Qantas head ‘thrilled’ she was wrong
A report in the NZ Herald says that Margaret Jackson, chairwoman of Qantas, says her board’s endorsement of a controversial but failed takeover bid for the carrier has helped thrust the airline’s share price skyward.
“After some years of focus on the downside risks, the market is now more focused on the upside when making its valuation of Qantas,” Ms Jackson told a business lunch in Melbourne this week.
“Indeed this week, the share price hit an all-time high of A$5.81. For the time being, shareholders are seeing the value in Qantas which was not seen before.
Jackson offered a comprehensive vindication of her board’s support for Airline Partners Australia (APA)’s A$11.1 billion ($12.4 billion) takeover bid.
Soon after the bid’s demise, which failed to win over enough shareholders, Jackson announced plans to resign at the company’s annual meeting in November.
In her address, Jackson recapped the strength and achievements of Qantas as it grew from its initial listing to become the world’s 11th-largest carrier.
But Jackson and her board had become frustrated that the strong performance was not reflected in the share price. In the three years before speculation emerged over a private equity tilt for Qantas, its price averaged A$3.49.
But the APA consortium, with its A$5.45-a-share bid, “saw what Qantas had achieved and, in contrast to some, they recognised the strong value in underlying business”, Jackson said.
“Despite the uncertainty and the upheaval of the bid process, Qantas just kept going forward.”
“The bid also triggered widespread and detailed attention to the underlying business of Qantas.”
“At the time, as the takeover thrust accelerated, Jackson notoriously warned that anyone who did not realise a failed bid would lower the share price had “a mental problem with how the market works”.
She cheerfully admitted this week she had been wrong in her forecast.
“I’m absolutely thrilled that the share price has not [dropped],” she said. “Which just goes to prove that chairmen and chief executives of corporations don’t always know what’s going to happen to their share price.”
Qantas was now undergoing a review of its capital management programme, which included looking at gearing levels that had been reduced from 75 per cent when it first listed to below 50 per cent.
“There’s maybe some shareholder value [that] can be created by taking on a little bit more risk,” she said.
Meanwhile, Jackson restated her intention to resign in November although she was “flexible”.
Under Qantas’ rules, the company’s chairperson must be an Australian citizen.
“It’s a matter that all of the board members will be involved with. We will be thinking extremely carefully about internal candidates and external candidates.”
Qantas shares closed steady at A$5.70.
Report by The Mole from the NZ Herald
John Alwyn-Jones
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
France prepares for a massive strike across all transports on September 18
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt