AerCap net income rises to $604 million for the first quarter, adjusts full year EPS to $9.20

AerCap has reported a net income of $604 million for the first quarter of the year and an earnings per of share of $3.02, up from $432 million, or $1.79 year-on-year (YoY). Its adjusted net income was $658 million, or $3.29 per share, up from $566 million, or $2.34 per share YoY. Following the positive results, AerCap has adjusted its full year 2024 adjusted earnings per share guidance to approximately $9.20. Its total revenues and other income was up 8% to $2bn, with total lease revenue up 2% to $1.8bn. Its basic lease rents were up 3% to $1.6bn. Its net gain on sale of assets were up from $100 million in 2023's first quarter to $160 million in this year's first quarter. ""AerCap continued its strong performance during the first quarter,"" said AerCap CEO Aengus Kelly. ""Our business is performing very well and the demand for our aviation assets remains robust."" He added in an earnings call: ""On the operational side, which underpins everything we do, the platform continues to work well, executing 132 transactions in the quarter."" AerCap's net gain on sale of assets for the first quarter of 2024 was $160 million, relating to 43 assets sold for $920 million, compared with $100 million for the same period in 2023, relating to 35 assets sold for $639 million. The increase was primarily due to the volume and composition of asset sales. Kelly said that, geographically, the sales were widespread. He added: ""As we mentioned in prior quarters, our exposure into China is coming down by dollar value and that would have been the biggest component of sales would have been our China-based sales."" Its debt at the end of March 31, 2024 was $45.7bn, down from $46.5bn at the end of last year and its equity was up from $16.6bn at the end of last year to $17bn at the end of this year's first quarter. Its adjusted debt/equity ratio was 2.40 to 1 times as of March 31, 2024. It reported $1.4bn in cash flows from operating activities for the first quarter of 2024 with a book value per share of $87.47 as of March 31, 2024, which represents a 27% increase YoY. The company returned $336 million to shareholders through the repurchase of 4.3 million shares during the first quarter of 2024, at an average price of $77.89 per share. In the earnings call, discussing deliveries, Kelly added: ""The concern with delayed delivery, I would say the concern is more about the unknown delivery. When it's late and you can trust the date that you're giving, airlines can then plan around it. The challenge is when the target it moving and even moving very closely and can be far more difficult for an airline."" Kelly said AerCap would discuss this matter along with other topics at its investor day on May 8, 2024 in New York.