Qantas half-year profit down 13%, orders 8 additional A321XLRs

Qantas profit was down 13.2% year-on-year before and after tax in its half-year results, ending December 31, 2023, at $1.2bn and $869 million respectively. Its revenue and other income increased 12.3% to $11.1bn. The airline's basic earnings per share were down 4% to 51.8 cents. Qantas Group’s new CEO Vanessa Hudson said: “There’s a lot of work happening to lift our service levels and the early signs are really positive. Our customer satisfaction scores have bounced back strongly since December, and we have more service and product improvements in the pipeline.” The company has also ordered an additional eight A321XLRs for its domestic operations, on top of the 20 already allocated aircraft of the same type, which will be part of the gradual replacement of its 737 fleet. Manufacturing delays have impacted the delivery dates of the aircraft by three months to sometime in early 2025. The A350 on order for Qantas International has been delayed by approximately six months to mid-2026. Four additional mid-life A319s have been purchased for its Network Aviation division and will be based in western Australia to meet demands from the resources sector. The aircraft will arrive throughout 2024 and will bring Network Aviation’s fleet to nine. As new aircraft were delivered, the company’s net debt rose to $4bn by the end of December 2023. Hudson said: “The past six months have been particularly challenging as we faced rebuilding trust and restoring confidence in Qantas.” She added that she was proud of the company improving the customer experience. Qantas’ domestic budget airline division Jetstar Domestic highlighted for a strong financial performance, seeing its underlying earnings before tax increasing by 35% to $175 million and an increase in flying of 15%. The company also announced the appointment of John Mullen as non-executive director and chairman elect of the board from July 1, 2024, as well as Nora Scheinkestel joining the board as a non-executive director and chair of the remuneration committee from March 1, 2024.