Australia's Qantas has reported a pre-tax profit of A$662.5 million ($432 million) for its financial year to 20 June, up by 38.6% on the previous 12 months. Turnover rose by A$320 million - or 3.9% - to A$8.45 billion, while net profit was up by 38%, to A$420.9 million, buoyed by an A$38.9 million abnormal gain from the sale of shares in data network company Equant.
The carrier claims to have delivered a 183% return on shareholder investment in the five years since privatisation - more than double its nearest rival.
Qantas, 25%-owned by British Airways, has also reduced its gearing from 71% to 39%, delivered a 19.4% productivity improvement in available seat kilometres and grown passenger numbers by 35%. The airline's managing director James Strong says nevertheless that performance on Asian routes was still mixed.
Source: Flight International
