Harel Insurance Employees Rewarded with Generous NIS 10,000 Bonus

Employees of the Harel Insurance Group have been informed they will each receive a bonus of NIS 10,000. The announcement was made during a company event held at Expo Tel Aviv as part of pre-Rosh Hashanah celebrations, which also featured a performance by singer Omer Adam. The bonus will be distributed across all of Harel's various companies and operations, not solely within the insurance company itself. The total cost of these bonuses to the company is estimated at NIS 57 million.

This generous payout follows a particularly strong second quarter for Harel, during which the company reported a 30% increase in net profit, reaching NIS 1 billion. This quarterly profit was the highest among the five major insurance companies. Harel also achieved a 37% return on equity. In line with these strong results, the company's board approved a shift to quarterly dividend distributions, moving away from the previous semi-annual policy. Since the beginning of the year, Harel has announced dividends and share buybacks totaling approximately NIS 1.5 billion.

Harel Investments' stock has seen a significant rise, increasing by over 65% year-to-date to a market value of NIS 40 billion. Despite the positive news for employees and strong financial performance, the company's stock saw a slight decline of less than 1% on the stock exchange on Tuesday, mirroring a broader market trend.

In other news, Harel is reportedly looking to acquire Cal (Credit Card Company) in partnership with the Union Group, owned by the Horovitz family. Both companies are awaiting regulatory approval from the Antitrust Authority for the acquisition. The delay is due to Union Group's ownership of the Super-Pharm drugstore chain and Cal's issuance of Shufersal credit cards, while Cal also owns the competing BE pharmacy chain. Even if the acquisition is successful, it is uncertain whether Cal employees will receive a similar bonus next year, as Harel would hold a minority stake in Cal.