Air Lease revenues hit $1.4 billion

Los Angeles-based Air Lease Corporation has announced record financial results following a strong finish to 2016.

Full year revenues for the year ended December 31, 2016 totalled $1.4 billion, a year-on-year rise of 16%, while revenues for the fourth quarter of 2016 hit $370.5 million, an increase of 13.4%.

The lessor reported a number of highlights during 2016, which included signing agreements for 122 aircraft with 39 customers across 33 countries. Air Lease ended the year with a net book value of $12 billion in aircraft with a weighted average age of 3.8 years and a weighted average lease term remaining of 6.9 years.

The company said its minimum future contracted rentals for the current and future fleet increased to $23.8 billion, and it has placed 92% of its order book on long-term leases for aircraft delivering through 2019.

During 2016, Air Lease sold 46 aircraft for proceeds of $1.2 billion, including the completion of the sales for all of its remaining ATR aircraft and 20 of its 25 Embraer aircraft to Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC).

John Plueger, chief executive officer and president, said: “We had a great fourth quarter and a terrific year, posting record financial results in a highly competitive lease market. Global passenger growth increased a healthy 6.3% in 2016 and continues to provide a fundamental stimulus to our business going forward.

“We completed the sale of all but five units (scheduled to be completed Q1 2017) of our Embraer fleet to NAC, which for the first time drove our aircraft sales over $1 billion for the year. We continue to pursue strategic initiatives that build on our core competencies, and we enter 2017 with a tailwind from our new investment grade ‘BBB’ rating from Fitch.”

Steven Udvar-Házy, executive chairman of the board, said: “Our team positioned Air Lease for future growth with the quality and earning power of our jet fleet, lessee diversification, and a solid balance sheet, with investment grade ratings from three agencies. We successfully pre-leased more single-aisle and twin-aisle aircraft than in any previous year, which we believe has enabled us to lock in excellent long-term commercial business with stable and growing cash flows. We believe we are well positioned for another successful year in 2017.”