AKIPRESS.COM - Australian flag carrier Qantas on Thursday posted a record annual net loss of $2.65 billion, but chief executive Alan Joyce insisted clearer skies lie ahead after aggressively cutting costs, the Bloomberg reports.

The worse-than-expected result compared with a wafer-thin profit in the previous year, with one-off restructuring and redundancy payouts hammering the bottom line.

But the biggest hit came from a Aus$2.6 billion non-cash write-down of the value of its ageing international fleet, largely due to the historic cost of aircraft purchased at a much lower Australian dollar exchange rate.

Qantas's underlying loss before tax in the 12 months to June 30 - its preferred measure of financial performance, which excludes one-off costs and write-downs - was Aus$646 million, slightly better than forecast.

Analysts had been expecting a net loss of up to Aus$1.0 billion as the carrier also battles high fuel costs and fierce competition from subsidized rivals.