Ms Jackson said the Directors had also approved an on-market buy-back of up to approximately 10 per cent of Qantas shares which would, when completed, amount to a reduction of capital of over $1billion.
She said the company’s cash position had improved by $461 million to $3.4 billion, providing surplus capital to make the share buy-back possible.
Ms Jackson said Qantas would fund the buy-back from cash reserves and did not expect it to have an impact on Qantas’ current BBB+/Baa1 (negative outlook) unsecured credit ratings.
“We expect the process to commence in September 2007, and will announce the brokers who will undertake the share buy-back on behalf of Qantas shortly,” she said.
“The duration of the buy-back will depend on market conditions and any governance issues that may arise during the buy-back.”
