Ireland-based aircraft lessor SMBC Aviation Capital said it had received a cash insurance settlement of $710m for its jets previously leased to Russia's state-owned airline Aeroflot.
The lessor under Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group said the settlement amount reflects its claims on Aeroflot's insurance related to 16 aircraft and their engines.
An additional insurance settlement has been concluded for one aircraft and its associated engines managed by SMBC Aviation.
Before the invasion of Ukraine last year, Russia was a major market for aircraft lessors, which bought jets from Boeing and Airbus and leased them to airlines in the country.
These planes were stranded in Russia as Moscow has refused to release the jets after lessors canceled lease agreements to abide by sanctions from the West.
Last month, the world's largest aircraft lessor, Aercap, said it had agreed to settle an insurance claim over Russia's refusal to return 17 jets leased to Aeroflot.
SMBC Aviation said it would continue its efforts to mitigate the losses on aircraft previously leased to other Russian airlines.
The lessor had also leased jets to S7 Airlines, Ural Airlines, Nordwind Airlines and Nordstar Airlines before terminating in March 2022.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, which owns SMBC Aviation through its leasing and banking units, said today it would record $311mn equity gains of affiliated companies in its third-quarter consolidated earnings for the current fiscal period, which ends in March 2024.
The Japanese trading house Sumitomo, which holds a minority stake in SMBC Aviation through a subsidiary, said it would book 30 billion yen ($200m) after-tax profit from the insurance payment in the third quarter.
