Cash earnings

Qantas Airways (QAN) expects its net profit to fall to between $140 million to $190 million for the first half of the fiscal year. The airline blamed the rising fuel costs and industrial disputes that amounted to $650 million for its first half fall in profits.

"The group's first-half performance reflects a challenging operating environment, with uncertainty in global economic conditions, elevated fuel prices and volatile foreign exchange rates," said Qantas.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) announced today that the company earned $1.75 billion unaudited cash profit for the first quarter of the financial year, making this year's earnings better compared to the $1.6 billion last year.