Qantas clawing its way back, but big challenges remain. Cautious outlook, shares plunge

Qantas has controlled costs and benefited from a surge in profits at its Jetstar and Frequent Flyer businesses to report a profit before tax (PBT) of AUD90 million for the six months ended 31-Dec-2009 and an underlying PBT of AUD267 million, but warned of difficult times ahead and decided against a dividend to shareholders. The airline issued a very cautious outlook, expecting underlying PBT for the full year ending 30-Jun-2010 to be in the range of AUD300-400 million "subject to no further significant change in market conditions and fuel prices".