Aircastle Announces Third Quarter 2015 Results

STAMFORD, Conn., Nov. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- 

Key Third Quarter Developments

• Lease rental and finance lease revenue was $189.9 million, up 5.3%
• Net loss was $(14.0) million, or $(0.17) per diluted share
• Excluding the $66.0 million earnings impact from Malaysian Airline System bankruptcy and older freighter exits, net income was $52.0 million, or $0.64 per share
• Accelerated planned exit from freighters by agreeing or completing sale of four aircraft and declaring six remaining older units to be on last leases after which we expect to scrap them
• Cash ROE was 14.5%, net cash interest margin was 9.2% and fleet utilization was 99.9%
• Acquired seven aircraft for $233 million; year to date purchased 32 aircraft for $1.0 billion
• Sold eight aircraft for a net gain of $15.7 million; year to date sold 20 aircraft for a total net pre-tax contribution of $38.3 million
• Declared $0.24 dividend per common share; our 38^th consecutive quarterly dividend

Aircastle Limited (the "Company" or "Aircastle") (NYSE: AYR) reported a third quarter 2015 net loss of $(14.0) million, or $(0.17) per diluted common share, and an adjusted net loss of $(9.7) million, or $(0.12) per diluted common share.  The third quarter results included total revenues of $212.1 million, an increase of 19.4%, versus $177.6 million in the third quarter of 2014.    

Commenting on the results, Ron Wainshal, Aircastle's CEO, stated "During the third quarter we took decisive measures to address the challenge presented by the Malaysian bankruptcy and to accelerate our planned exit from freighter investments.  Notwithstanding the resulting impairments, our operating performance was excellent as evidenced by the 14.5% cash ROE and 99.9% utilization results."   

Mr. Wainshal added, "Increased asset sales have been a key driver for our results as we've seized on robust investor demand for aircraft both to enhance our financial performance and to improve our portfolio quality considerably."

Mr. Wainshal concluded, "We continue to demonstrate the value of the Aircastle franchise and our distinct competitive positioning by originating an attractive flow of investments we believe will have an accretive long-term earnings profile. This capability, together with the improving quality of our assets and strong operating cash flows, gave us confidence to increase our dividend once again." 

Note: Non-GAAP items reconciled in the Appendix.

Financial Results

Third Quarter Results

Total revenues were $212.1 million, an increase of $34.5 million, or 19.4%, from the previous year.  The increase was driven by higher maintenance revenues of $19.9 million and higher lease rental and finance lease revenues of $9.6 million.  

Lease rental and finance lease revenues during the third quarter were $189.9 million versus $180.3 million the prior year.  The 5.3% increase reflects net year over year growth in the fleet and the impact from aircraft acquisitions, dispositions and lease extensions.

Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter was $216.3 million, up 21.9%, or $38.9 million, versus the prior year's quarter and primarily reflects higher lease rental, finance lease and maintenance revenues of $29.5 million, and higher gains from aircraft sales of $4.3 million.       

The net loss for the third quarter was $(14.0) million versus net income of $19.2 million the previous year.  Higher total revenues of $34.5 million were offset by higher non-cash impairment charges of $58.0 million and higher depreciation charges of $9.8 million associated with net fleet growth and accelerated depreciation on three MD-11 freighters, two of which were sold during the third quarter. 

The adjusted net loss for the quarter was $(9.7) million versus adjusted net income $26.5 million the prior year.  Higher revenues of $34.5 million and higher gains from aircraft sales of $4.3 million were offset by higher non-cash aircraft impairment charges of $58.0 million year over year.

Aviation Assets

During the third quarter of 2015, we acquired seven aircraft for $233 million.  We closed or committed to acquire five additional aircraft during the balance of 2015 for approximately $165 million.  Year-to-date, we acquired or committed to acquire a total of 37 aircraft that will close in 2015, for approximately $1.2 billion.  The 32 aircraft acquired during the first nine months of 2015 had a weighted average age of less than four years, an average lease term of more than nine years, and all but one were narrow-body aircraft. 

During the third quarter of 2015, we completed the sale of eight aircraft, including two MD-11 freighter aircraft, one A330 and five mid-aged narrow-body aircraft.  The total pre-tax impact from our third quarter sales activity was $15.7 million and gross proceeds were $111 million. 

During the first three quarters of 2015, we sold twenty aircraft that generated a total pre-tax impact of $38.3 million and gross proceeds of $341 million.  The weighted-average age of the aircraft sold was approximately 15 years. 

During October, we completed several additional sales, including one 747-400 converted freighter, one older A330 and our last 767.  These sales have been profitable, in aggregate.  In addition, we concluded an agreement to sell our last remaining MD-11 freighter in January 2016 for an amount approximately equal to break-even. 

As of September 30, 2015, Aircastle owned 160 aircraft having a net book value of $6.0 billion. We also manage five aircraft with a net book value of nearly $500 million dollars on behalf of our joint venture with Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.

(1) Calculated using net book value of flight equipment held for lease and net investment in finance leases at period end.
(2) Weighted average age by net book value.
(3) Weighted average remaining lease term by net book value.
(4) Aircraft on-lease days as a percent of total days in period weighted by net book value.
(5) Lease rental revenue for the period as a percent of the average net book value of flight equipment held for lease for the period; quarterly information is annualized.
(6) Net Cash Interest Margin = Lease rental yield minus interest on borrowings, net of settlements on interest rate derivatives, and other liabilities  / average NBV of flight equipment for the period calculated on a quarterly basis, annualized.

Annual Fleet Review & Impairments

During the third quarter of 2015, in connection with our annual fleet review, we determined each of our six remaining Boeing 747-400 converted freighter aircraft are now on last leases.  We reduced our residual value assumptions for these aircraft and expect to scrap them following lease expiry.  This resulted in an impairment of $34.6 million and $1.9 million of additional depreciation during Q3, partly offset by $6.0 million of maintenance and other revenues.  This determination reflects the persisting glut of supply in the air cargo market.  In addition, our older freighters were affected specifically by the imposition of age limits in certain countries and by lower utilization levels. 

In September 2015, Malaysian Airline System ("MAS") informed us that they were rejecting the lease on our Boeing 777-200ER aircraft as part of their restructuring.  Under the terms of our lease with MAS, we were due to receive $18 million in rent payments and another estimated $25 million in lease end return compensation.  We repossessed the aircraft in early October 2015 and are currently evaluating our deployment alternatives.  This aircraft, which was manufactured in 1998, is the only one of its type in our fleet and is the only aircraft we had on lease to MAS. 

We reduced the carrying value of this 777-200ER aircraft to an amount equal to our best estimate of scrap value.  While we haven't made a decision to dispose of the aircraft, this write-down was driven by weak overall demand for older wide-body aircraft, an increase in the supply of competing aircraft and the difficulty of recovering high redeployment costs given the proliferation of aircraft age limits across the world.  This write-down resulted in an impairment of $37.8 million, partly offset by a $1.2 million letter of credit we drew following the lease rejection.  We will pursue remedies to recover amounts due to us.

Breakdown of Third Quarter Results

Common Dividend

On October 30, 2015, Aircastle's Board of Directors declared a fourth quarter 2015 cash dividend on its common shares of $0.24 per share, payable on December 15, 2015 to shareholders of record on November 30, 2015.  This is our 38^th consecutive dividend and represents a 9% increase over the previous quarter's cash dividend.   Since 2010, Aircastle has increased the dividend six times. 

Conference Call

In connection with this earnings release, management will host an earnings conference call on Tuesday, November 3, 2015 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 (888) 417-8533 (from within the U.S. and Canada) or (719) 325-2354 (from outside of the U.S. and Canada) ten minutes prior to the scheduled start and referencing the passcode "9463401".

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 one month 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 1:00 P.M. Eastern time on Thursday, December 3, 2015 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 "9463401".

About Aircastle Limited

Aircastle Limited acquires, leases and sells commercial jet aircraft to airlines throughout the world.  As of September 30, 2015, Aircastle's aircraft portfolio consisted of 160 aircraft on lease with 51 customers located in 32 countries.

Safe Harbor

All statements included or incorporated by reference in this Press Release (this "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 ability to acquire, sell, lease or finance aircraft, raise capital, pay dividends, and increase revenues, earnings, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income 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 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 1 A of Aircastle's 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Form 10-Q filed for the quarter ended June 30, 2015, and elsewhere in this Release. 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 Release. Aircastle expressly disclaims any obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement to reflect future events or circumstances.

(1) Excludes the impact of lease end part outs.
(2) Includes non-cash hedge loss amortization charges related to the payoff of Securitization No.1 of $2.7 million.

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

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-US 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.

(1)     Included in Interest, net.
(2)     Included in Other income (expense).
(3)     Included in Selling, general and administrative expenses.

Note:  LTM Average Shareholders' Equity is the average of the most recent five quarters period end Shareholders' Equity.  Management believes that the cash return on equity metric (Cash ROE) when viewed in conjunction  with the Company's results under US 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 impacts related to non-cash revenue and expense items and interest rate derivative accounting, while recognizing the depreciating nature of our assets. 

(1) Excludes loan termination payments of $3.2 million and $3.0 million in the second quarter of 2011 and 2013 respectively.

(1)     For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 the company had no dilutive shares.
(2)     Percentages rounded to two decimal places.

(1)     For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014 the company had no dilutive shares.
(2)     Percentages rounded to two decimal places.

SOURCE Aircastle Limited