Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) has rated Total Engine Asset Management (TEAM) A+ on March 7, 2025.
“This prestigious A+ rating is a testament to TEAM's robust financial health and commitment to transparency and governance,” the company read in a LinkedIn post. “It reinforces our position as a trusted partner, providing confidence to our stakeholders. For our airline customers and investors, this means an even greater assurance of stability, reliability, and trust in our solutions and services.”
The company is 50/50 joint venture operated by the Marubeni Group and the ST Engineering Aerospace Group. TEAM focusses on sale and leasebacks and operating leases for new generation narrowbody engines such as the LEAP-1A, LEAP-1B, and PW1100G GTF engines.
“TEAM has built a portfolio focused on engines for newly manufactured narrowbody aircraft with high liquidity by sales and leaseback transactions,” JCR said in its rationale. “Its portfolio is characterised by a significantly higher percentage of those engines compared to its peers, and the number of engines it owns and manages has been steadily increasing in recent years.”
The rating agency added that the market value and lease fees for new narrowbody engines have been on an upward trend post-COVID. The agency further noted that TEAM has diversified its funding methods including procuring leased equipment of JOLCO investors and issuing asset-backed securities.
In addition, the rating was driven by TEAM's stable accumulation of aircraft engines, as well as its intention to build a “high quality portfolio” by selling engines to Japanese investors such as JOL investors through Marubeni's subsidiary.
JCR rated the company's outlook as stable.