Qantas ordered 20 additional A321XLR aircraft after reporting strong results for the annual period ending June 30, 2025.
Group CFO Rob Marcolina said the new aircraft will accelerate the retirement of our 737 fleet and “open new opportunities for domestic and short haul international travel”. Of the additional aircraft, 16 will feature lie-flat business seats. The new order will bring its total commitment to the aircraft to 48 total.
The airline said it expects its first two XLRs to enter service on its domestic network in mid-September.
Qantas' low-cost subsidiary Jetstar will begin to take delivery of its A321XLRs from calendar year 2027. In addition, the airline's 787 fleet will commence flying towards the end of the current financial year.
During the financial year period, the group took delivery of 29 aircraft, including 17 new aircraft. The 17 new aircraft included seven A321LRs and four A320neos for Jetstar, as well as five A220s for QantasLink, and one A321XLR for Qantas.
The group recorded an underlying profit before tax of AU$2.4bn, up AU$316 million, while profit after tax was up AU$354 million to AU$1.6bn. Operating margin improved 0.7 percentage points to 11.1%.
“Despite the strong performance across the group, we saw some costs rise above the rate of inflation, which reduced the benefits of lower fuel,” said Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson.
The board approved a final dividend of AU$250 million at 16.5 cents per share and a special dividend of AU$150 million at 9.9 cents per share. The dividends will be paid on October 15, 2025. This will be in addition to the AU$400 million interim dividend declared in February.
For the first half of this financial year, the company's domestic unit revenue is expected to be up 3-5%. International unit revenue is expected to increase 2-3% in the first half, while Qantas Loyalty is expected to grow its underlying EBIT by 10-12% in the annual period.
In addition, the company's Project Sunrise — ultra-long-haul flights from Australia's east coast to destinations such as London and New York — is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of FY27.
“Direct flights from the east coast of Australia to London and New York are also a step closer to reality, with the first Project Sunrise A350-1000ULR aircraft to enter the final assembly line in the coming months, and the first aircraft delivery expected in October next year," said Hudson.
An additional two aircraft are expected by the end of March 2027. The project is expected to deliver an extra 20% to Qantas' international network, as well as around AU$400 million incremental working capital benefit.
Qantas domestic revenues were up 5% to AU$7.6bn in the financial year, while its underlying EBIT was down 1% to AU$1.1bn. Domestic capacity was down 1%, while load factor was up 2.1 percentage points to 78.1%.
International (including freight) revenue was up 6% to AU$9.2bn, while underlying EBIT was up 7% to AU$596 million. Capacity was up 6% while load factor was up 1.7 percentage points to 84.7%.
Jetstar's revenues were up 16% to AU$5.7bn and its underlying EBIT was up 55% to AU$769 million. Capacity was up 17% and load factor was up 1.5 percentage points to 88.3%.
The group's net capital expenditure was AU$3.9bn and its net debt to EBITDA 1.3x.