Australia's Qantas lifts domestic revenue estimates, shares hit record high
Expects dividend payment restart from H2 of financial year
Forecasts A$2.55 bln H1 fuel cost, down from A$2.7 bln previously
Airline working to rebuild battered reputation under new CEO and chair
Recasts, adds details and comments from annual meeting throughout
By Lisa Barrington and Rishav Chatterjee
Oct 25 (Reuters) -Australian flag carrier Qantas Airways QAN.AX on Friday raised its first-half domestic revenue expectations and said it was on track to restart dividend payments from the second half of the financial year, sending shares to a record high.
Under the leadership of a new CEO and chair, the iconic Australian brand has been working to rebuild a reputation that was battered over the last 18 months amid legal, regulatory and customer issues.
The airline said domestic demand for travel was stronger than expected and also lowered first-half jet fuel costs after a drop in global prices to about A$2.55 billion ($1.69 billion), from an earlier estimate of A$2.7 billion.
The firm's shares gained as much as 1.6% on Friday to A$8.04, hitting a record high for the second time in the week.
Qantas now expects revenue per available seat kilometre for its domestic businesses to increase by 3% to 5% for the first half ended Dec. 31 compared to a year ago, up from the 2% to 4% range it provided in August.
Its international revenue per available seat kilometre was still expected to fall by 7% to 10%, as rivals restore capacity and airfares retreat from post-pandemic highs.
Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson said in a speech at the airline's annual general meeting on Friday that the group was performing in line with expectations in the first half.
"Jetstar saw stronger than anticipated demand, while Qantas Domestic load factors and demand for corporate travel continues to improve year on year," she said.
Hudson and new Chair John Mullen said Qantas was not opposed to Qatar Airways' proposal to take a 25% stake in its chief domestic rival Virgin Australia, saying its investment plan made it well-placed to compete.
Qantas had previously lobbied the federal government, which still needs to sign off the Qatari investment, against the Gulf carrier's ultimately unsuccessful bid to offer more flights to Australia.
PAST MISTAKES
Hudson took over late last year from long-serving CEO Alan Joyce, who an external review in August found responsible for measures that alienated travellers, employees and shareholders, leading to a cut in his exit bonus.
Mullen told the annual meeting that the airline was committed to learning from the mistakes of the past.
The gathering was less dramatic than a year ago, when investors took then-Chair Richard Goyder to task over a series of crises and shareholders voted overwhelmingly to reject the airline's executive pay plans. All resolutions passed this year.
Mullen told shareholders Qantas remained on track to reinstate fully franked dividends from the second half of the current financial year. It last paid a dividend in 2019, before international travel ground to a halt during the pandemic.
He said the airline had not previously had enough franking credits, a mechanism that allows Australian investors a tax credit for tax already paid by the company, to pay dividends.
"With the progress we have already made on restoring our reputation, supported by a strong balance sheet, the outlook for Qantas and Jetstar is really positive," Mullen said.
The firm said its A$400 million share buyback was currently 45% complete at an average price of A$7.23. The airline anticipates its finalisation by the end of the year.
($1 = 1.5060 Australian dollars)
Reporting by Lisa Barrington in Seoul and Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
