SYDNEY, June 18, 2026, 09:04 (AEST)
- Flight Centre finished Wednesday up 5.33% at A$12.44, after touching A$12.60 during the session.
- FLT lowered its FY26 underlying profit forecast to A$275 million-A$295 million, down from the previous A$310 million-A$345 million. Company Announcements
- Flight Centre’s A$200 million buyback and eased Gulf travel alerts turned attention back to a potential FY27 turnaround. MarketScreener
Flight Centre Travel Group Limited was due to start trading again Thursday after a 5.3% jump last session. Investors shrugged off a profit warning and focused on the new capital-return plan. Shares hit their highest level in three months and finished at A$12.44. MarketScreener
Big cut to earnings guidance, but shares shook it off. Flight Centre warned Middle East troubles could hit leisure earnings by around A$50 million in Q4, but the market saw that as old news and paid more attention to the share buyback and signs that travel demand is picking up. Market Index
Flight Centre is guiding for FY26 UPBT of A$275 million to A$295 million, with the midpoint roughly flat on the adjusted FY25 figure of A$286 million. The company defines UPBT as profit before tax excluding some non-underlying items. Managing Director Graham Turner blamed what he called an external shock for the latest setback, saying there hasn’t been a deterioration in the underlying business. Announcements
The company is bracing for around A$5 million in lost profit from its UK touring business. It also sees another A$5 million to A$10 million getting clipped by foreign-exchange as stronger Australian dollar eats into overseas earnings.
Flight Centre can buy back up to A$200 million of its shares on-market using existing cash through June 17, 2027. Buybacks cut the share count and can help boost earnings per share. The company finished an earlier buyback in May, retiring 16.2 million shares, or 7.3% of its total stock. MarketScreener
Australia cut travel warnings for the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Israel and Kuwait, taking out a key insurance hurdle for people passing through Gulf airports. Turner said the shift should lift confidence, with travellers likely to get “more capacity and better fares.” The Australian
Morningstar has lowered its fair-value estimate for Flight Centre by 4%, analyst Brian Han said. The firm kept its June 17 rating, still calling the stock undervalued. Morningstar
Travel stocks caught a bid as fears over geopolitics faded. Web Travel Group shares surged 11.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 closed up 0.54% at 8,966.3. Qantas shares added just 0.2% to A$9.98. News
The rebound isn’t locked in. Flight Centre’s James Kavanagh called the new advisory “the news a lot of Aussie travellers have been waiting for.” BofA’s Nathan Gee said, “Asian carriers such as Singapore Airlines are still well positioned” but expects Gulf airlines to pick up traffic slowly. IATA now sees airline net margins dropping to 2% by 2026, with high fuel costs and ongoing conflict disruptions keeping fares high and bookings choppy. Reuters
Flight Centre is halting hiring for support roles and cutting back on discretionary costs. The company is also deploying artificial-intelligence tools in both leisure and corporate businesses to protect margins. RTTNews
ASX cash market was still in pre-open at the dateline time, with normal matching set to kick off at 10:00 AEST. Investors will see on Thursday if the focus stays on the buyback and hopes for stronger long-haul bookings, despite the FY26 miss. Asx
