into the higher paid section of the workforce.
Steel also said Virgin plans to launch a data-based promotion called Virgin Bites which will offer users information on music, sport and celebrities. The primary driver for new services is boredom, Steel said.
