El Al Airlines revenue down 18%; profit USD23.8 million

El Al Airlines revenue down 18% - financial highlights for the three months ended Sep-2009:

• Revenue: USD496.1 million, -18% year-on-year;
• Operating costs: USD400.7 million, -15%;
• Gross profit: USD95.4 million, compared to a profit of USD134.5 million in the previous corresponding period;
• Operating profit: USD23.8 million, compared to a profit USD51.1 million in the previous corresponding period;
• Net profit: USD12.3 million, compared to a profit of USD31 million in the previous corresponding period;
• Passenger load factor: 85.1%. [more]

El Al: "Revenues for the quarter totaled USD496.1 million compared to USD606.9 million in the same quarter last year, a drop of about 18%. The drop in revenues derives mainly from a reduction in passenger revenues caused by a reduction in average revenue per passenger, as well as the rise of the U.S. Dollar in relation to other currencies. Cargo revenues declined by about 47% compared to the same quarter last year, as a result of worldwide air cargo slowdown, which led both to drops in amounts of air cargo shipped and in the average price per ton of cargo," Source: Company statement, 26-Nov-2009.