LOD,Israel, March 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
El Al Israel Airlines (TASE: ELAL) announced today that the Company's revenues in 2016 amounted to approx. USD 2,038 million, compared to approx. USD 2,054 million in the previous year;
Profit before tax in 2016 was approx. USD 93 million, compared to a profit before tax of approx. USD 145 million in the previous year;
The Company completed 2016 with a net profit of approx. USD 81 million compared to a net profit of approx. USD 107 million in 2015;
The Company's cash and deposit balances as of December 31, 2016 totaled approx. USD 212 million and the equity amounted to approx. USD 284 million;
The Company's market-share of passenger traffic at Ben-Gurion Airport increased in 2016 to approx. 32.6%, compared to approx. 32.5% in the previous year.
Load factor in 2016 stood at approx. 84%, compared to 83.3% in the previous year;
Passenger segments increased by approx. 11%
EBITDA in 2016 amounted to approx. USD 287 million, compared to approx. USD 331 million last year;
Cash flow from operating activities in 2016 amounted to approx. USD 243 million, compared to a cash flow of approx. USD 271 million in 2015;
Equity in 2016 increased to approx. USD 284 million, compared to USD 198 million as of December 31, 2015;
The Company's revenues in the fourth quarter of 2016 amounted to approx. USD 460.8 million, compared to approx. USD 476.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2015;
The Company recorded in the fourth quarter of 2016 a net loss of approx. USD 2.4 million, compared to a profit of approx. USD 12.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2015.
David Maimon, El Al's CEO:
"The Company announced a net profit for 2016 of approx. USD 81 million and a growth in all operational parameters, including an increase of about 11% in passenger segments, a market-share increase to 32.6% and an impressive load-factor of 84%.
The 2016 results were affected by the pilots' crisis that reached its peak in the fourth quarter of the year. The main impact was on the operating expense items.
We continue preparations for the arrival of the new wide-body 787 Dreamliners, the first of which is expected to arrive at the end of August 2017.
Additionally, in 2016 we continued the trend of rejuvenating our narrow-body aircraft fleet, upon completion of the 8 Boeing 737-900 aircraft arrival process. Currently, the average age of the Company's narrow-body airplanes stands at seven years old. At the same time, as per our commitment, we continue the pilot of WIFI services during flights, which will be gradually installed in all Boeing 737-900 aircraft.
The Frequent Flyer Club, in Israel and overseas, and in particular the FLYCARD credit card, serve as a significant growth engine, which is translated into an impressive expansion trend. The number of said credit card holders has exceeded all expectations and stands at about 200 thousand since its launch. The number of EL AL's Frequent Flyer Club members also continued to increase, reaching more than 1.76 million members.
We shall do all in our power to provide our customers with a quality service, maximum comfort, innovative technology and advanced airplanes, while continuing to successfully cope with market conditions as well as competition.
I wish to take this opportunity to thank you and express my highest appreciation for El Al employees, on the ground and in the air, in Israel and worldwide, who work with determination and dedication, allowing us to effectively deal with the challenges facing us.
We are committed to ensure the Company's success and prosperity, and determined to restore our customers' security and trust."
Dganit Palti, El Al's CFO, stated:
"The company enjoyed from lower average fuel prices last year, which resulted in a net savings of $ 95 million in fuel expenses. On the other hand, the company's operating expenses increased significantly due to the 5% increase in flight hours and mainly due to disruptions in flights resulting from a crisis with the pilots.
We are working hard improve the Company's operating indices.
Despite the damage to the activity this year , the EBITDA amounted to $ 287 million, the Company generated a cash flow from operating activities in excess of $ 240 million, and cash and deposits balances at the end of the period amounted to $ 212 million, attesting to the Company's financial strength.
The company's financial position enables us to move forward with confidence in the face of the challenge of the new fleet of aircraft program, which will enable the Company's future development in the coming years."
Results for the year Ended on December 31, 2016:
1. Operating revenues - operating revenues decreased in 2016 by approx. USD 16 million (about 0.8%) compared to 2015. Revenue from passenger flights increased by approx. 0.1% whereas income from cargo flights decreased. Revenue from passengers was affected by two opposing trends - on the one hand, the trend of drop in flight ticket prices continued due to the intensified competition and the impact of the fuel price drop, and on the other hand, a significant increase was recorded in the number of passengers carried by the Company and in passenger revenue per kilometer (RPK) as a result of an increase in operations. Additionally, the Company's passenger revenues were adversely affected by the erosion of exchange rates of currencies in which some of the Company's sales transactions are made, in relation to the dollar. Furthermore, the growth in passenger revenue in 2016 compared to 2015 was partially offset by the disruptions in manning the Company's flights due to the pilots' sanctions (which started in October 2015 and continued intermittently throughout 2016). The Company's cargo revenue decreased by approx. 11.4%, primarily due to the drop in yield per ton-kilometer and revenue-ton-kilometer (RTK) flown.
2. Operating expenses - operating expenses increased in 2016 by approx. USD 50 million (about 3.4%) compared to 2015, after a decline of approx. USD 95 million in jet fuel expenses. The gross increase of approx. USD 145 million mainly resulted from an increase in operations and wages and increase in lease expenses primarily due to disruptions in manning flights, as a result of the pilots' sanctions, and the need to find alternative solutions in connection therewith, mainly wet lease of aircrafts (lease of aircraft and crew), as well as due to an increase in depreciation expenses, primarily due to an increase in the number of the Company's aircrafts and change in the residual value of the 777 aircrafts.
3. Jet Fuel Expenses - the Company's jet fuel expenses, including hedging impact, declined by approx. USD 94.7 million (about 20%) compared to the corresponding expenditure in 2015, as a result of a drop in the price of jet fuel, offset in part by an increase in the amount of jet fuel consumed due to the growth in the scope of the Company's operations.
4. Selling Expenses -selling expenses decreased in approx. USD 2.3 million (about 1.2%) compared to 2015, primarily due to the drop in distribution expenses.
5. General and Administrative Expenses - general and administrative expenses recorded a growth of approx. USD 1.6 million (about 1.7%) compared to 2015, mainly due to the an increase in professional services and provisions for legal claims.
6. Other Revenues (Expenses) - the USD 5.2 million improvement in results is primarily attributed to early retirement plan expenses recognized in 2015, and capital gain for the sale of a 737-700 aircraft, which was recognized during 2016.
7. Financing Expenses - financing expenses amounted to approx. USD 23.1 million, compared to approx. USD 26.5 million in 2015. This drop is mostly due to a one-time fee payment in 2015 and a decrease in price differences in 2016 compared to 2015.
8. Taxes on Income - taxes on income totaled approx. USD 12.8 million compared to approx. USD 38.1 million in 2015. This drop is the result of a decrease in profit before taxes on income and the impact of the decrease in the corporate tax on deferred taxes (a benefit of approx. USD 11 million).
9. Profit for the Period - profit before tax in 2016 totaled approx. USD 93.5 million and profit after tax totaled approx. 80.7 million (constituting about 4.0 % of the turnover), compared to profit before tax of approx. USD 144.6 million in 2015 and profit after tax approx. USD 106.5 million (about 5.2% of the turnover).
Results for the Three-Month Period Ended on December 31, 2016:
1. Operating revenues - decreased by approx. USD 15.5 million (about 3.3%) in the reported period compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year, with a drop of approx. USD 9.9 million (about 2.4%) in passenger revenues and approx. USD 7.0 million in cargo revenues (about 16.9%). The passenger revenue decrease was due to a decline in revenue passenger kilometer (RPK), for the above detailed reasons, as well as the erosion of exchange rates of currencies in which the Company's sales transactions are made, in relation to the dollar. In addition, the drop in passenger revenues in the fourth quarter of 2016, compared to the fourth quarter of 2015, was also due to the disruptions in manning the Company's flights. The Company's cargo yield per ton-kilometer and revenue-ton-kilometer (RTK) flown recorded a decrease.
2. Operating expenses - increased in the reported period by approx. USD 17.2 million (about 4.5%) compared to the fourth quarter of 2015, after a savings of approx. USD 9.6 million in jet fuel expenses. The gross increase of approx. USD 26.8 million was primarily due to disruptions in manning flights, caused by the pilots' sanctions, and the need to find alternative solutions in connection therewith, mainly wet lease of aircrafts by the Company, as well as due to an increase in depreciation expenses.
3. Selling Expenses -decreased by approx. 7.2% compared to the fourth quarter of 2015, primarily due to the drop in distribution and advertising expenses.
4. General and Administrative Expenses - increased by approx. 6.0% compared to the fourth quarter of 2015, mainly due to the an increase in professional services and provisions for legal claims.
5. Financing Expenses - amounted to approx. USD 6.1 million, compared to approx. USD 7.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2015. This drop is mostly due to a one-time fee payment that was recognized in 2015 and a decrease in exchange differences.
6. Taxes on Income - the tax benefit in the reported period totaled approx. USD 10.2 million. Said tax benefit includes revenues, due to a corporate tax rate decrease from 25% to 23% (in the expected period, on the date of reversing timing differences in respect of which deferred taxes were recognized)
7. Loss for the Period - loss before tax in 2016 totaled approx. USD 12.7 million (loss after tax totaled approx. 2.4 million, constituting about 0.5% of the turnover), compared to profit before tax of approx. USD 16.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2015 (profit after tax - approx. USD 12.2 million, constituting about 2.6% of the turnover),
Additional Data as of December 31, 2016:
1. Current Assets - amounted to approx. USD 435.1 million, reflecting a growth of approx. USD 40.8 million compared to December 31, 2015. This growth resulted mostly from an increase in cash balances compared to the cash balances at the end of 2015, which was partially offset by a decrease in the Short Term Deposits item and the improvement in the fair value of jet fuel derivatives.
2. Current Liabilities - amounted to approx. USD 800.1 million, reflecting a drop of approx. USD 37.9 million compared to December 31, 2015. This drop is primarily due to the improvement in the fair value of jet fuel derivatives and a drop in current maturities of long-term loans, which were partially offset by an increase in the Revenues item from pre-sale of airline tickets, as a result of a rise in airline ticket sales (not yet realized) in the last quarter of 2016 compared to the last quarter of 2015.
3. Working Capital - the Company has a working capital deficit of approx. USD 365.1 million compared to a deficit of approx. USD 443.7 dollar as of December 31, 2015. It shall be noted that a substantial part of the working capital deficit does not reflect short-term cash flows, and consists of two substantial components which are included in the Company's Current Liabilities items and are characterized by current business cycle; however, the Company is not required to use cash-flow sources in the short term in order to repay these components: prepaid revenue from the sale of airline tickets and from the Frequent Flyer Club, to be settled by providing future flight services, and liabilities to employees for vacation, which are expected to be paid over several years but classified as a short-term liability in accordance with accounting principles. Moreover, loans in an aggregate amount of approx. USD 78 million, whose original maturity date is in April and July 2017 and are therefore presented as short-term liabilities, were spread, after the date of the Statement of Financial Condition, over a period of 4 years, and thus will be classified, starting from the quarter of 2017, as non-current liabilities.
4. Non-Current Assets - amounted to approx. USD 1,281.9 million, showing a growth of approx. USD 12.0 million compared to their balance as of December 31, 2015, mainly as a result of the continued investment in the 787 Boeing aircraft acquisition program and the receipt of three 737-900 aircrafts during 2016, less current depreciation.
5. Non-Current Liabilities - totaled approx. USD 632.8 million, similar to their balance as of December 31, 2015. Liabilities were affected by a decrease in loan balances, which was offset by an increase in deferred tax liabilities due to profit before tax for the year, offset by the impact of the decrease in corporate tax.
6. Total Equity - amounted to approx. USD 284.1 million. The growth of approx. USD 86.1 million compared to equity as of December 31, 2015, mainly resulted from the profit for the period, which was partially offset by a USD 33.4 million dividend, announced and paid during the period, as well as by the impact of the Company's hedging instruments on the equity funds, in a net-of-tax amount of approx. USD 48.0 million (increase), offset by actuarial losses in respect of employee benefits on the equity funds, which affected the equity funds in a net-of-tax amount of approx. USD 9.6 million.
About El Al
El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) is the National Air Carrier of Israel. In 2016, El Al recorded revenues amounting to nearly USD 2.04 billion. El Al carries about 5.5 million passengers a year. The Company operates flights to about 34 direct destinations around the world and many other destinations by means of cooperation agreements with other airlines, thus it currently operates 43 aircrafts, 28 of which are owned by the Company.
(www.elal.com)
Details of Conference Call
A conference call took p place on Wednesday, March 22, 2017, at 12:30. A recording of the conference call will be available to those interested starting from March 22, 2017, at 14:00, until March 29, 2017, via phone number 03-9255937, as well as on the Company's Investor Relations website at: www.elal.com/investor-relations starting from March 24,2017.
For further details:
Dafna Cohen Head of Group Business Control and Investor Relations El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. 03-9717439 dafnac@elal.co.il | Amir Eisenberg CEO Eisenberg-Eliash Ltd. 03-7538828 amir@pr-ir.co.il |
