The dominance of El Al Israel Airways Ltd. (TASE:ELAL) in Israel’s skies, after many international airways have canceled flights to and from Israel as a consequence of fears of an Iranian strike, led to document internet revenue of $147 million within the second quarter of 2024. With El Al in a position to cost excessive fares, second quarter revenue was 84% greater than the web revenue within the first quarter, which was itself “the very best quarter within the firm’s historical past.”
Because the geopolitical tensions persist, El Al, managed by US businessman Kenny Rozenberg and led by CEO Dina Ben Tal Ganancia, is predicted to report very excessive earnings within the coming quarters. Within the first half of the yr El Al reported income of $1.6 billion and internet revenue of $226 million, up tenfold from the primary half of 2023.
It’s laborious to imagine that 4 years in the past, following the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, the airline’s very existence was threatened, as scheduled flights worldwide have been suspended. Every new Covid wave led to a hunch in demand, and big losses, liquidity difficulties, with the auditors attaching a “going concern” qualification to the corporate’s reviews.
The state assisted El Al, with assist price lots of of tens of millions of {dollars} (alongside capital injections from new controlling proprietor Rozenberg), to bridge money gaps and permit the airline to fulfill its obligations regardless of the disaster.
An examination by “Globes” discovered that El Al doesn’t presently pay tax on its earnings. Though the corporate’s reviews recorded tax bills of $45.8 million within the second quarter and $65 million within the first half of the yr, a better look reveals that the quantities truly transferred as tax funds to the state have been considerably decrease: $100,000 within the second quarter and $200,000 cumulatively within the first half of the yr, when company tax on earnings is 23%.
El Al explains the discrepancy by stating that, “It has a excessive steadiness of losses to be carried ahead for tax functions, and it doesn’t truly pay the tax.” So regardless of the large earnings it has recorded in latest quarters, El Al’s loss steadiness remains to be excessive, and on the finish of the second quarter was about $744 million (in comparison with $970 million on the finish of 2023). Which means that even within the coming quarters, El Al shouldn’t be anticipated to pay tax on its earnings.
“To start with offset losses, and solely then pays tax”
Thus in good occasions El Al doesn’t share the state’s earnings, however in laborious occasions the state helps massive time. As a part of the settlement with the state in 2021, on the peak of its monetary troubles, El Al obtained $210 million as an advance fee from the state for safety personnel providers over the next 20 years.
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The state additionally injected an extra $100 million into El Al throughout that disaster interval by issuing convertible bonds (about $45 million), and shares ($37 million), in addition to advances on the state’s participation in safety bills and advance fee for gas bills.
A supply aware of the matter informed “Globes,” “That’s the tax regime in Israel. Any firm that has losses carries it ahead for tax functions, and when it begins to make a revenue, it first offsets the losses and solely then pays tax. El Al, within the years 2020-2021 misplaced virtually $1 billion ($531 million in 2021 and $413 million in 2022), that is unimaginable, due to this fact it’s logical and cheap that the corporate will first offset the losses from the Covid interval and solely then begin paying taxes. It is no completely different from another firm.”
Referring to the help from the state, the supply added, “The taxpayer didn’t instantly help the corporate. There have been bonds choices that the corporate paid again right down to the final greenback. The state additionally invested in El Al in an IPO in 2020 and later bought the shares at a revenue, so the taxpayer made a revenue. The extra help was an advance fee for the airline safety guards – it’s true that the state took a danger right here, however the fee was capitalized at a excessive rate of interest. It was not help out of the blue, however an advance of funds, and the rate of interest displays the danger.”
The monetary debt has been lowered, and fairness has jumped
The sharp enchancment in El Al’s earnings for the reason that begin of 2024 is because of the bounce within the value of tickets, with passengers usually depending on a dominant firm whose occupancy charges have risen to a stage that El Al itself defines as distinctive -over 92% within the second quarter of 2024, in contrast with 87% within the corresponding quarter of 2023.
One other determine that signifies the fare will increase is that income per seat within the second quarter rose 24% in contrast with the corresponding quarter of 2023. The corporate’s money movement from present operations was $391 million within the quarter ($767 million within the first half), up from $119 million within the corresponding quarter – a rise of three.3 occasions.
A results of the excessive earnings is that El Al’s fairness on the finish of June this yr stood at about $200 million, in contrast with a deficit in fairness of over $300 million on the finish of the corresponding quarter in 2023. This enchancment derives, together with the earnings, from the capital raised by the corporate.
On the identical time, based on the reviews, El Al’s internet monetary debt has been considerably lowered to $611 million, in contrast with $1.4 billion on the finish of 2023. All these figures are mirrored in El Al’s market cap 0f NIS 2.3 billion, after the share value has risen 123% from its low level on the finish of October 2023, shortly after the outbreak of the warfare. The principle beneficiary of that is the controlling shareholder Kenny Rozenberg, who owns a 47% stake within the airline price about NIS 1 billion.
Revealed by Globes, Israel enterprise information – en.globes.co.il – on August 18, 2024.
© Copyright of Globes Writer Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.
