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Isrotel’s profits are mostly thanks to the reopening of the Isrotel at the Dead Sea.  The Dan Hotel chain saw its profits rise to 82 million shekels, this compared to 35 million shekels last year and as a result there was a distribution of a dividend totaling 40 million shekels.

The Dan and Isrotel chains showed profits in the third quarter of the year, a period regarded as the peak for incoming tourism.  Isrotel’s profits totaled 43 million shekels, this compared to 37 million shekels in the same period last year.  Since the beginning of the year Isrotel showed a profit of 38 million shekels, compared to 33 million on the corresponding period in 2008.

Revenues for Isrotel for the quarter totaled 220 million shekels, similar to the same period last year, but the net profit grew thanks the entry of the Isrotel at the Dead Sea, which in the same period last year was in the middle of undergoing renovation. The hotel chain’s revenue in the first nine months of the year increased to 540 million shekels, this compared to 535 million shekels in the same period last year.

During the first nine months of 2009, Isrotel invested 42 million on fixed assets, including 23 million shekels invested in the construction of the new Isrotel Bereshit Hotel at Mitzpe Ramon and the rest on renovation of other hotels.

Financing costs in the first nine months of 2009 totaled about 26 million shekels, this compared to costs of 72 million shekels in the corresponding period last year.  At the beginning of the year, as a result of uncertainty and a fall in demand, the management of the chain took steps to increase efficiency by reducing the wage bill and to lower other costs.

The Dan Hotel chain also announced their 3rd quarter results, with profits of 82.7 million shekels, compared to profits of 35 million shekels in the same quarter last year.  Net profit since the start of the year totaled 112.9 million shekels, an increase of 9.5 percent on the same period last year when the net profit totaled 103.1 million shekels.

Dan Hotels reported that revenues since the start of the year totaled 593 million shekels compared to 637.5 million in the same period last year, a reduction of 7 percent.

During the 3rd quarter the company also completed the purchase of TWI and Eltel, partners in Edit Food Logistics Ltd; the company which won the tender from the Ministry of Defence to supply food to Israeli army bases. After the acquisition, Dan Hotels now owns 100 percent of the shares of Edit.

Ami Hirschstein, President and CEO of Dan Hotels, said that the 3rd quarter results showed the strength of the chain and proved that even at a time of world global recession and geopolitical changes in the region, the company was able to maintain its financial strength and succeeded in preserving its place at the top of the Israeli hotel industry.

According to Hirschstein the fall in revenue since the start of the year was caused by the worldwide financial crisis, which caused a reduction in the volume of business and tourist traffic coming to Israel.  Additionally, the military operation in Gaza at the start of the year had a significant effect on revenues during the 1st quarter.  “In spite of the fall in revenues, the organization took the required steps to protect its operating profits,” added Hirschstein.