Government companies lost NIS 95 million in 2012, mostly due to the NIS 679 million loss by Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) (TASE: ELEC.B22), according to the Government Companies Authority's report for 2012, published today, detailing the business condition, assets, and operating results of the 98 government companies and non-profit organizations, which employ 60,000 people.
The report states that government companies' aggregate revenue was NIS 67.3 billion in 2012, NIS 4 billion more than in 2011. Revenue from exports totaled NIS 14.3 billion.
The aggregate gross profit of government companies was NIS 11.1 billion.
Most of the government companies' aggregate revenue came from IEC (NIS 27.8 billion), Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) (TASE: ARSP.B1) (NIS 12.9 billion), Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. (NIS 6.8 billion), Israel National Roads Company Ltd. (NIS 5.7 billion), and Mekorot National Water Company (NIS 4.4 billion).
Most of the aggregate net loss of government companies was due to IEC, Israel Railways, and Israel Agriculture Bank. Most of the profits came from defense companies and the ports companies.
Examination of the salary costs explains Minister of the Economy Naftali Bennett's insistence on privatizing the ports. The salary cost of the 2,383 employees at Ashdod Port Company Ltd. and Haifa Port Company Ltd. was NIS 440,000-450,000 per employee in 2012. The salary cost at IEC was NIS 406,000 per employee per year. Salaries of Haifa Port employees rose by 12% in 2012 to NIS 460,000, more than NIS 38,000 per month - more than the salary of the director general of a government ministry.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 20, 2013
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