El Al Doubles Second Quarter Profit

El Al Israel Airlines reported a doubling of net profit for its second quarter to USD$35 million.

Operating revenue for the quarter rose 5.3 percent to USD$537 million, up from USD$511 million in the same period last year.

The revenue increase was caused partly by the timing of Passover, which occurred in the second financial quarter this year.

Revenue was adversely affected by increased competition caused by the continuing trend of lower ticket prices as oil prices dropped, El Al said in a statement.

Jet fuel costs, including the impact of hedging, declined by USD$26.3 million, a drop of 21 percent compared to the previous year period.

Load factor for the quarter was 82.3 percent, up 1.2 percentage points, even as seat availability increased by 10 percent on last year.

For cargo the picture wasn't as rosy with revenue down 14.6 percent, mainly due to a drop in yield and a decline in the amount of capacity flown.