Australia's Qantas Airways on Monday said the airline expected to post an underlying net profit before tax of between 140 million AU dollars (138 million U.S. dollars) to 190 million AU dollars (187 million U.S. dollars) for the six months to December 2011.
The national flag carrier said increases in fuel costs and the impact of industrial action had cost the company more than 650 million AU dollars (641 million U.S. dollars).

Qantas Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce said the forecast result underlined the strength of the Qantas Group's strategy and portfolio of businesses, and would be achieved despite a number of challenges.

"The group's first-half performance reflects a challenging operating environment, with uncertainty in global economic conditions, elevated fuel prices and volatile foreign exchange rates," Qantas said in a statement on Monday.

Qantas said the impact of extensive industrial action by the unions of pilots, ground staff and engineers was 194 million AU dollars (191 million U.S. dollars) in the first half of fiscal year 2012.

The airline said it expected yield in the first half of fiscal year 2012 to be between 3-5 percent higher than in the first half of fiscal year 2011.

The company was also expecting a four to six percent increase in capacity over the first half.

Qantas said the outlook for the second half of fiscal year 2012 remains volatile given global economic uncertainty, fuel prices and foreign exchange rates.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet