Sydney: Australian carrier Qantas on Wednesday soared to a record annual net profit and announced a first payout to shareholders in seven years in a strong turnaround after major restructuring.
The airline reported a net annual profit of 1.42 billion Australian dollars (Dh4 billion) in the year to June 30, an 80 per cent increase from the previous corresponding period. The result was also boosted by lower fuel prices.
Underlying profit before tax — Qantas’ preferred measure — also hit a record of 1.53 billion Australian dollars. The company resumed paying dividends of seven cents per share, the first payout since 2009 and also announced a share buy-back of 500 billion Australian dollars.
“Transformation has made us a more agile business, created value for our shareholders and given us a platform to invest for the future,” chief executive Alan Joyce said in a statement.
“Qantas is stronger than ever, but we’re also determined to keep changing and adapting so that we can succeed no matter what environment we’re in.”
The aggressive push to cut some 2 billion Australian dollars in costs and restructure the airline over three years kicked off in early 2014, with thousands of jobs axed and dozens of aircraft sold or orders deferred.
Qantas said it has since hit 1.66 billion Australian dollars in cost and revenue savings — including 557 million Australian dollars in the financial year ending June 2016. The carrier said it expected to reach 2.1 billion Australian dollars in cost and revenue savings by June next year.
Qantas shares closed 0.87 percent lower at 3.40 Australian dollars on Tuesday.
