Qantas Profit Falls 68.2%

[Nigelinoz]

just off the wires.
Qantas profit falls 68.2 per cent


Qantas has announced a 68.2 per cent fall in profit before tax to $288 million for the half-year to December 31.

The carrier reaffirmed its full year profit before tax outlook of $500 million for the 12 months to June 30.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said Qantas was not immune to the “high degree of volatility” in the aviation sector.

“With two flying brands and a diversified portfolio of businesses, the Group has the scale and scope to respond rapidly to market developments and will be well-positioned to resume growth as soon as conditions improve,” Joyce said.

Qantas also announced a $500 million equity capital raising to “enhance financial flexibility”.

Meanwhile, Jetset Travelworld has announced a trading halt pending an announcement.

Qantas media release is here:
http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20090204/pdf/31fwpc7m5rlc59.pdf

http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20090204/pdf/31fwp26vwxb2dm.pdf

 

[Nigelinoz]

I guess in the current economic environment any company profits at all will be looked upon as a positive for the economy however for a blue chip
like Qantas to record such a sharp fall will,I suspect ring a few alarm bells.

 

[simongr]

I guess the driver for the fall is the key - if it is premium pax reductions then that may not say so much for the economy - if significant total pax then that would reflect a broader uunderlying economic problem.

 

[comint]

I guess in the current economic environment any company profits at all will be looked upon as a positive...

It will be interesting to see if they issue dividends, if not they intend to be very ($1 billion) cashed up in the new financial year.

 

[Nigelinoz]

It will be interesting to see if they issue dividends, if not they intend to be very ($1 billion) cashed up in the new financial year.

I believe it's 6 cents a share fully franked.
The accounts reveal that the FF program contributed $119 million before tax profit.a nice little earner for them.
Net passenger revenue including fuel surcharge recoveries decreased $45 million or 0.7 per cent
to $6.4 billion.Traffic,measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPK) decreased by 2.4 per
cent while yield improved by 1.2 per cent