Qantas flies back quickly to full-year earnings
Print Edition
QANTAS Airways posted one of the fastest turnarounds in Australian corporate history with a return to full-year profit and said it will buy eight fuel-efficient Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner jets, enabling it to fly the longest routes possible.
The Australian flagship carrier also said it would make its first cash payout to shareholders in six years after an aggressive cost-cutting program and tailwinds from cheaper fuel costs led the company back into the black.
“If it wasn’t for our transformation program, Qantas would not be announcing a profit today, nor would we be announcing a return to shareholders, nor would we be announcing the acquisition of the 787s,” CEO Alan Joyce told reporters.
Pre-tax profit of A$975 million (US$716.43 million) for the year to end-June was slightly under analyst forecasts of A$982 million. Still, it was a sizeable and swift recovery from the A$646 million underlying loss the Flying Kangaroo reported a year ago, and the company’s shares leapt 3.7 percent in intraday trade before losing their gains along with the broader market.
Joyce claimed credit for the strategy to cut costs including 5,000 jobs, trim capacity, raise fares and overhaul the airline’s frequent flyer program. Of A$894 million in cost reductions in fiscal 2015, lower fuel prices contributed A$597 million.
Fuel expenses were capped at 2015 levels in the current financial year because of Qantas’ hedging policy, Joyce said.
From 2017, the eight new 787-9s would shrink the fuel bill further on some of the longest direct commercial routes possible, like Melbourne to Dallas.
Qantas had postponed plans to refresh its aging fleet of 11 Boeing 747s used on long-haul flights with the 787-9s when it was in financial difficulty. The airline has another 12 options for 787-9s from 2017 and a further 30 purchase rights.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
