El Al Israel Airlines 1Q2011 loss widens

El Al Israel Airlines revenue up 0.5% - financial highlights for the three months ended 31-Mar-2011:

• Revenue: USD425.2 million, +0.5% year-on-year;
• Operating costs: USD403.4 million, +11%;
• Operating profit (loss): (USD53.5 million), compared with a loss of USD14.7 million in p-c-p;
• Net profit (loss): (USD42.9 million), compared with a loss of USD16.5 million in p-c-p;
• Market share: 38.2%, -2.0 ppts;
• Passenger load factor: 76.7%, -4.5 ppts.

El Al Israel Airlines: "Profitability was also hurt by the erosion in the dollar's exchange rate, the timing of the Passover holiday which occurred in the second quarter and not the first, and a substantial increase in competition. We are implementing a plan to lower costs, including reducing the fleet of fuel-inefficient planes and strengthening our technological innovation," Elyezer Shkedy, CEO. Source: Reuters, 25-May-2011.