Willis Lease Finance posts 40% income hike

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (WLFC), the independent provider of financing, trading and servicing for engines and aircraft, has reported a 40% rise in quarterly pretax income, driven by its leasing activities.

The company reported pretax income of $6.5 million in the third quarter of 2016 compared to the same period the previous year. Net income increased by $1.4 million to $4 million, up 56% from $2.6 million.

“Our core leasing business continued to drive top line growth and bottom line profitability, achieving 92% utilization at quarter end,” said Charles Willis, chairman and CEO. “At the moment, we continue to see strong leasing demand across all engine types, and we are actively growing the portfolio to meet that demand.”

Brian Hole, WLFC president, said: “The leasing business is obviously strong, and we added nearly $43 million of income producing assets in the quarter and sold over $4 million of spare parts and equipment.”

WLFC’s lease rent revenue grew 11.5% to $31.3 million in the third quarter of 2016 from $28.1 million in the year ago comparable period. Total lease rent revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, was $88.7 million, up 12%, from the corresponding year ago period.

The book value of owned and managed engines and aircraft was approximately $1.4 billion at the end of the third quarter, during which the company purchased one aircraft and nine engines for a total of $42.8 million. Currently it has 208 commercial aircraft engines, 10 aircraft and five aircraft parts packages and other engine-related equipment in its lease portfolio.