The Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) share price is relatively flat since the beginning of 2021. The airline operator continues to battle COVID-19 which has severely affected its operations and the wider travel market.
At Tuesday's market close, Qantas shares finished the day up 5.48% to $4.62.
What happened to Qantas shares last earnings season?
When Qantas reported its half-year scorecard for FY21, its shares tanked 6% within a matter of days. This was short-lived however, with the company's share price rebounding to touch a 52-week high of $5.79 the following month.
Looking back at the results, Qantas delivered revenue of $2.33 billion, a mammoth 75% drop compared to the prior corresponding period. The stark fall came predominately from Victoria's extended lockdown and nationwide border closures.
However, the company achieved underlying earnings, before, interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $86 million. Management noted that this reflected the fundamental resilience of Qantas' portfolio.
Nonetheless, the group posted an underlying loss before tax of $1.03 billion. This compares to a net profit before tax of $771 million in H1 FY20.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce commented at the time:
These figures are stark but not surprising.
Despite the huge challenges, these results show the group's underlying strength.
Our priorities remain the safety of everyone who travels with us, getting as many of our people back to work as possible and generating positive cash flow to repair our balance sheet.
Is the Qantas share price a buy?
A recent report released by Goldman Sachs slapped a buy rating on Qantas shares, indicating a 12-month price target of $6.38.
While this represents an upside of 38% based on the current Qantas share price, the broker noted some downside risks. They included rising competition, poor passenger volumes, higher fuel prices, loss of cost benefits, delayed border openings, and slower demand recovery.
Qantas has a market capitalisation of roughly $8.7 billion, with more than 1.8 billion shares on its registry.
