Virgin Atlantic Cargo transported a total of 230,500 tonnes of freight and reached a five-year high in 2017, according to results released by the carrier.

Revenue rose by 9% year-on-year to £199.6 million (US$280.1 million), driven by strong growth in pharmaceutical and e-commerce shipments.

According to Virgin, its daily services to and from India and Africa saw strong volume gains, as did routes to and from China and the US, despite exchange rate pressures.

The new daily flight between Heathrow and Seattle, launched in March 2017, performed above expectations with particularly strong westbound volumes. There were also double-digit gains in demand to other US destinations from both London and Manchester.

“There’s no doubt the air cargo market was buoyant in 2017 compared to previous years but there was still strong competition for this business,” said Dominic Kennedy, managing director of Virgin Atlantic Cargo. “We are delighted with the results we have delivered for the airline, which are a tribute to the outstanding performance of our entire cargo team. With our prime route network, growing capabilities to transport specialist products, and our continued passion for delivering high-quality service levels, we are well placed to meet the sustained level of demand from our customers and looking forward to another positive year in 2018.”

Virgin’s biggest gains came from the carriage of pharmaceuticals and e-commerce shipments, with pharma growing by 20% year-on-year on the back of the new Heathrow Pharma Zone, launched in October 2017 with joint venture partner Delta Cargo.

Growth at Virgin Atlantic Cargo also came from its sales and management agreement with Virgin Australia, which launched a daily flight between Melbourne and Los Angeles in April and a daily flight between Melbourne and Hong Kong in November.

Separately, Virgin Atlantic is to launch a second daily service between London and Johannesburg on October 28, 2018 with a Boeing 787-9, which can carry up to 24 tonnes of cargo.

The airline saw a 5% growth in cargo to South Africa and a 4% rise in tonnage out of Johannesburg in 2017. In addition to general cargo, courier and express business from the US and the UK to South Africa has grown because of e-commerce. Northbound traffic includes high volumes of perishables for the UK market as well as general cargo.

“Virgin has been serving the Johannesburg market for 22 years and we continue to receive outstanding customer support,” said Steve Buckerfield, director of sales at Virgin Atlantic Cargo. “2017 was a particularly strong year for both north and southbound cargo volumes, so the addition of a second daily frequency is great news for us and our customers.”

Virgin Atlantic Cargo will also be opening a local contact centre in Johannesburg in April 2018 to support customers in South Africa.

“News of this additional capacity could not be coming at a better time and reinforces our commitment to the South African market,” said Laurn Baldwin, regional sales manager in Johannesburg. “Our decision to open a dedicated contact centre in Johannesburg is also based on having listened to the requirements of our customers, who value the presence of a local team. I am confident these positive developments, alongside our commitment to providing great customer service, will help us deliver another fantastic year for cargo.”