Avolon books profit of €82m in first nine months of year

Avolon, an Irish aircraft lease company eyeing a flotation in New York, had profits of almost €82 million in the first nine months of the year.

The company yesterday lodged papers with the US regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), showing net profits to the end of September were $104.2 million (€81.8m), 10 per cent more than the $93.2 million it earned during the same nine months in 2013.

Dublin-based Avolon owns 122 aircraft that it leases to 49 airlines. It intends launching on the New York Stock Exchange in the near future, and provided the commission with an update on its financial performance yesterday as part of that process.

The figures show revenues rose 33 per cent in the first nine months of the year to $433.3 million from $325.7 million. Within that revenue earned directly from leasing aircraft was up 25 per cent to $378.7 million from $302.5 million over the same period. Interest and other income went to $54.6 million from $23.2 million.

Total assets

Avolon’s balance sheet shows that the aircraft on its books were worth $5.26 billion on September 30th. Cash and deposits brought total assets to just over $5.9 billion.

It had net assets of $1.4 billion at the end of last month and $4.5 billion in total liabilities. Its debts were $4.26 billion. Its SEC filings state that it had $1.3 billion of undrawn facilities, of which just over $1 billion was secured.

At the end of September Avolon had 122 Airbus, Boeing and Embraer aircraft on its books and it was managing another 12. It is committed to buying a further 93 aircraft between now and 2022, bringing its entire owned, managed and committed fleet to 227.

During the Farnborough Air Show in July Avolon announced it planned to buy 15 Airbus A330neo craft, valued at €3 billion, and six Dreamliners from Boeing in a deal worth €1 billion.

The Irish company revealed plans for an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange this year. It has been going through the SEC’s application process since then, but has yet to announce the date on which it will float. It is precluded from making any public comment beyond its filings with the commission and a trading statement yesterday.

Avolon is the ninth largest aircraft leasing company in the world and is run by chief executive Domhnall Slattery and chief commercial officer John Higgins, along with chief financial officer Andy Cronin and head of strategy, Dick Forsberg. Its shareholders include members of its management and private equity backers Cinven, CVC, Oak Hill Capital Funds and Vigorous.