Qantas Airways posted one of the quickest turnarounds in Australian corporate history on Thursday with a return to full-year profit and announced it will exercise options to buy eight Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner jets.
The Australian flag carrier also said it would return some funds to shareholders after a tough cost-cutting programme and tailwinds from cheaper fuel costs led the company back into the black.
Qantas reported underlying profit before tax, the most closely watched measure, of A$975 million (US$716.43 million) for the 12 months to June 30.
That was slightly under analyst consensus for a A$982 million profit but a sizeable and swift turnaround from the A$646 million underlying loss the so-called Flying Kangaroo reported just a year ago. It also brings Qantas close to the psychologically important A$1 billion mark last reached in 2008.
"We are halfway through the biggest and fastest transformation in our history," Chief Executive Alan Joyce said in a statement. "Without that transformation, we would not be reporting this strong profit, recommencing shareholder returns, or announcing our ultra-efficient Dreamliner fleet for Qantas International."
Revenue rose just 3 per cent to A$15.82 billion, underscoring the success of Joyce’s aggressive cost-cutting that included axing thousands of jobs, trimming capacity and overhauling frequent flyer programmes.