The airline's underlying pre-tax profit of $975 million for the year is a major turnaround on a $646 million loss a year earlier. Revenue rose 3 per cent to $15.8 billion. Market consensus was for Qantas to post a $982 million underlying pre-tax profit, which is the preferred measure for both analysts and the airline.
Shares in Qantas rose 1.2 per cent to $3.805 on Thursday morning.
It is Qantas's biggest profit since 2008 when it posted a $1.18 billion profit. The latest result reflects deep cost cutting over the past year, a sharp fall in fuel prices, lower depreciation charges, a truce the so-called capacity war with Virgin and an easing of competition on international routes.
