El Al airline ended 2005 with a net profit of $64.1 million

El Al Israel Airlines published last week its financial reports for 2005, indicating record revenue of $1.62 billion, up 17% on $1.38 billion in 2004
 
The outstanding growth was achieved, according to El Al, due to a large increase in passenger numbers and an increase in average income per kilometer per passenger, as well as increased efficiencies of services and additions of flights and seat capacity.
 
The report shows that El Al posted pretax profit of $376.27 million (23.2% of revenue) in 2005 ,up 19% on $315.15 million (22.7% of revenue) in 2004. Net profit was up 94% to $64.1 million in 2005, from $33.1 million in 2004.
 
The report also points out that in 2005 passenger traffic on long haul routes to North America increased by 12%. El Al has a 49% share in the market for flights to North American destinations. For 2005, El Al maintained an overall market share of 43%.
 
The company commented in its annual report that the global aviation sector would continue to suffer from high oil prices and the entry of low-cost airlines in 2006. El Al noted that fuel costs in 2005 were 44% higher than 2004, which represented about 24% of turnover compared with 20% in 2004, and contributed $129m. to the company's expenses.