Fly Leasing has reported a net income of $31.0 million, or $0.95 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2018 ($30.8 million on an adjusted basis). This compares to a net income of $7.2 million, or $0.25 per share, for the same period in 2017 ($7.3 million on an adjusted basis). Net income for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $85.7 million (adjusted $91.2 million), or $2.88 per share, compared to a net income of $2.6 million ($8.2 million), or $0.09 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2017.
“FLY is reporting a great financial outcome for the fourth quarter and a record result for the full year,” said Colm Barrington, FLY’s Chief Executive Officer. “Our renewed and larger fleet drove a 26% increase in operating lease rental revenue as compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. We held expenses below last year’s level, resulting in Adjusted Net Income of $30.8 million for the quarter, or 94 cents per share.”
“FLY’s strong operating performance throughout 2018 produced a record full-year result, with Adjusted EPS of $3.06 per share,” added Barrington. “Based on these strong trends, FLY is expecting another great financial result in 2019, starting with first quarter expected pre-tax income of more than $45 million.”
“The strategy that we have implemented at FLY over the last few years is bearing fruit,” said Barrington. “During 2018 we increased our fleet significantly, and since then we have reduced our leverage through profitable aircraft sales and now have ample financial capacity for growth.”
As of December 31, 2018, FLY had completed the acquisition of 33 Airbus A320 aircraft and seven engines pursuant to the transaction that was first announced in February 2018.
At December 31, 2018, FLY’s total assets were $4.2 billion, including investment in flight equipment totalling $3.8 billion. Total cash at December 31, 2018 was $281.1 million, of which $180.2 million was unrestricted. The book value per share at December 31, 2018 was $21.50, an 11% increase since the beginning of the year. At December 31, 2018, FLY’s net debt to equity ratio was 4.0x, an improvement from 4.3x as of the beginning of the year.
At December 31, 2018, FLY had 113 aircraft and seven engines in its portfolio. Of the 113 aircraft, 100 were held for operating lease, one was classified as an investment in finance lease and 12 were classified as held for sale. FLY’s aircraft are on lease to 46 airlines in 26 countries.
At year end, the average age of the portfolio, weighted by net book value of each aircraft and engine, was 7.2 years. The average remaining lease term was 5.8 years, also weighted by net book value. FLY’s portfolio, excluding aircraft held for sale, was generating annualized rental revenue of approximately $453.2 million. FLY’s lease utilization factor was 100% for the fourth quarter of 2018 and 99.7% for the year ended December 31, 2018.