I had never heard that Concorde was "quite profitable"; to the contrary, I believe it was heavily subsidized by its operators' respective governments as a point of national pride. e.g.:
Development of the Concorde aircraft itself was heavily subsidised. But in service, it was profitable - at least for British Airways:
On average Concorde made and operating profit of £30-50 Million a year for British Airways in the boom years where many passengers were travelling first class. British Airways reportedly received £1.75 Billion in revenue for Concorde services against an operating cost of around £1 Billion. Air France made a much smaller profit.
On average Concorde made and operating profit of £30-50 Million a year for British Airways in the boom years where many passengers were travelling first class. British Airways reportedly received £1.75 Billion in revenue for Concorde services against an operating cost of around £1 Billion. Air France made a much smaller profit.
Source: http://www.concordesst.com/retire/faq_r.html