Qantas will return another $378 million of capital to shareholders in the form of a buyback after the carrier lifted first-half profit 18 per cent to $607 million.
Underlying pre-tax profit for the six months to December 31 soared 14.6 per cent to a record $976 million, although net profit fell short of 2016's record $688 million due to $119 million of costs including redundancies and the introduction of the Dreamliner aircraft.
Nonetheless, the underlying profit beat guidance of $900 million to $950 million and the airline said it will again hand spare cash back to shareholders by buying back up to $378 million of shares over the second half.
The move, which will take the total spent on buybacks since 2016 to more than $1.6 billion, helped Qantas shares climb 7.2 per cent to $5.65 by 1030 AEDT.
Chief executive Alan Joyce said the transformation of Qantas during his tenure - which has included hefty redundancies, route changes and aircraft retirements - had left the airline well placed.
He said Thursday's first-half result includes $181 million of benefits from the transformation program, with a full-year target of $400 million.
"After several years of consistent performance, we now have a lot of momentum behind us," Mr Joyce said in a statement.
"We're vigilant about maintaining that momentum and we're confident about the future it allows us to build."
Net passenger revenue rose to $7.493 billion from $7.064 billion in the prior corresponding period, while freight revenue jumped to $440 million from $416 million.
Citi analysts said Qantas domestic was a stand-out performer with 5.3 per cent revenue growth and a 20.4 per cent lift in underlying earnings before interest and tax.
"Overall, the market should be pleased with another record result," Citi said.
QANTAS SOARS IN FIRST HALF
* Net profit up 17.9pct to $607m
* Total revenue up 5.8pct to $8.66b
* Interim dividend 7.0 cents unfranked, vs 7.0 cents half-franked in pcp
