Qantas Posts Drop In H1 Profit, To Lower Spending

Qantas Airways Ltd QUBSF posted a drop in its first-half profit and also announced its plans to lower spending over the next two years. Qantas' net profit for the period dropped to A$42 million, versus A$241 million, in the year-ago period. Its underlying pre-tax profit declined to A$202 million, versus the company's own forecast of A$140 million to A$190 million and analysts' estimates of A$170 million. Qantas announced its plans to lower planned capital expenditure to A$2.3 billion in the current financial year, versus A$2.5 billion.