Highlights:
- Shares of Qantas were quoted trading 7.71% strong at 10:57 AM AEST on ASX today (25 August 2022).
- The group has delivered a significant statutory loss before tax for the third time in a row.
- Since the beginning of pandemic, the company has witnessed a loss of AU$7 billion in revenue.
- During FY22, the company recorded an underlying loss before tax of AU$1.86 billion.
Australia’s national carrier, Qantas Airways Limited (ASX:QAN), on Thursday (25 August 2022), shared its full-year results for the period ending on 30 June 2022. Qantas has posted a statutory loss before tax of over AU$1 billion during the financial year 2022 (FY22), the third consecutive loss as the company tries to recover from Covid-19.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Qantas has lost AU$25 billion in revenue with an accumulated loss of AU$7 billion.
Qantas informed the market that the recovery plan is on track. Also, the company announced a share buy-back of up to AU$400 million today.
Meanwhile, the share price of Qantas gained by 7.71% to AU$4.89 per share at 10:57 AM AEST with a market capitalisation of AU$8.56 billion. Including today’s gain, Qantas’ share price rose by 0.41% in one year and dropped by over 5% on year-to-date basis.
A look at the Qantas FY22 financial results
The group reported an underlying loss before tax of AU$1.86 billion. Statutory loss before tax was AU$1.19 billion. The difference in these two figures represents the sale of surplus land for AU$686 million that assisted in managing Covid-19 related debts.
The company observed the highest level of sustained demand in the fourth quarter since Covid-19 hit the world; the rest three quarters were affected by the border closures and uncertainty caused due to Covid-19 variants. For the year 2022, the flying levels of the group averaged 33% of pre-pandemic levels.
The combination of the recovery plan and the increase in travel demand resulted in improving the balance sheet. The net debt has decreased from AU$6.4 billion to U$3.9 billion by the end of FY22.
During the year, the statutory operating cash flow was positive, with an inflow of AU$2.67 billion cash.
Recovery plan of Qantas
- The flagship carrier delivered AU$920 million in structural annualised cost benefit since the financial year 2020, out of which AU$270 million was realised in FY22, and AU$1 billion is expected to be realised in FY23.
- The company restored its sustainable free cash flow and delivered record free cash flow during the second half of 2022.
- The international and domestic operations are restarting, supported by the return of Australian-based employees.
- Also, Qantas reported significant improvement in operational performance.