Newsmakers
Clearing skies
March 1st 2015
What a difference six months made for the Qantas Group. After announcing a full year loss of US$2.2 billion for the fiscal year to June 30, 2014, CEO Alan Joyce has reported an after tax profit of $160.1 million for the six months to December 31, its best interim result for four years. Analysts have predicted a $1 billion income for the group for the full year, a forecast that drew no comment from Qantas management. Read More »
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Joyce, who has been heavily criticized for a series of massive losses at Qantas in recent years, said the return to profit was due largely to the group’s $1.6 billion three-year business transformation plan, which has produced savings so far of $290.7 million. Qantas International was profitable for the first time since the global financial crisis, with underlying earnings of $45.9 million, compared with a loss of $249.5 million, over the previous year.
Interim results at Virgin Australia also were encouraging with Virgin Australia CEO, John Borghetti, reporting a pre-tax profit of $7.9 million, compared with a $35.3 million loss 12 months ago. However, the airline group was still in the red for the six months, with a loss of $41.3 million, albeit a 28.5% improvement over the previous 12 months. Borghetti has put on record that his airline has built a 20%-25% share in the corporate and government sector and that it is on target to achieve its goal of 30% of the lucrative sector.
Virgin Australia’s 100% budget subsidiary, Tigerair, announced a $19.3 million loss, but was reported to be improving, with Borghetti expecting both airlines to produce better performances in the second half, to June 30.
Across the Tasman, star performer, Air New Zealand, continued its robust results run when it reported a record $159.5 million profit for the period, a 20% increase over the same months in 2014. The carrier’s CEO, Christopher Luxon, attributed the results to strong revenue growth, underpinned by increased capacity and improved yields. He forecast capacity expansion of 12% as new aircraft arrived at the airline and said that continued sales momentum should result in a significant improvement in earnings for the full year to June 30.
