Qantas Profit Forecast Sends Shares Soaring
For the second time in six weeks, the Australian airline group has announced an increase to its yearly profit forecast.
For the second time in six weeks, the Australian airline group has announced an increase to its yearly profit forecast.
DALLAS - The Qantas (QF) group has raised its first-half pre-tax profit outlook for the 2022/23 financial year, pushing its shares to a two-year high.
The announcement, its second profit hike in six weeks, comes following "continued strength" in travel demand, especially for domestic services. This follows five consecutive halves of considerable losses for the airline and a previous annual loss of AU$7bn (US$4.6bn).
QF now expects an underlying profit of between AU$1.35 and AU$1.45 billion (US$897-964 million). This is up from its previous expected earnings of between AU$1.2 billion and AU$1.3 billion (US$792-867 million) announced in October.
In a statement, the group said, "Consumers continue to put a high priority on travel ahead of other spending categories and there are signs that limits on international capacity are driving more domestic leisure demand, benefiting Australian tourism."
Previous limits to international capacity have helped the boost its domestic network. QF had stated that it expected its domestic market to rise to pre-pandemic levels by the second half of the 2022/23 financial year. International capacity was expected to peak at around 77%.
Qantas now expects its net debt to drop to around AU$2.3bn and AU$2.5bn (US$1.5-1.6m) by the end of 2022, some AU$900m (US$598m) lower than previous estimates.
The carrier said this was "due largely to the acceleration of revenue inflows" as bookings increased into the second half and beyond across the group's airlines, including QF and Jetstar (JQ). Approximately AU$200m (US$133m) of capital expenditure has also been deferred to the second half.
However, QF has warned that fuel costs will remain "significantly elevated" and will reach a record high of around AU$5bn (US$3.3bn) for the full 12 months.
Featured Image: An increase in domestic travel demand has bolstered the Qantas group's profits. Photo: Luca Flores/Airways
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