Elbit employs 16,000 workers, including about 12,000 in Israel. Elbit’s factories and offices in Israel are spread out from Tel Hai in the North to Arad and Sderot in the South.
By UDI SHAHAMElbit Systems Howitzer gun(photo credit: ELBIT SYSTEMS)
Despite the worldwide pandemic that has severely hit the global economy – as well as the Israeli local economy – Elbit Systems said it finished 2020 with higher revenues than the previous year.In a report it published on Wednesday, the company said that revenues for 2020 were $4.662 billion, as compared to $4.508b. in 2019.It said that its net income was $7.4 million in 2020, as compared to $6.2m. in 2019.Elbit employs 16,000 workers, including about 12,000 in Israel. Elbit’s factories and offices in Israel are spread from Tel Hai in the North to Arad and Sderot in the South.According to company stats, some 20% of its sales are made in Israel, and the remaining 80% are done abroad.In the report, the company said that its backlog of orders is $11b., revenues are at $4.7b., non-GAAP net income is $318.5m. and GAAP net income is $237.7m. (GAAP stands for Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.)Elbit’s president and CEO Bezhalel “Butzi” Machlis told The Jerusalem Post in an interview that the company managed to maintain and even improve its business during this rough year, in which traveling abroad was almost impossible, due to two main reasons: a broad portfolio, which provides services in a wide range of security fields, and the fact that the company has dozens of subsidiaries around the world, which can reach clients in their own language and in their own country.Photo of Bezhalel (Butzi) Machlis. (Credit: ELBIT SYSTEMS)Machlis said that Elbit managed to overcome the coronavirus-related obstacles through the company’s subsidiaries.“Our dozens of subsidiaries across the globe are essentially local companies,” he said. “We have thousands of workers in the US, hundreds in the UK, and [many in] Australia. The CEOs of the companies are local people, who are respected in their communities. All of the dialogue with our clients around the world could continue through these subsidiaries.
“This trend [of Elbit’s contact with foreign countries] was increased due to the will of countries to invest in their security system [in the past year],” Machlis said. “This ability of Elbit was proven in the past year when traveling around the world dropped.”Regarding the wide portfolio, Machlis said the fact that the company specializes in a wide range of fields, such as avionics, radio and communications systems, active protection, electro-optics, guided munitions and recently also naval abilities enabled it to stay relevant and increase its revenues.“Our strategy is to have an advanced, wide, portfolio, on the one hand, and with local companies, which could provide local solutions, on the other,” he said.Looking forward, Machlis said that the number of backlog orders provides the company with the option to advance and grow in the future.“Our growth potential is big, and the company is on the safe track of continuing to grow and develop,” he said.
