Lessor Aircastle has reported a total revenue of $217 million for the three months ending August 31, 2024. This revenue is alongside a net income of $29 million and an adjusted EBITDA of $199 million.
Within the second quarter results - as of October 1, 2024 – Aircastle has a total of $3.1 billion, including $2.1 billion in undrawn facilities, $500 million in projected operating cash flows, and similarly $500 million in unrestricted cash.
"Global demand for passenger air travel is at an all-time high, with load factors close to operational limits. However, Boeing and Airbus forecast only minimal delivery improvements in the near term,” said Mike Inglese, CEO of Aircastle.
He continued: “These conditions have led to robust lease rates and steady demand for placements and extensions of the narrow-body aircraft that comprise most of our fleet. In the second fiscal quarter, we capitalized on this momentum by extending 22 leases, selling 10 aircraft, and achieving a net income of $29 million."
As of August 31, 2024, the lessor had flight equipment with a net book value of $7.1 billion and unencumbered flight equipment with a net book value of $6 billion. These values have both seen an increase in comparison to the same period of the previous year, when flight equipment had a net book value of $6.7 billion and unencumbered flight equipment had a value of $5.2 billion.
In terms of aircraft, Aircastle’s fleet consists of 244 aircraft, along with 214 unencumbered aircraft as of August 31, 2024. This marks an increase from the 239 aircraft and 201 uncambered that Aircastle had during the same period of 2023. The lessor serves 77 lessees across 46 countries, maintaining a weighted average fleet age of 9.7 years.
Fleet utilisation during the quarter reached 99.2%, up from 98.3% in the same period in 2023, along with an average remaining lease term of 5.3 years, slightly higher than the 5.2 years recorded in the prior year.
Inglese concluded: “In the second half of our fiscal year, we look forward to expanding our fleet with a focus on new-technology aircraft. Despite the strong competition we're seeing among aircraft investors, we believe Aircastle has a competitive edge due to our outstanding team, ample liquidity, strong balance sheet as well as the outstanding support of our shareholders, Marubeni Corporation and Mizuho Leasing.”
Aircastle continues to manage aircraft on behalf of joint ventures, with the net book value of these managed aircraft at $265 million, compared to $278 million in 2023.