2023 a “substantial rebound” for BOC Aviation

BOC Aviation has reported a record net profit of $764 million for the full year 2023 (compared with $20 million in 2022), with total revenue and other incomes rising 7% to $2.5bn during 2023; described as “a substantial rebound” by chairman Liu Jin. Its profit before income and tax was $861 million, with a net profit after tax of $764 million, both up from $29 million and $20 million respectively in 2022. Operating cash flow net of interest rose 8% to $1.6bn during 2023, while a strong liquidity of $5.6bn was split across $392 million in cash and $5.2bn in undrawn committed credit facilities. Core net profit after tax (excluding recoveries of aircraft detained in Russia) was $547 million in 2023, with BOC concluding insurance settlements on 11 of the 17 aircraft previously written down to zero. The rise in ‘other income’ by 200.4% to $317 million from 2022 to 2023 is primarily due to receipt of this settlement. BOC is continuing to pursue claims on the outstanding impacted aircraft. As of year-end, BOC Aviation had a total fleet of 684 aircraft owned, managed and on order, with an average aircraft age of 4.6 years. A record 328 transactions executed in 2023 included commitments to purchase an additional 95 aircraft. The company ended the year with total assets of $24.2bn, an increase of 10% from 2022, with Jin confirming: “We remain one of the top five global aircraft operating leasing companies and the largest aircraft leasing company based in Asia-Pacific, by value of owned fleet”. Given ongoing supply chain shortages, it’s not surprising that over 90% of BOC’s leases expiring in 2023 extended or sold to the same airline, with all of 2024’s maturing leases already extended, sold or re-leased.