Qatar Airways soars to new financial heights
JOHANNESBURG - Qatar Airways has shattered financial records for the 2024/2025 fiscal year, posting a 28% jump in net profit.
The airline's success was fueled by a surge in global travel, with record passenger numbers driving its highest-ever profit since the Covid-19 pandemic's end.
Meanwhile, Qatar Airways Cargo also thrived.
It recorded a 17% boost in revenue, thanks to its quick adaptability, strong focus on digitalisation, and reliability in the air freight market.
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The benefit to the property sector is gradual, as a significant portion of South African debt is hedged at high rates, with the full earnings benefit materialising when interest rate swaps or caps mature and are renewed at lower rates, according to Ridwaan Loonat, a senior analyst for Property at Nedbank. 'The SARB has also implicitly announced its preference for a 3% inflation target. If this target is reached, then this could potentially see another 125bps of cuts in this cycle. We forecast another 25bps cut in July 2025,' Loonat said. The Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) decision to cut interest rates was largely anticipated and underscores a greater emphasis on domestic fundamentals, according to Siphamandla Mkhwanazi, a senior economist at FNB. He said inflation remains below the bottom of the inflation target range and high-frequency data reflects a weak start to 2025 from a productive sector perspective, which will be worsened by faltering global prospects. He added that ultimately, the macroeconomic outlook is benign, providing ample space for a continued cutting cycle. 'That said, the impact of heightened uncertainty on investor confidence and capital flows will likely continue to drive gyrations in capital and currency markets, exacerbating external vulnerabilities and keeping the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) cautious. "Furthermore, South Africa's difficult fiscal trajectory is delaying any improvements in sovereign risk and borrowing costs. The outlook on interest rates will continue to reflect these risks. "Should muted local inflation, and expectations that the Fed will resume its cutting cycle before year-end prevail, our current view that another 25bps cut is probable this year would be supported,' Mkhwanazi said. The MPC's decision to cut the interest rate by 25 basis points is a welcome relief for consumers and is expected to bolster homeowner sentiment, according to Nondumiso Ncapai, the managing executive at Absa Home Loans. She said the recent Absa overall homeowner sentiment index showed a slight decline in the overall homeowner confidence by 2 percentage points to 85% in the first quarter of this year. 'This rate cut is expected to improve affordability for current and aspiring homeowners; however, consumers' finances remain strained in the short term, with time needed for consumers to gradually recover financially. "Absa's baseline view is for one further interest rate cut of 25bp at the July MPC however, the ongoing global policy and economic uncertainty will remain top of mind for the MPC,' Ncapai said. Nyika said it is still a bit early to say with certainty what the outcome of the next MPC announcement will be in three months. At this stage, he said he was undecided on whether there would be a further interest rate cut or if rates would remain unchanged. He said this uncertainty stemmed from two main factors: US President Donald Trump's global tariff hikes and the future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). 'The tariff increases could have a deflationary and potentially recessionary impact on the global economy. If that materialises, the South African Reserve Bank may opt to cut rates further to support a weakening economy. "Additionally, if South Africa loses its AGOA status within the next three months, the Reserve Bank may also be prompted to cut rates in response to the resulting economic strain. However, if neither of these scenarios occurs, I expect interest rates to remain unchanged. "Governor (Lesetja) Kganyago is generally regarded as hawkish, so I would not be surprised," Nyika said. Independent Media Property
