Fly Leasing Reports Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results

DUBLIN, Aug. 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Fly Leasing Limited (NYSE: FLY) ("FLY"), a global leader in aircraft leasing, today announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2018.

Highlights

• Net income of $24.3 million, $0.87 per share
• Adjusted Net Income of $25.2 million, $0.90 per share
• 10% increase in operating lease rental revenue
• Sold two aircraft for an economic gain of $15.6 million
• Book value per share of $21.02
• Completed a new $574.5 million term loan facility

"FLY is reporting a very strong second quarter based on a substantial increase in operating lease rental revenue and a combination of end of lease income and gains resulting from our aircraft trading," said Colm Barrington, Chief Executive Officer of FLY. "Our quarterly net income of $24.3 million is as a result of the positive fleet activities of FLY over the previous quarters. Our earnings per share of $0.87 are a substantial increase from the same quarter last year, reflecting improvements in our business and share repurchases undertaken over the last few years."

"The acquisition of the 55 aircraft portfolio that we announced in February is proceeding as planned," added Barrington. "We have started transferring aircraft to FLY and expect that the initial stage of the transaction, comprising the acquisition of 34 Airbus A320 aircraft and seven CFM engines, will be completed in the third quarter. As contemplated in connection with the portfolio acquisition, after quarter end we completed the sale of approximately 1.3 million shares at $15.00 per share to affiliates of Onex Corporation and the management of BBAM, demonstrating their continued support of FLY. As we acquire these aircraft and deploy our capital over the course of the year, we expect to see FLY generate stronger shareholder returns."

Financial Results

FLY is reporting net income of $24.3 million, or $0.87 per share, for the second quarter of 2018. This compares to net income of $2.9 million, or $0.09 per share, for the same period in 2017.

Net income for the six months ended June 30, 2018 was $34.0 million, or $1.21 per share, compared to net income of $7.9 million, or $0.25 per share, for the six months ended June 30, 2017.

Adjusted Net Income

Adjusted Net Income was $25.2 million for the second quarter of 2018, compared to $5.1 million for the same period in the previous year. On a per share basis, Adjusted Net Income was $0.90 in the second quarter of 2018, compared to $0.16 for the second quarter of 2017. For the six months ended June 30, 2018, Adjusted Net Income was $37.6 million, or $1.34 per share, compared to $11.0 million, or $0.34 per share, for the same period last year.

A reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income to net income determined in accordance with GAAP is shown below.

Portfolio Acquisition Update

Subsequent to June 30, 2018, FLY completed the transfers of 12 Airbus A320 aircraft pursuant to definitive agreements dated February 28, 2018 with AirAsia Group Berhad, as successor to AirAsia Berhad ("AirAsia"), and its subsidiary, Asia Aviation Capital Limited ("AACL") for a total of 13 Airbus A320 aircraft from the initial portfolio. FLY expects to complete the transfers of the remaining 20 Airbus A320 aircraft and seven engines on operating leases to AirAsia and its affiliated airlines, and one Airbus A320 aircraft on operating lease to a third-party airline, by the end of the third quarter of 2018.

Financing

On June 15, 2018, FLY entered into a $574.5 million term loan facility with a consortium of lenders to partially finance the acquisition of 30 Airbus A320 aircraft from AACL. As of August 23, 2018, FLY has drawn down $213.4 million under the facility in conjunction with the aircraft transferred from AACL as described above.

Share Issuance and Sale

In contemplation of the initial transfer of aircraft from AirAsia, on July 13, 2018, FLY issued and sold approximately 1.3 million of its common shares to affiliates of Onex Corporation ("Onex") and the management team of BBAM Limited Partnership and its subsidiaries ("BBAM") at a purchase price of $15.00 per share. All FLY common shares held by Onex, and the newly issued FLY common shares held by members of the BBAM management team, are subject to a 180-day lock-up from the date of issuance.

Financial Position

At June 30, 2018, FLY's total assets were $3.6 billion, including investment in flight equipment totaling $3.0 billion. Total cash at June 30, 2018 was $466.1 million, of which $406.5 million was unrestricted. FLY's book value per share at June 30, 2018 was $21.02. 

Aircraft Portfolio

At June 30, 2018, FLY had 85 aircraft on lease to 45 airlines in 27 countries. The table below does not include the two B767 aircraft owned by a joint venture in which FLY has a 57% interest.

At June 30, 2018, the average age of the portfolio, weighted by net book value of each aircraft, was 6.8 years. The average remaining lease term was 6.2 years, also weighted by net book value. At June 30, 2018, FLY's 85 aircraft on lease were generating annualized rental revenue of approximately $367.1 million. FLY's lease utilization factor was 99.7% for the second quarter of 2018 and 99.2% for the six months ended June 30, 2018.

Conference Call and Webcast

FLY's senior management will host a conference call and webcast to discuss these results at 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Thursday, August 23, 2018. Participants should call +1 (409) 220-9381 (International) or (866) 438-0730 (North America) and enter confirmation code 80775518. A live webcast with slide presentation will be available on the Events and Presentations page in the Investor Relations section of FLY's website at www.flyleasing.com. A webcast replay will be available on the company's website for one year.

About FLY

FLY is a global aircraft leasing company with a fleet of modern, high-demand, and fuel efficient commercial jet aircraft. FLY leases its aircraft under multi-year lease contracts to a diverse group of airlines throughout the world. FLY is managed and serviced by BBAM, a worldwide leader in aircraft lease management and financing. For more information about FLY, please visit our website at www.flyleasing.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

FLY provides all financial information in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States (GAAP). To supplement our consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with GAAP, we are also providing with this press release, and on our conference call, certain non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Return on Equity.  In calculating these non-GAAP financial measures, we have excluded certain amounts, as detailed in the reconciliation below.

Beginning in the first quarter of 2018, we modified our reporting of Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Return on Equity. As a result, we have modified our historical presentation of these measures. Prior period information has been revised to conform to the current period presentation.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "will," or words of similar meaning and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the outlook for FLY's future business, operations and financial performance, including the expected benefits of the AirAsia portfolio transactions (the "AirAsia Transactions"); whether and when the AirAsia Transactions will be consummated; the amount of cash and stock consideration to be paid by FLY; the type, amount and terms of the acquisition financing to be obtained by FLY; and, the amount of any fees and expenses incurred in connection with the AirAsia Transactions. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions, which are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially due to global political, economic, business, competitive, market, regulatory and other factors and risks, including risks relating to the satisfaction of conditions to the closing of additional assets as contemplated in connection with the AirAsia Transactions; risks relating to satisfaction of conditions to the financing of additional assets as contemplated in connection with the AirAsia Transactions; risks relating to FLY's ability to obtain additional required financing for the AirAsia Transactions on favorable terms, or at all; the risk that expected benefits of the AirAsia Transactions may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; the risk that business disruption resulting from the AirAsia Transactions may be greater than expected; and the risk that FLY may be unable to achieve its portfolio growth expectations, or to reap the benefits of such growth. Further information on the factors and risks that may affect FLY's business is included in filings FLY makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including its Annual Report on Form 20-F and its reports on Form 6-K. FLY expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether because of future events, new information, a change in its views or expectations, or otherwise.

Contact:

Matt Dallas
Fly Leasing Limited
+1 203-769-5916
[email protected]

FLY defines Adjusted Net Income as net income (loss) plus or minus (i) unrealized foreign exchange gains and losses; (ii) deferred income taxes; (iii) the fair value changes associated with interest rate derivative contracts that are not accounted for as cash flow hedges; and (iv) non-recurring expenses. The adjustments included within Adjusted Net Income are primarily non-cash or non-recurring items that we consider unrelated to the ongoing performance of our operations. Adjusted Return on Equity is calculated by dividing Adjusted Net Income by average shareholders' equity for each period presented. For periods of less than one year, the resulting return is annualized.

FLY uses Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Return on Equity, in addition to GAAP net income and earnings per share, to assess our core operating performance on a consistent basis from period to period. Management believes these measures are helpful in evaluating the operating performance of our ongoing operations and identifying trends in our performance, because they remove the effects of certain non-cash or non-recurring items and certain other items that are not indicative of our overall operating trends. In addition, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Return on Equity help us compare our performance to our competitors. These measures should be considered in addition to, and not as substitutes for, net income or other financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP. FLY's definitions may be different than those used by other companies.

SOURCE Fly Leasing Limited

Related Links

http://www.flyleasing.com