In its first calendar year after being sold by DVB Bank, Deucalion Aviation closed 74 aircraft transactions in what co-chief executive Jon Skirrow said was "a very successful year".
The deals included 33 new leases, 26 lease extensions and the sale of seven operational aircraft and eight into the part-out market.
"With the addition of our shareholder’s (SVPGlobal) acquisitions and our expanding third-party business, the Deucalion-managed aircraft portfolio peaked at 192 units during 2022 and before reducing to 177 aircraft leased to 75 operators on behalf of 19 clients by the end of 2022," Skirrow said.
Summing up the year, Deucalion reported new lease placements as having "been strong as the industry recovers from the effects of the Covid pandemic".
"We have seen some firming of lease rates for most aircraft types. We have selectively sold aircraft, selling a number into the buoyant freighter conversion market. We have seen strong demand in the part-out of narrowbody aircraft with engine prices back to pre-pandemic levels," the company said in a statement.
At the same time, with the year marked by an "ongoing complex macroeconomic environment and financial volatility", there were challenges across the aircraft leasing sector.
"Deliveries and redeliveries remained challenging in 2022 with labour issues, supply chain issues and delays with OEM and MROs all adding additional costs, delays and frustration for owners and operators alike. We hope that aircraft transitions will start to become more manageable and more efficient in 2023, but along with others in the industry, we are seeing little improvement to date," according to Deucalion.
"We expect 2023 to be another strong year on the placement side with a number of transactions already close to conclusion and we also see a growing pipeline of new acquisition opportunities as we continue to build our portfolio. In addition, we expect to be increasing our volume of third-party servicing work and we are looking forward to some exciting times with our partners and clients during the next 12 months," the company said.