LONDON – Avolon, one of the world’s largest aircraft leasing companies, has today released its financial results and performance for the third quarter of 2023.
Showing signs of a post-pandemic recovery, the net income for the three months to 30 September was $141 million, and nine months to September 30th saw $227 million in income.
“The third quarter contained a number of key milestones for our business, including delivering our strongest and most profitable quarter post-pandemic, a landmark aircraft financing transaction with Malaysia Airlines, and the successful completion of our leadership transition.”
“We also raised close to $1 billion of new capital and saw all of our key financial metrics strengthen during the quarter, further enhancing our balance sheet”, said CEO Andy Cronin of Q3’s financial performance.
The aforementioned landmark agreement between Avolon and Malaysia Airlines saw a provisional agreement to acquire twenty Airbus A330 neos to replace its aging crop of current Airbus-wide bodies.
The deal consists of Malaysia purchasing ten aircraft from the European plane maker directly, to then execute a sale-and-leaseback deal with the lessor.
The other ten will be directly leased from Avolon. Deliveries of these jets are expected to start in 2024 and run through until 2028.
At the time of the deal, Andy Cronin said: “Today’s announcement builds on our longstanding relationships with industry leaders such as MAG, Airbus, and Rolls-Royce, and we are delighted to partner with them to deliver a unique portfolio solution that will support MAG’s operations and business growth.”
“As the Asian aviation market continues to emerge from the pandemic, this A330neo transaction will help MAG renew its fleet and position them to capitalize on market recovery.”
“The enhanced fuel efficiency and performance, as well as the unit cost improvements of the A330neo compared to older generation aircraft, will allow MAG to meet the growing demand for air travel in the region – further strengthening their position as one of the leading carriers of choice in the Asia Pacific market.”
Other transactions that contributed to their success were 54 transactions comprising new aircraft leases, follow-on leases, and lease extensions.”
“The sale of 13 owned aircraft and 4 engines, as well as entering into Letters of Intent for the sale of a further 7 owned aircraft.
“As the recovery in international and long-haul traffic gains momentum, we are seeing robust demand at attractive lease rates for our young, fuel-efficient aircraft. This market backdrop, our balance sheet strength, and our strong cashflow profile positions Avolon to continue to drive an improving earnings performance in the period ahead”, continued Cronin.
Avolon can expect to continue to grow as air passenger traffic increases through into 2024; it is able to boast the youngest fleet of aircraft among the top three lessors in the world. Its total aircraft fleet stands at 833, with further fleet commitments of 265 aircraft.
In early October, the Dublin-based lessor appointed a number of new people in senior leadership positions within the business. All three: the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Risk Officer positions, saw new faces take up the role in a bid to guide the business through what looks to be a potentially prosperous future.
