SMBC Aviation Capital results for the year ended 31 March 2018

Dublin, 7 June 2018: SMBC Aviation Capital (or the “Company”), one of the world’s leading aircraft leasing companies, today announces its results[1] for the financial year ended 31 March 2018.

Key Highlights
Profit before tax of $319.4 million, up 2.2% compared to the year ended 31 March 2017 ($312.5 million)
Aircraft related assets stood at $10.3 billion
Core Lease Revenue increased by 1.1% to $934 million compared to 2017 with overall income from continuing operations steady at $1.033 billion for the year
· Continued focus on active portfolio management, resulting in the completion of 80 transactions
· 50 aircraft sold from our owned portfolio, including the sale of a 19 aircraft portfolio to Aircastle, one of the largest bilateral trades in the market this year, with 22 aircraft also sold from our managed portfolio
22% of portfolio now comprising newest technology A320neo family, A350 and B787 aircraft, up 11% from 2017
· Signed contracts for 43 aircraft on sale and leaseback
99.95% aircraft utilisation in owned fleet, reflecting high quality portfolio with weighted average age of 4.5 years
· Shareholder announcement of up to USD $1 billion capital injection by 31 March 2019

US$1.4bn of third party finance raised including $600m through a primarily Asian syndicated finance, allowed us to introduce 12 new financing relationships during the year

Commenting on the company’s performance, Peter Barrett, CEO, SMBC Aviation Capital said:

“This has been another year of record profitability for SMBC Aviation Capital and we are pleased with the overall performance of the company.

It was a positive year for our sale and leaseback business particularly in Asia and South America where we have continued to execute deals of scale with our long term customers including 10 Boeing MAX 8 aircraft to Aeromexico; 11 Airbus A320 neo aircraft to Avianca and 13 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft to Jet Airways. In the majority of these deals, we have been able to partner with our shareholders to offer PDP financing which has given us competitive advantage.

Our trading performance has been strong and has included a number of large scale bilateral deals including the sale of an eight, narrow-body aircraft portfolio to Genesis Aircraft Services and the completion of a 19-aircraft sale to Aircastle Ltd. These transactions, among others, have allowed us to deliver on our strategy of actively trading and managing our portfolio, the average age of which is 4.5 years.
Our fleet continues to be one of the best amongst lessors with 22% made up of the newest technology aircraft.

The strong support from our shareholders, coupled with the provision of up to USD $1.4 billion of third party finance means that we have continued to successfully diversify our funding base.

Our team’s achievements during the year, which is demonstrated in our ability to deliver for our customers and the consistent execution of our strategy have positioned us well to continue to grow in this sector.”