Qantas Bounces Back With Strong Profit

Australia's national airline, Qantas International, has reported a pre-tax profit of 975m Australian dollars (£457m) for the year after heavy losses 12 months ago.

In August 2014 the firm posted a record loss of A$2.8bn (£1.3bn), having written down the value of its ageing fleet.

But in full year results for the past 12 months, Qantas said their underlying profit before tax was A$975m, meaning they would be able to resume offering returns to their shareholders.

The proposed amount to be returned is 23 cents per share - a total of A$505m.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) is hoped the returns could be paid out as early as November, following Qantas' General Meeting in October.

The airline has embarked on an aggressive "transformation program" in recent years, which has included cutting jobs and reducing capacity.

Qantas also announced today that it had placed an order for eight new Dreamliner planes from Boeing (NYSE: BA - news) , to be delivered and brought into service from 2017 onwards.

The jets are intended to replace the older planes on the company's roster.

The chief executive of the firm, Alan Joyce, praised the quick response of the business to turn fortunes around.

"We are halfway through the biggest and fastest transformation in our history," Mr Joyce said.

"Without that transformation, we would not be reporting this strong profit, recommencing shareholder returns, or announcing our ultra-efficient Dreamliner fleet for Qantas International.

"We have reshaped our business for a strong, sustainable future - and because we moved quickly and made tough decisions early, we have strong foundations to build on."