During the year ending December 31, 2015, Air Lease Corporation generated record adjusted diluted EPS of $4.64, an increase of 15.1% compared to $4.03 for the prior-year period. Recorded adjusted diluted EPS of $1.21 for the three months ended December 31, 2015 was also reported - an increase of 11.0%. ALC revenues rose by 16.4% to $1.2 billion for the year 2015, with record revenues of $326.7 million for the three months ended December 31, 2015, an increase of 14.3% or $40.8 million as compared to $285.9 million for the three months ended December 31, 2014.
Adjusted net income rose 15.8% to $508.0 million for the year, with adjusted net income up by 11.6% for the fourth quarter to $132.6 million.
During 2015, ALC signed agreements for 120 aircraft with 46 customers across 35 countries, which increased its contracted rentals to $20.9 billion across its current and committed fleet.
“ALC continued along its growth trajectory with another quarter of strong financial performance to conclude 2015. In the nearly 5 years since our IPO, we have consistently generated industry leading profitability with a focus on strong risk management. We have positioned the business to thrive over the long term through varied market conditions, which is reflected by our outstanding fleet metrics and financial results. We continue to see solid aircraft demand in all segments of the market,” said Steven F. Udvar-Házy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Lease Corporation.
“Global passenger traffic grew 6.5% in 2015 versus the prior year, while capacity only grew at 5.6%, demonstrating a healthy balance between the supply and demand for aircraft. IATA advised that 2015 passenger traffic was the strongest since the post-Global Financial Crisis rebound in 2010 and well above the 10-year average annual growth rate of 5.5%. Consistent with these continuing, positive market dynamics, we announced lease placements of more twin-aisle aircraft during the second half of 2015 than in any comparable period for our company, by a wide margin, and we specifically see no demand reduction in China,” said John L. Plueger, President and Chief Operating Officer of Air Lease Corporation.
As of December 31, 2015, ALC’s fleet was comprised of 240 owned aircraft and 29 managed aircraft.
Through the growth of its fleet and the active lease placement of itsorder book, ALC’s contracted cash flows have increased to $20.9bn.
ALC ended 2015 with total debt, net of discounts and issuance costs, of $7.7 billion with a debt to equity ratio of 2.55:1 and available liquidity of $2.6 billion.
The lessor’s debt financing was comprised of unsecured debt of $6.9 billion, representing 88.4% of our debt portfolio as of December 31, 2015 as compared to 82.4% as of December 31, 2014. Our fixed rate debt as a percentage of total debt increased to 78.7% as of December 31, 2015 from 75.3% as of December 31, 2014. ALC’s composite cost of funds decreased to 3.59% as of December 31,
2015 as compared to 3.64% as of December 31, 2014.