TEL AVIV, March 26 (Reuters) - Israeli defence

electronics company Elbit Systems expects

further sales gains this year, it said on Tuesday after

reporting fourth-quarter revenue boosted by higher ammunition

sales to Israel for its war against Hamas militants.

Though quarterly earnings slipped by 8% year on year, hit by

one-off charges related to a discontinued project, revenue rose

to $1.6 billion from $1.5 billion.

Finance chief Joseph Gaspar said Elbit had to change

priorities after the conflict started in early October,

increasing supplies to the Israeli military while asking

international customers for flexibility on delivery schedules

given the higher local demand.

One of Israel's biggest defence companies, Elbit still makes

80% of its sales outside its home market and said its order

backlog rose to $17.8 billion last year, from $15.1 billion in

2022.

The company supplies hundreds of products to Israel's

Defence Ministry, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs),

artillery, munitions and electronic warfare systems.

Its workforce expanded by 1,000 in 2023 and the company

expects to hire 2,000 more employees in 2024.

For all of 2023, revenue rose 8% to $6 billion, while

diluted EPS ex-one offs rose to $6.70 from $6.27 in 2022.

"It's crucial to support the IDF (Israel Defense Forces).

The war is not positive but we received a lot of orders and we

expect to get more," Chief Executive Bezhalel Machlis told

Reuters on the sidelines of Elbit's annual investor conference.

He said that sales to Israel were about $1.2 billion a year

but that should rise now the government has approved a budget

that will boost defence spending by 20 billion shekels ($5.5

billion) a year.

Elbit, he said, expects revenue to rise by at least $500

million a year from Israel, adding that "there is a growing

demand for our technology all around the world". He projected

revenue of $6.5 billion to $7 billion between 2024 and 2026.

Supply chain issues remain a challenge, but Elbit is using

its 42 global subsidiaries to circumvent problems, Machlis

added.

Elbit's Tel Aviv listed shares were up 1.1% in afternoon

trading but remain 2.3% down this year.

The company said it will pay a quarterly dividend of 50

cents per share.

($1 = 3.6538 shekels)