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Highlights
Qantas Airways has forecast its net debt to decline to nearly AU$4 billion by the FY22 end.
It is an improvement of nearly AU$1.5 billion in past six months.
Qantas also said it was on track for the second half of FY22 underlying EBITDA.
Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX:QAN) on Friday forecast a fall in net debt by the end of FY2022 on strong travel demand across domestic and institutional travel. In its latest ASX update, Australia’s national carrier has forecast the net debt to decline to nearly AU$4 billion after surging to more than AU$6.4 billion at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is an improvement of nearly AU$1.5 billion in past six months, Qantas said.
Qantas has updated its net debt target range to be in the range of AU$4.2 billion to AU$5.2 billion. The airline forecasts significant full-year underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss for FY22 that includes the worst of the Delta and Omicron impacts as well as restart costs.
However, the business confirmed that it was on track for the second half of FY22 underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of between AU$450 million and AU$550 million.
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia and it’s the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operations.
Qantas’ preparations for July peak
Qantas also thanked customers for their “patience and understanding while the airline works through what has been a challenging restart for the industry globally. It announced a 15% rise in ground staff compared to the Easter holidays.
“Since April, Qantas and Jetstar have recruited more than 1,000 operational teammembers, and hundreds of additional contact centre staff have slashed average call wait times. Qantas will have 20% more team members on standby to minimise any impact of sick leave,” Qantas added.
New flights
Qantas also announced its plans to start direct flights from Perth to Jakarta and Perth to Johannesburg in November 2022. It takes the total number of new destinations the national carrier has added since Australia’s borders reopened late last year to eight.
Qantas’ share price snapshot
Following this update, shares of Qantas were trading at AU$4.58, up 0.060 at 10:06 AM (AEST). In the past year, the stock has fallen over 1%. The share price is down over 11% YTD. In the past month, the stock is down over 14%.
Meanwhile, Qantas Airways recently announced its plan to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The outline also included an interim target to lower carbon emissions by 25% by 2030.
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