Qantas gets outlook upgrade from Moody's

Credit ratings agency Moody's has given Qantas an outlook upgrade but the airline still has junk investment status.

The tail of a Qantas Boeing 767 in Sydney.

(AAP) Source: AAP

Qantas has received a more favourable outlook from credit ratings agency Moody's after the airline delivered its best half year result in four years.

Moody's gave Qantas a junk status credit rating in January 2014, with a Ba credit rating which is below investment grade.

The airline still has a Ba credit rating, which entails substantial credit risk.

But Moody's on Friday changed Qantas' outlook from negative to stable, following the airline's strong results for the six months to December 31.

"The change in outlook to stable from negative reflects the strengthening in Qantas' credit profile following the significantly improved earnings and credit metrics for the first half of fiscal year `15, which we expect to be sustained for the next six to 12 months," Moody's senior analyst Matthew Moore said.

Australia's biggest carrier on Thursday announced a net profit of $203 million, a turnaround from a $235 million loss at the same time last year, and after recording a full-year net loss of $2.8 billion for 2013/14.

This was the best first-half result since 2010 and the first half year profit since 2012.

Qantas revealed an underlying 2014/15 first half profit of $367 million, beating forecasts of between $300 million and $350 million.

A fortnight ago, rival credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's upgraded its outlook for Qantas from negative to stable.

But like Moody's, it maintained a junk status credit rating, which S&P refers to as BB+.


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Source: AAP


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