The Qantas Group has today released its 2022 Annual Report to shareholders.

The Group’s first detailed Sustainability Report has also been released, which tracks progress towards its emissions reduction targets for 2030 and beyond, as well as other key metrics.

The Annual Report provides further details on the $1.19 billion Statutory Loss Before Tax the Group announced in August, which stemmed from some of the toughest COVID lockdowns as well as the costs of restarting the airline.

The report also provides remuneration disclosures, with executive pay remaining well below pre-COVID levels. In summary:

• Executive take home pay^[1] was 64 per cent lower than pre-COVID levels. For the third year in a row, no short-term incentives were paid in FY22 and contracted base pay remained frozen.
• After two years of opting to receive less than his contracted base salary during the pandemic, CEO Alan Joyce’s salary was restored to $2.17 million – the same level it was in FY19. However, the lack of annual bonuses means Mr Joyce’s overall pay was 77 per cent less than pre-pandemic levels.
• For the third year in a row, Mr Joyce has deferred a decision on the vesting of his long-term incentives, which would have otherwise been paid given Qantas was ranked second among peer airlines in total shareholder return over the past three years.
• As first announced in September 2021, senior executives are eligible for a retention bonus linked to achieving the Group’s COVID recovery plan by the end of FY23, which remains on track. Non-executive employees are eligible for around $10,000 in recovery and retention incentives and share rights.
• The FY23 measures for executive performance and remuneration have been re-balanced to include a larger weighting for customer satisfaction and introduction of an environmental measure for the first time.

COMMENTS FROM QANTAS CHAIRMAN, RICHARD GOYDER

“This annual report hopefully represents the last chapter of the terrible impact that the COVID crisis had on Qantas.

“It’s been tough for our shareholders, customers and especially on our people. But we’ve made it through and it’s great to see so many people flying again.

“The restart has been bumpy, which reflects how difficult it is to bring an airline out of hibernation at the same time as dealing with record rates of COVID in the community.

“We sincerely apologise to our customers, who’ve been so patient as we get back to the service standards people rightly expect from us. Our latest performance figures show we’re well on track and our annual data shows safety standards remained high throughout.

“Our people have worked incredibly hard through the recovery, including during the well-publicised challenges of recent months. We’ve set aside almost $200 million to share the benefits of the return to profit across the Group with them.

“Executive pay has been constrained throughout the pandemic, with a wage freeze and no annual bonuses for the third year in a row. The retention bonus in place for next year is key to keeping the considerable talent we have and it depends on delivering the recovery in full.

“Managing an airline through a pandemic is incredibly difficult and few have emerged with the underlying strength that Qantas has. That’s an absolute credit to Alan Joyce and his team, though the full impact of what’s been achieved will be best judged a few years from now when new aircraft are arriving, new routes are opening up and lots of opportunities for our people.

“With a focus on the future, we’ve made some important commitments to sustainability, including a 25 per cent cut to emissions by 2030. We’ll be transparent about our progress towards this and other targets, including diversity and reconciliation, through a newly created Sustainability Report.”

[1] Refers to Key Management Personnel including Group CEO