Qantas has posted a bumper $1.39bn half-year pre-tax profit, fuelled by a 10% uptick in customers.
The airline rewarded shareholders with hundreds of millions in dividend payments out of the windfall.
The airline’s $1.39bn half-year underlying profit, announced on Thursday, is an 11% increase on the same period last year, and was driven by a strong domestic performance, especially from the budget carrier Jetstar, as well as an 18% increase in cash inflows from the airline’s loyalty program.
The chief executive, Vanessa Hudson, praised improved financial strength at Qantas and the continued growth of Jetstar, which has a growing fleet of new aircraft. The low-cost airline attracted more customers during a time of heightened cost-of-living pressures.
“Importantly, Jetstar was able to help more Australians take a holiday for less,” Hudson said.
Jetstar’s earnings across all of its destinations grew 35% over the past year, with domestic growth even stronger at 54%. The budget carrier flew more seats to achieve this, with an 8% uptick in capacity, helped in part by the introduction of eight new aircraft.
Capacity was also up on the international routes where Qantas and Jetstar compete with other carriers, with the added supply leading to a 6.6% average reduction in air fares.
Qantas posted a 2.5% increase in demand for premium cabins across its international routes.
Hudson announced the company’s first dividend payment since 2019, with $250m in base dividends and $150m in special dividends – both fully franked.
Hudson acknowledged that while customer interest had been growing, especially in Jetstar, Qantas was still working to win back the trust of the public after a tumultuous period in which the airline was plagued by legal scandals and complaints about poor customer service, delays and cancellations.
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“We’re seeing progress from the investments we are making for our customers and people but we know there’s more work to do to consistently deliver in the moments that matter,” she said, adding: “Australians have always loved to travel and continue to prioritise it over other spending options. Looking forward, we continue to see intention to travel from leisure and corporate customers remaining high.”
Qantas – which has long been criticised for employing staff on an array of different enterprise deals – also criticised the federal government’s same-job, same-pay legislation, which it said added about $65m to its wages bill in the 2024-25 financial year.
The airline said it expects to spend $5.22bn on fuel over the financial year.
Its net debt remained at $4.1bn at the end of December, in line with its previous expectations.
