Qantas Group has reported an underlying profit before tax of $2.06 billion for FY26, down $330 million on the previous year, as the airline absorbed a $420 million net hit from the conflict in the Middle East and a $610 million jump in its fuel bill.
Statutory profit after tax came in at $1.29 billion, down $316 million, while underlying earnings per share fell 14 cents to 96 cents. The board approved a fully franked final dividend of $300 million, or 19.8 cents per share, payable 14 October – on top of the $300 million interim dividend paid in April. A previously flagged $150 million on-market share buy-back will not go ahead.
Group CEO Vanessa Hudson described it as “another year of progress, with customer satisfaction at its highest in a decade and world-leading operational performance, even as the aviation industry faced record high fuel costs and disruption from the conflict in the Middle East.”
“We came through it with a strong result, which is what allows us to continue investing in the largest fleet renewal in our history and deliver more for our customers, people and shareholders,” she said.
Hudson said the year split into two distinct operating environments. The first half where “Qantas and Jetstar were both performing strongly, with demand growing across the domestic and international networks,” and the final four months in which business and consumer confidence fall as “the conflict and economic headwinds created uncertainty”.
“In response to the surge in fuel prices, we quickly adjusted fares and capacity, and redeployed aircraft to give customers more options to fly to Europe,” Hudson said. “These actions, along with other mitigations, limited the net impact on earnings to $420 million, despite a $610 million increase in our fuel bill.”
Segment performance
Group Domestic delivered $1.44 billion in underlying EBIT, with Qantas Domestic revenue up 5 per cent on 3 per cent capacity growth and Jetstar Domestic earnings up 15 per cent on an 11 per cent revenue increase. Group International and Freight EBIT fell to $650 million despite Qantas International revenue growing 8 per cent and Jetstar International revenue up 14 per cent, as higher fuel costs outweighed strong demand – including a surge in bookings to Europe as travellers avoided the Middle East.
Qantas Loyalty was a bright spot, with underlying EBIT up 12 per cent to $625 million on the back of 6 per cent growth in active members and a record five million flight Reward Seats redeemed. Uber was the fastest-growing loyalty partner, and Bunnings joined the program in July.
Fleet, people and outlook
Seventeen new aircraft were delivered during the year, with up to 31 more due in FY27. The airline confirmed the A380 will begin retiring from 2028 ahead of Project Sunrise A350-1000ULR deliveries starting in April 2027 and flagged the first non-stop Sydney–London flight for October 2027.
She also thanked the Qantas Group workforce in a difficult year for the group which faced the Middle East crisis and the ongoing wait for compensation for 1,820 former Qantas workers who a court found were illegally sacked in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I want to thank every one of our team members for the professionalism and commitment they showed in continuing to deliver for our customers through a year when the whole industry was under pressure,” Hudson said.
Around 25,000 non-executive employees will again receive $1,000 in Qantas shares under the group’s annual share plan.
Looking ahead, Hudson pointed to a run of customer-facing milestones.
“This year we’ll begin direct flights from Sydney to Las Vegas, reopen the Sydney International Business Lounge, continue to upgrade Jetstar’s 787s and have Wi-Fi available on the vast majority of Qantas International flights,” she said.
For FY27, Qantas expects Group Domestic and Group International unit revenue (TRASK) to each rise 8–10 per cent in the first half, with fuel costs of approximately $3.6 billion over the same period.
