(Reuters) -Qantas Airways Ltd posted first-half profit at the top end of its forecast range and announced a A$500 million ($340.30 million) share buy-back on Thursday, as demand for air travel rebounded strongly despite higher fares.
The airline said the turnaround to profit was “underpinned by strong travel demand with revenue strength offsetting record fuel prices” during the period.
Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce said “supply chain and resourcing issues meant capacity hasn’t kept up with demand.”
“Now those challenges are starting to unwind, we can add more capacity and that will put downward pressure on fares.”
Qantas warned ongoing challenges in the industry, including aircraft manufacturer delays, supply chain snarls and labor constraints, continued to adversely affect operations.
The airline posted an underlying profit before tax of A$1.43 billion for the six months ended Dec. 31, 2022, compared with a loss of A$1.28 billion made last year and its own forecast range of A$1.35 billion to A$1.45 billion.
($1 = 1.4693 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Savyata Mishra and Harish Sridharan in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)