Aircastle Announces Third Quarter 2010 Results

STAMFORD, Conn., Nov. 4, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aircastle Limited (the "Company" or "Aircastle") (NYSE: AYR) reported third quarter 2010 net income of $8.6 million or $0.11 per diluted common share, and adjusted net income of $12.6 million or $0.16 per diluted common share. These results include pre-tax impairment charges totaling $7.3 million related to the sale of the only remaining 737-500 Classic aircraft in the company's fleet and an early lease termination of one 737-300 Classic.  The impairment charges were partially offset by maintenance, lease incentives and other revenues totaling $2.8 million, for a net pre-tax impact of $4.5 million, or $0.06 per diluted common share.

Commenting on the results, Ron Wainshal, Aircastle's CEO, stated, "Over the past several months, the company reached several important operational and financial milestones while maintaining consistently good portfolio performance.  We expect to complete more than half a billion dollars in attractive aircraft investments during the second half of 2010, including two new A330-200F freighter aircraft from our order stream.  Aircastle also has approximately $700 million of additional built-in growth over the next eighteen months from our new A330 program.  With more than $310 million in unrestricted cash at the end of the third quarter 2010 and strong cash flows from our business, we are in an excellent position to benefit from the continuing industry recovery."

Lease rental revenue for the third quarter was $133.5 million, up $5.2 million or 4.1% year over year, due primarily to the impact of lease revenues on aircraft acquired in the quarter exceeding lease revenues on dispositions by $5.0 million. Total revenues for the third quarter were $132.2 million, a decrease of $33.5 million from the previous year, and reflects lower maintenance revenue of $28.8 million due to fewer scheduled and unscheduled lease transitions in 2010 compared to the same period in 2009 and lower other revenue, reflecting $9.4 million of lease termination revenue in 2009 for which there were no comparable payments in the third quarter 2010.

EBITDA for the third quarter was $116.1 million, down $19.0 million from the third quarter of 2009, due primarily to lower maintenance and lease termination revenue totaling $38.2 million, partially offset by higher lease rental revenue of $5.2 million, lower maintenance and other expenses of $3.6 million and lower non-cash impairment charges of $10.9 million.

Interest expense, net was $47.5 million for the third quarter 2010, compared to $43.0 million for the third quarter 2009, reflecting the partial quarter impact of the Company's late July 2010 $300 million senior notes issuance, as well as the write off of $2.5 million of deferred financing fees associated with the full repayment of certain term loan facilities with a portion of the net proceeds of the July notes offering.

Adjusted net income plus depreciation and amortization for the quarter was $72.5 million, down $20.3 million year over year, due primarily to lower maintenance and lease termination revenue totaling $38.2 million and higher adjusted interest expense of $2.5 million, partially offset by higher lease rental revenue of $5.2 million, lower maintenance and other expenses of $3.6 million and lower non-cash impairment charges of $10.9 million.

Adjusted net income for the quarter was $12.6 million, down $23.1 million year over year, and reflects lower total revenues described above, higher adjusted interest expense of $2.5 million, partially offset by lower maintenance and other costs of $3.6 million and lower non-cash impairment charges of $10.9 million.

Aviation Assets

During the third quarter, Aircastle acquired three Airbus A330-200 aircraft in a sale lease-back transaction with SriLankan Airlines.  After the close of the third quarter, we acquired three Boeing 737-800 aircraft during October and also committed to acquire two Boeing 747-400F production freighter aircraft exiting Japan Airlines' fleet.  We expect these freighters to be delivered to us during the fourth quarter of 2010, and we have a commitment for the lease of one aircraft, and a letter of intent for lease of the other.

In September 2010, we took delivery of our first new A330-200F freighter aircraft which is on lease to Hong Kong Airlines, an affiliate of the HNA Group, and took delivery of a second of three A330-200F aircraft for this lessee in November 2010.  Also, we signed a letter of intent to lease our final A330 delivery position from our new order stream, delivering in spring 2012.

During the third quarter of 2010, we sold one Boeing 757-200 aircraft that had been subject to a forward sale agreement at an approximately break-even price.  We also signed a forward sale agreement for the last 737-500 aircraft in our portfolio, with the transaction expected to be consummated upon the expiry of the current lease in spring 2011.  The 737-500 sale agreement resulted in a third quarter 2010 non-cash impairment charge related to this aircraft of $2.8 million, which is included in the $7.3 million impairment charge in the quarter described previously.  During the first quarter of 2010, we received end-of-lease maintenance revenue of $4.4 million from the previous lessee of this aircraft.

Finally, during the third quarter one 737-300 Classic aircraft was returned early when the lessee ceased operations.  The early return resulted in a net pre-tax charge of $1.7 million, including $2.8 million of maintenance and other revenues, offset by an impairment charge of $4.5 million.

During the fourth quarter of 2010, we expect to complete the sale of four Boeing 737-400SF freighter aircraft which are subject to executed sales agreements.  We are also receiving insurance proceeds from the loss of one 737-700 that suffered an event of loss in the third quarter 2010.  The sale and insurance proceeds are expected to add more than $13 million in pre-tax income during the fourth quarter of 2010.

As of September 30, 2010, Aircastle owned 132 aircraft having a net book value of $3.9 billion.

Financing Update

In September 2010, we entered into a $50 million senior unsecured revolving credit facility which has a three-year term.

In July 2010, Aircastle Limited closed a private placement offering of 9.75% senior unsecured notes due in 2018, in an aggregate principal amount of $300 million.  The notes were issued at 98.645% of par and were offered only to qualified institutional buyers and buyers outside the United States in accordance with Rule 144A and Regulation S, respectively, under the Securities Act of 1933.  We used a portion of the net proceeds of the private placement to repay all of the outstanding indebtedness under our Term Financing No. 2, to repay $25 million drawn under a credit facility used in connection with the purchase and lease-back of one A330 aircraft, and we plan to use the remaining net proceeds for general corporate purposes, including the purchase of aviation assets. These notes were registered with the United States Securities Exchange Commission on September 24, 2010, and we began the process to exchange 100% of these notes for registered notes having substantially identical terms.  This process was completed on October 25, 2010.

In addition, in July 2010, we secured new financing commitments for our Airbus A330 Agreement which will benefit from an ECA guarantee provided by Compagnie Francaise d'Assurance pour le Commerce Exterieur, or COFACE, as follows:

• Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation committed $250 million in debt to finance three new A330 Aircraft delivering in 2011; and

• Citibank, N.A. committed approximately $221 million and The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. committed approximately $227 million, to finance six new A330 Aircraft.  The first of these aircraft was delivered to us in September and $69 million was funded by Citibank, N.A. for a 12 year term at a fixed interest rate of 2.645%.  The second new A330-200F aircraft delivered to us in early November and $69 million was funded by The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. for a 12 year term at a fixed interest rate of 2.685%.

Conference Call

In connection with this earnings release, management will host an earnings conference call on November 4, 2010 at 10:00 A.M. Eastern time.  All interested parties are welcome to participate on the live call.  The conference call can be accessed by dialing (866) 510-4578 (from within the U.S.) or (706) 634-9537 (from outside of the U.S.) ten minutes prior to the scheduled start and referencing the "Aircastle Third Quarter Earnings Call."

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.  A replay of the webcast will be available for three months following the call.  In addition to this earnings release an accompanying power point presentation has been posted to the Investor Relations section of Aircastle's website.

For those who are not available to listen to the live call, a replay will be available until 11:59 P.M. Eastern time on Thursday, November 11, 2010 by dialing (800) 642-1687 (from within the U.S.) or (706) 645-9291 (from outside of the U.S.); please reference passcode "18283666."

About Aircastle Limited

Aircastle Limited is a global company that acquires, leases and sells high-utility commercial jet aircraft to airlines throughout the world.  As of September 30, 2010 Aircastle's aircraft portfolio consisted of 132 aircraft and had 63 lessees located in 36 countries.

Safe Harbor

Certain items in this press release and other information we provide from time to time, may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 including, but not necessarily limited to, statements relating to our ability to acquire, sell,  lease or finance aircraft, raise capital, pay dividends, and increase revenues, earnings, EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Net Income plus Depreciation and Amortization 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 management's current expectations and beliefs 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 Limited can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Factors that could have a material adverse effect on our operations and future prospects or that could cause actual results to differ materially from Aircastle Limited's expectations include, but are not limited to, prolonged capital markets disruption and volatility, which may adversely affect our continued ability to obtain additional capital to finance our working capital needs, our pre-delivery payment obligations and other aircraft acquisition commitments, our ability to extend or replace our existing financings, and the demand for and value of aircraft; our exposure to increased bank and counterparty risk caused by credit and capital markets disruptions; volatility in the value of our aircraft or in appraisals thereof, which may, among other things, result in increased principal payments under our term financings and reduce our cash flow available for investment or dividends; general economic conditions and business conditions affecting demand for aircraft and lease rates; our continued ability to obtain favorable tax treatment in Bermuda, Ireland and other jurisdictions; our ability to pay dividends; high or volatile fuel prices, lack of access to capital, reduced load factors and/or reduced yields, operational disruptions caused by volcanic activity and other factors affecting the creditworthiness of our airline customers and their ability to continue to perform their obligations under our leases; termination payments on our interest rate hedges; and other risks detailed from time to time in Aircastle Limited's filings with the SEC, including "Risk Factors" as previously disclosed in Aircastle's 2009 Annual Report on Form 10-K, and in our other filings with the SEC, press releases and other communications. 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 Limited expressly disclaims any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.

(1)  Refer to the selected financial information accompanying this press release for a reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP numbers.

Refer to the selected information accompanying this press release for a reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP information.

We define EBITDA as income 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-GAAP measure is helpful in identifying trends in our performance. Using EBITDA assists us in comparing our operating performance on a consistent basis by removing the impact of our capital structure (primarily interest charges on our outstanding debt) and asset base (primarily depreciation and amortization) from our operating results.

Management believes that Adjusted Net Income ("ANI") and Adjusted Net Income plus Depreciation and Amortization ("ANIDA"), when viewed in conjunction with the Company's results under GAAP and the above reconciliation, provide useful information about operating and period-over-period performance, and provide additional information that is useful for evaluating the underlying operating performance of our business without regard to periodic reporting elements related to interest rate derivative accounting as well as gains/(losses) related to flight equipment and debt investments. Additionally, management believes that ANIDA provides investors with an additional metric to enhance their understanding of the factors and trends affecting our ongoing cash earnings, from which capital investments are made, debt is serviced and dividends are paid. However, ANI and ANIDA are not measures of financial performance or liquidity under GAAP and, accordingly, should not be considered as alternatives to net income (loss) or cash flow from operating activities as indicators of operating performance or liquidity.

SOURCE Aircastle Limited