An all-time high orders backlog, a 55% jump in net profit, and a 5% rise the proportion of sales in Israel: the figures are from the 2024 financial statements of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The results bring home the gap between IAI’s great success in recent years, and the priorities of the politicians responsible for the state-owned company, as reflected in the process of choosing Gabi Seroussi as chairman of its board of directors. The chances of Seroussi passing scrutiny by the Dotan committee of the Government Companies Authority, which screens senior appointments, and obtaining the signature of David Amsalem, the minister in charge of the Authority, seem at present weak.
IAI’s financial statements show that its revenue grew by 15% in 2024 to $6.1 billion. The Swords of Iron war boosted the revenue of its military divisions by 15.5%, to $5.1 billion. The war also had a substantial impact on the proportion of sales to the local market, which was 34% ($2 billion), versus 29% ($1.5 billion) in 2023.
The geographical breakdown of the rest of the company’s sales shows that Asia was the leading sales destination last year, with 36.2%, up from 29% in 2023, while North America’s share fell from 18% to 14%. The Russia-Ukraine war and the growing demand for weaponry on the part of European countries raised Europe’s share of sales from 12.4% to 19.3%.
IAI’s orders backlog totaled $25 billion at the end of 2024, which compares with $18 billion at the end of 2023, ensuring four years of activity at the current rate. Net profit rose 55% to $493 million last year (8% of sales), from $318 million in 2023. EBITDA totaled $792 million in 2024, 19% more than in 2023.
On the flotation of IAI, which was decided on by a ministerial committee in November 2020, IAI’s report states, "At the date of the report, there is no certainty that the company’s shares will in fact be offered to the public, whether in the format detailed in the privatization decision or in some other format, and there is no certainty about the date of a public offering, if the processes in advance of the offering result in it being carried out."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 13, 2025.
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