Aircastle Announces First Quarter 2022 Results

Three Months Ended May 31, 2022

• Net income of $8 million and Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ of $153 million
• Cash flows from operations up 58% compared to first quarter 2021
• Sold four aircraft and other flight equipment for proceeds of $58 million and a gain on sale of $4 million
• Purchased one new Embraer E2 aircraft leased to KLM Cityhopper with a further Embraer E2 aircraft purchased and delivered to the airline in June
• Customer collections for the first quarter represented 101% of lease rental and direct financing and sales-type lease revenues
• Maintenance and other revenue included $25 million of payments on letters of credit from our former Russian lessees
• Interest expense down 13% compared to first quarter 2021, primarily due to repayments and lower cost of capital

Liquidity

• Extended and upsized one of our unsecured revolving credit facilities by $50 million
• As of July 1, 2022, total liquidity of $1.9 billion includes $1.2 billion of undrawn credit facilities, $0.2 billion of unrestricted cash, $0.1 billion of contracted asset sales, and $0.4 billion of projected adjusted operating cash flows through July 1, 2023
• We have 210 unencumbered aircraft with a net book value of $5.3 billion

STAMFORD, Conn., July 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mike Inglese, Aircastle's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Demand for air travel continues to be strong despite challenges posed by supply chain disruptions, and concerns over inflation and fuel prices. We're seeing some improvement in Asian markets that had been lagging. We also expect travel to benefit from continued easing of restrictions, such as the United States now dropping its testing requirements for incoming international flights."

Mr. Inglese concluded, "We have strengthened our liquidity profile this quarter, better positioning us to move forward with strategic, new-technology investments.  Our favorable credit rating, along with the opportunities afforded by our unique ownership arrangement with the Marubeni Corporation and Mizuho Leasing have us excited for disciplined future growth."

Aviation Assets

As of May 31, 2022, Aircastle owned 241 aircraft and other flight equipment having a net book value of $6.4 billion.  We also manage nine aircraft with a net book value of $295 million on behalf of our joint venture with Mizuho Leasing.

Conference Call

In connection with this press release, management will host a conference call on Wednesday, July 13, 2022, at 9:00 A.M. Eastern Time.  All interested parties are welcome to participate on the live call.  The conference call can be accessed by dialing (800) 458-4121 (from within the U.S. and Canada) or (786) 789-4772 (from outside of the U.S. and Canada) ten minutes prior to the scheduled start and referencing the passcode "6552351".

A simultaneous webcast of the conference call will be available to the public on a listen-only basis at www.aircastle.com.  Please allow extra time prior to the call to visit the site and download the necessary software required to listen to the internet broadcast. 

For those who are not available to listen to the live call, a replay will be available until 12:00 P.M. Eastern Time on Saturday, August 13, 2022, by dialing (888) 203-1112 (from within the U.S. and Canada) or (719) 457-0820 (from outside of the U.S. and Canada); please reference passcode "6552351".

About Aircastle Limited

Aircastle Limited acquires, leases and sells commercial jet aircraft to airlines throughout the world.  As of May 31, 2022, Aircastle owned and managed on behalf of its joint ventures 250 aircraft leased to 74 customers located in 44 countries.

Safe Harbor

All statements in this press release, other than characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not necessarily limited to, statements relating to our proposed public offering of notes and our ability to acquire, sell, lease or finance aircraft, raise capital, pay dividends, and increase revenues, earnings, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA and the global aviation industry and aircraft leasing sector. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "projects," "believes," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "seeks," "estimates" and variations on these words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.  These statements are based on our historical performance and that of our subsidiaries and on our current plans, estimates and expectations and are subject to a number of factors that could lead to actual results materially different from those described in the forward-looking statements; Aircastle can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained.  Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements which are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated as of the date of this press release.  These risks or uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described from time to time in Aircastle's filings with the SEC and previously disclosed under "Risk Factors" in Item 1A of Aircastle's most recent Form 10-K and any subsequent filings with the SEC.  In addition, new risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for Aircastle to predict or assess the impact of every factor that may cause its actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking statements.  Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release.  Aircastle expressly disclaims any obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement to reflect future events or circumstances.

We define EBITDA as income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes, interest expense, and depreciation and amortization.  We use EBITDA to assess our consolidated financial and operating performance, and we believe this non-U.S. GAAP measure is helpful in identifying trends in our performance.

This measure provides an assessment of controllable expenses and affords management the ability to make decisions which are expected to facilitate meeting current financial goals, as well as achieving optimal financial performance.  It provides an indicator for management to determine if adjustments to current spending decisions are needed.

EBITDA provides us with a measure of operating performance because it assists us in comparing our operating performance on a consistent basis as it removes the impact of our capital structure (primarily interest charges on our outstanding debt) and asset base (primarily depreciation and amortization) from our operating results.  Accordingly, this metric measures our financial performance based on operational factors that management can impact in the short-term, namely the cost structure, or expenses, of the organization.  EBITDA is one of the metrics used by senior management and the Board of Directors to review the consolidated financial performance of our business.

We define Adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA (as defined above) further adjusted to give effect to adjustments required in calculating covenant ratios and compliance as that term is defined in the indenture governing our senior unsecured notes.  Adjusted EBITDA is a material component of these covenants.

Contact:
Aircastle Advisor LLC                                                                         
Jim Connelly, SVP ESG & Corporate Communications                         
Tel: +1-203-504-1871                                                                          
[email protected]          

SOURCE Aircastle Limited