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Ashdod, Israel - ELTA Ltd., a subsidiary of Israel Aircraft Industries, completed the first nine months of 1998 with a net profit before tax of $8.5 million, as compared to $3.7 million during the same period last year, an increase of 130%. Moti Shmueli, President of ELTA, presented the results to the Board of Directors of the Company, which is headed by Moshe Keret, Chairman of the Board of ELTA and President of Israel Aircraft Industries.
ELTA's operating profit reached $9.4 million for the first nine months of 1998, as compared to $3.8 million for the comparable period last year, an increase of 147%.
ELTA's turnover for the first nine months of the year reached nearly $250 million, as compared to $193.3 million during the same period last year, an increase of 29%.
An increase was also achieved in ELTA's exports, which reached $204.3 million, as compared to $162.5 million during the same period in 1997. The improvement is attributed to an increase in sales to Europe (more than 50%). In addition, sales to the Israeli Defense Establishment increased by about 50%, as compared to the same period last year.
From the beginning of the year through this announcement, ELTA signed new contracts worth $254 million. Current backlog reached $750 million, which provides work for the next two years.
In 1998, ELTA increased its investments in research and development from various sources by about 20%, with the total reaching $8.1 million, most of which is invested in the development of new products in the military sector. It should be emphasized that ELTA's R&D activities, including R&D ordered by customers, account for about 1/3 of the Company's overall activities.
ELTA, which employs 2,400 employees, of which more than 1,000 have academic degrees, supplies unique systems to the Israel Defense Forces, including the Green Pine fire-control radar for the Arrow anti-ballistic missile system, the Nautilus warning and designation radar system against Ketyusha rockets, radar systems for Navy ships, Electronic Warfare systems and more. In addition to Israel, ELTA sells its products in more than 40 countries.
In the meeting of ELTA's Board of Directors, Mr. Shmueli said the results of the Company's activities during the first nine months of 1998 are the fruits of the marketing momentum which began in ELTA several years ago. "In light of the budgetary limitations which confront various customers worldwide and aggressive competition, the marketing challenge is ever-increasing," he said, "and ELTA is fortifying its efforts to meet this challenge."
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