SYDNEY: Australian carrier Qantas on Thursday roared back into the black in a stunning turnaround of fortunes driven by aggressive cost-cutting, while placing an order for eight Boeing Dreamliners.
The airline posted an Aus$557 million (US$409 million) annual net profit in the year to June 30, a sharp recovery in the space of 12 months from a net loss of Aus$2.84 billion in the previous corresponding period.
Underlying profit before tax -- Qantas' preferred measure of financial performance, which excludes one-off costs and write-downs -- was Aus$975 million, compared to an Aus$646 million loss in 2014.
Qantas said its cost-cutting programme had helped save Aus$894 million over the year and allowed it to pay down debt, while lower fuel prices also helped bolster the bottom line with every segment making healthy profits.
No dividend was declared but the airline announced a one-off 23 cents per share capital return to shareholders, amounting to Aus$505 million.
Chief executive Alan Joyce hailed it as "one of the biggest turnarounds in Australian corporate history".
"This transformation has been all about getting our foundations right. Being smarter with our costs; faster with our decisions; more productive with our assets. And on these stronger foundations, we can build a much stronger Qantas," he said.
"The logic from the beginning was to front-end the tough decisions so the group could reshape its operations as rapidly as possible for long-term, sustainable growth in earnings and shareholder value."
The reversal in fortunes appeared to vindicate his strategy to slash Aus$2.0 billion in costs, cut routes, freeze growth at Asian offshoot Jetstar, and axe 5,000 jobs to help counter a price war with domestic rival Virgin Australia.
The company's shares, which have rallied strongly over the past 12 months, initially jumped higher but were down 2.0 percent at Aus$3.68 in afternoon trade in a soft market.
Joyce added that the purchase of the eight new planes highlighted the scale of the airline's turnaround and signalled a new phase of growth.
"We are halfway through the biggest and fastest transformation in our history," he said.
"Without that transformation, we would not be reporting this strong profit, recommencing shareholder returns, or announcing our ultra-efficient Dreamliner fleet.
"We have reshaped our business for a strong, sustainable future -- and because we moved quickly and made tough decisions early, we have strong foundations to build on."
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