It's a milestone Monday for the Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price as the airline's stock continues to recover from its COVID-19 crash.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) staple plummeted 64% in a matter of weeks in early 2020 as the pandemic's grip tightened on Australia.
And while the market quickly recovered – the ASX 200 posted a record high in August 2021 – the Qantas share price wasn't so fortunate.
Indeed, it wasn't until now – nearly three years later – that the national carrier's stock has returned to near-pre-COVID levels. Though, it's still around 10% lower than the record high it posted in December 2019.
The Qantas share price is currently $6.585. That's 1.78% higher than its previous close.
For comparison, the ASX 200 is up 0.76% at the time of writing.
Let's take a closer look at what's been bolstering the flying kangaroo's stock lately.
Qantas share price hits post-COVID high
It's hard to say which industry was most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but I'd bet travel would be pretty high up the list.
International borders slammed shut in 2020, while interstate crossings were regularly halted over the following months. Needless to say, demand for air travel plummeted.
And even more bad news plagued the airline during the period. For instance, it landed in hot water multiple times over employee disputes.
However, it seemingly made the most of the disappointing time, notably bolstering its balance sheet.
The airline's net debt was expected to have dropped from $6.4 billion in February 2021 to between $2.3 billion and $2.5 billion by the end of December.
Qantas also tipped it will return to profit in the first half of financial year 2023. It's expected to post an underlying pre-tax profit of between $1.35 billion and $1.45 billion amid recovering demand for travel.
Unsurprisingly, that appeared to inspire confidence in the ASX 200 travel stock. The Qantas share price soared 5.3% on the back of its latest guidance upgrade.
And now shareholders are waiting on the release of the airline's first-half earnings – set to drop on 23 February. No doubt all eyes will be on Qantas and its share price following its much-anticipated release.
