Israel's El Al Q3 net profit falls on fuel costs
TEL AVIV, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Israeli flag carrier El Al Israel Airlines (ELAL.TA) reported a decline in net profit in the third quarter, due to higher fuel costs.
In a statement on Wednesday the airline said it made a quarterly net profit of $30.4 million or 6 cents per diluted share, compared with $40.7 million or 8 cents a share a year earlier.
Revenue rose 7 percent to a record $607.3 million, helped by higher passenger revenue as well as duty-free sales and the provision of maintenance services to other companies.
El Al's load factor was 85.4 percent in the quarter while its market share was 32.6 percent.
Fuel costs in the July to September period increased to $214.7 million from $153.5 million a year ago.
The weaker dollar against the shekel ILS= also resulted in an $11 million rise in expenses, El Al said.
"We are committed to and prepared for the continuing effort to deal with the world aviation crisis, the challenging market conditions and the increasing competition," Haim Romano, El Al's chief executive officer, said in a statement.
He urged the Israeli government to immediately implement its decision to finance 80 percent of security expenses of Israeli airlines. (Reporting by Tova Cohen; Editing by David Holmes)
