El Al : net profit up 326% to $29.9m in Q2

El Al Israel Airlines published last week its financial report for the second quarter of 2005.
 
The report indicated that the company earned $29.9 million in the second quarter ended June 30, a fourfold increase over $7 million earned in the year-ago period and a record for any second quarter.
 
Revenues rose 30% to $423 million. The carrier attributed the strong performance "to enormous growth in passenger traffic during the period." A 16% increase in capacity resulted in a 26% jump in passengers on scheduled flights, pushing load factor up 7 points to 80%.
 
El Al’s cash flow from current activities was $81 million for the quarter.El Al reported a capital gain of $8 million on the sale of its stake in Maman Cargo Terminals, and a one-time $10 million expense for its early retirement plan scheduled to come into effect in 2006.
 
El Al noted that it overcame a 52% surge in fuel prices during the quarter that raised operating expenses by approximately $33 million. At the end of the quarter it had $222.5 million in cash.
 
The financial report also indicated that El Al increased the frequency of flights to Moscow, New York, Toronto, Los Angeles, Bangkok, Bombay, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Larnaca, St. Petersburg, Berlin, Vienna, and other destinations.
 
Chairman Israel Borovich said during the press conference that "These impressive second-quarter results are an indication of El Al's continued growth and passenger loyalty".