El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) reported a 50% fall in profit for the third quarter of 2011. Net profit in the third quarter was halved to $21 million, down from $42.4 million in the corresponding quarter of 2010.
Revenue in the third quarter of 2011 rose 6% to $602 million, up from $566 million in the corresponding quarter.
El Al's operating expenditure, including jet fuel expenditure, rose 15% to $489 million in the third quarter of 2011 compared with $566 million in the corresponding quarter.
The carrier said that the main reason for the rise in expenditure was due to the rise in the cost of jet fuel, which amounted to $205 million in the third quarter of 2011 compared with $160 million in the corresponding quarter of last year. El Al reported that the average cost of jet fuel was 47% higher in the third quarter at $3.18 per gallon compared with $2.21 per gallon in the corresponding quarter.
In the first nine months of 2011, El Al lost $42 million compared with a profit of $40.8 million in the corresponding period of 2010. Revenue over the first nine months of 2011 amounted to $1.5 billion, up from $1.4 billion in the same period of 2010.
El Al CEO Eliezer Shkedi said, "In this quarter, the company coped with challenges and changes in the global and domestic aviation sector. Among other things, the rise in the price of fuel and the global economic crisis. These factors meant adapting operations and applying efficiency measures to reduce El Al's expenditure, including optimizing the aircraft fleet and re-examining airline routes and destinations."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 23, 2011
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