Qantas today reported an Underlying Profit Before Tax of $1,401 million and a Statutory Profit Before Tax of $1,181 million for the 12 months ended 30 June 2017.

The underlying result represents the second highest performance in Qantas’ 97 year history, down 8.6 per cent compared with last year’s record. It is slightly above the guidance range provided in early May this year, mainly due to strengthening of the Group’s domestic businesses. A drop in statutory profit before tax of $243 million reflects that the FY16 result included the gain on sale from the Sydney Domestic Terminal.

Overall, the FY17 performance shows the Qantas Group’s margin advantage over local and global competitors[1] , which has been underpinned by completion of its three year transformation program.

SUMMARY OF RESULT

In the domestic market, Qantas and Jetstar combined reached a record $865 million Underlying EBIT, making them again the two most profitable airlines in Australia with around 90 per cent of the total domestic profit pool.

Qantas International, which has faced high levels of capacity growth in the broader market, saw an improvement of conditions in the second half; it posted an Underlying EBIT of $327 million. Continued strength in its core markets helped the Jetstar Group deliver the second highest profit in its 13 years of operation.

Qantas Loyalty booked a record $369 million Underlying EBIT on a 4 per cent increase in revenue as it continued to diversify its earnings.

The Group met all the objectives of its financial framework, reporting a 12-month return on invested capital of 20.1 per cent.  Another $470 million in transformation benefits were delivered, completing the three year program and outperforming the $2 billion target by $125 million.

The Qantas Transformation Program has underpinned these results and enabled the Group to outperform its key domestic and international competitors.

This performance means Qantas is able to reward shareholders, recognise the hard work of its people and invest for customers.

RETURNS FOR SHAREHOLDERS

The Qantas Board has declared a dividend of 7 cents per share (unfranked) to be paid on 13 October 2017 with a record date of 11 September 2017.

A further on-market buyback of up to $373 million has been announced. Once this latest buyback is completed the number of Qantas shares is expected to have been reduced by more than 20 per cent since October 2015.

Since the transformation program began in February 2014, the total return for Qantas shareholders – including share price appreciation and distributions – has been around $9 billion. This has made the Group the top performer on the ASX100.

INVESTING FOR CUSTOMERS

The Group will continue to invest in new aircraft, upgrading cabins and lounges, and extending its network of destinations.

The airline’s fleet of 12 Airbus A380s will receive a significant upgrade to improve passenger comfort as well as route economics (see separate release). This will include replacing Skybeds in Business Class with the latest version of the Business Suite; increasing the size of the Premium Economy cabin and installing the same all-new seats that will debut on the Dreamliner at the end of this year; and refurbishment of the Economy and First Class sections. Work will begin in the second quarter of calendar year 2019.

Both the Business and Qantas Club lounges at Melbourne Domestic will be progressively renovated from November this year, providing customers more space, comfort and dining options before they fly. (See separate release)

New lounges at both ends of the landmark Perth-London route will be completed during FY18, and two remaining A330s will have their cabins upgraded following lease extensions.

The rollout of Wi-Fi on the Qantas Domestic network (A330 and 737 aircraft) is expected to accelerate in late September 2017, once the current trial is complete and final regulatory approval for the new service is confirmed.

Jetstar will invest in additional service training for 4,000 of its frontline employees as it continues to stimulate new travel demand with low fares. The airline will start a new route from Melbourne to the Central Chinese city of Zhengzhou from December 2017, which is expected to bring 35,000 Chinese tourists to Australia a year.