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Qantas has released its 2025 Annual Report, delivering outstanding results. The
airline posted a profit of $2.39 billion—up 15% on 2024 and only slightly below the
2023 record of $2.46 billion. All of Qantas’ key ratios—profitability, liquidity, solvency,
and efficiency—showed improvement (see Attachment below).

Chief Executive Vanessa Hudson said the profit surge was fuelled by a sharp
rebound in passenger demand and easing fuel costs. The airline carried an extra
four million travellers over the year, with both domestic and international routes
contributing to the growth.

All divisions delivered strong results, but the standout was budget carrier Jetstar,
which recorded a 16% jump in revenue to $5.7 billion and a 55% surge in earnings to
$769 million.

Shareholders of the ASX-listed $17 billion airline will share in the success, with
Qantas declaring a fully franked dividend of 16.5 cents per share, plus a special
dividend of 9.9 cents. Meanwhile, around 25,000 employees will benefit from a new
share scheme, granting them $1,000 worth of equity this year.

Qantas’ 2025 results do not factor in the $90 million fine it faces for illegally
outsourcing ground staff or the $36 million cost of shutting down Jetstar Asia.

The airline also confirmed a major fleet upgrade, announcing the purchase of 20 new
Airbus A321XLR aircraft to replace its retiring Boeing 737s and support the group’s
363-strong fleet. Adding to the excitement was the much-anticipated arrival of the
custom-built Airbus A350-1000s, designed to operate Qantas’ ultra-long-haul Project
Sunrise flights of more than 20 hours.

The first of 12 A350-1000s will enter final assembly at Airbus’ Toulouse factory in
October, with delivery to Australia expected a year later. In total, Qantas has 214
aircraft on firm order across the group, including Jetstar, with new planes scheduled
to arrive at an average rate of one every three weeks over the next two years.

Following its strong profit result, Qantas has relaunched its “double status credits”
offer to boost bookings and reward loyalty. Frequent Flyers who book within seven
days for travel between September 4 and August 22 can earn either double status
credits or double points.

NB: Qantas reports using underlying profit, a measure that excludes one-off costs or
gains to provide a clearer picture of the company’s performance. Some ratios—such
as the Rate of Return on Owners’ Equity and the Gearing Ratio—have recently
reached almost mythical levels, largely due to the accumulated losses from COVID-
19, which wiped out the equity section of Qantas’ Balance Sheet and reduced
revenues in the Income Statement. Because of this, financial analysts often avoid
relying on the traditional debt-to-equity ratio when assessing airline performance,
instead using more complex measures. While we are still awaiting reports from
several analysts, for now I have referred to the Gearing Ratio published by
stockanalysis.com.
Source: Qantas posts second biggest profit on record on back of soaring passenger revenue by Robyn Ironside The Australian Aug 28 th .