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Oct 25 (Reuters) - Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd (QAN) on Thursday said its first-quarter revenue rose 6.3 percent to a record A$4.41 billion, substantially offsetting the rise in the price of fuel, and forecast its total fuel cost for the current financial year at A$4.09 billion ($2.89 billion).
The airline, which controls nearly two-thirds of Australia's domestic capacity, added in its first-quarter earnings update that it has hedged 76 percent of its fuel for the 2019 financial year and 39 percent for 2020 as it hopes to manage rising oil prices.
The price of jet fuel has risen about 15.7 percent since the end of last year and is now trading at around $91.81 a barrel JET-SIN , weighing on the financial outlook for airlines globally.
Rival Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (VAH) predicted on Monday it would report a first-half underlying profit before tax of at least A$100 million after revenue rose 9.7 percent in the first quarter.
Both airlines have cut domestic capacity and hiked fares, helping to offset the impact of rising fuel prices.
Sydney-based Qantas affirmed its existing capital expenditure outlook. Group capacity for the first half of FY19 is now expected to be flat, with Group Domestic capacity expected to fall by approximately zero to 1 per cent and Group International capacity to be flat.
Last month, rival Air New Zealand Ltd (AIR) warned that higher than expected jet fuel prices could hurt profitability in 2019. ($1 = 1.4170 Australian dollars)
