Goldman Sachs cuts Qantas to 'marketperform'

SYDNEY - Goldman Sachs JBWere has lowered its short-term rating on Qantas Airways Ltd to "marketperform" from "outperform", after Australia's biggest airline said fiscal 2006 profit would fall by about 27 per cent.

"A downgrade to earnings and increased restructuring charges is hardly a surprise in the context of high fuel prices," Goldman Sachs JBWere analyst Paul Ryan said in a report.

Shares in Qantas, the world's 11th largest airline by market value, closed down 4.7 per cent at A$3.03 ($3.65) on Wednesday, the lowest level in three years.

- REUTERS