Dublin-based aviation leasing company Avolon has reported a 9% increase in lease revenue for the year to the end of December and said the outlook for 2023 is positive.
Avolon's annual lease revenue rose to $2.337 billion from £2.144 billion in 2021.
It said its Adjusted Net Income, which excludes the impact of impairment and write-off of lease associated balances in respect of Russia, jumped by 438% to $253m from $47m.
Avolon said it owned and managed a fleet of 576 aircraft by the end of 2022, with total orders and commitments for 258 fuel-efficient, new technology planes.
During the year it completed a total of 237 lease transactions comprising new aircraft leases, follow-on leases and lease extensions.
It also delivered a total of 35 new aircraft and transitioned 35 aircraft to a total of 27 customers, while it sold 36 planes during the year.
Ten new customers were added during 2022 and the company said it ended the year with a total of 146 airline customers operating in 63 countries.
The lessor agreed a landmark deal with Malaysia Airlines for the financing of 20 A330-900neo planes valued at over $2 billion and delivered its first A330 to IAI for conversion to dedicated freighter operations.
Andy Cronin, Avolon's CEO, said that momentum in global aviation continued throughout 2022 and the company worked closely with its customers to support their demand for aircraft.
"Our financial performance was strong, with a five-fold increase in adjusted net income and 9% growth in lease revenue. Operating cashflow was 35% higher than 2021 and also ahead of our pre-pandemic cashflow in 2019," Mr Cronin said.
"A non-cash impairment charge on aircraft in Russia impacted our reported performance but the underlying financial strength of our business is clear," he added.
The Avolon CEO said the outlook for 2023 is positive, adding that the reopening in China will be the catalyst to drive global traffic to pre-pandemic levels by June.
He said that increasing demand for aircraft to service strong passenger demand, as well as a shortage of new aircraft, is putting upward pressure on lease rates and is positive for long-term residual aircraft values.
"Avolon's low leverage, high levels of liquidity, and our order book of new technology fuel-efficient aircraft position us well to take advantage of attractive opportunities to deploy capital in the year ahead," the CEO added.
