Transformative 2017 for Avolon
Dublin based aircraft leasing company Avolon has described its 2017 as ‘Transformative’ as it became the 3rd largest aircraft lessor globally with an owned, managed and committed fleet of 908 aircraft. Other key highlights of the year were:
- Delivered 45 new aircraft
- Completed US$10.4 billion acquisition & integration of CIT aircraft leasing business
- Raised US$14.9 billion of new capital
- Sold a total of 44 aircraft, which comprised the sale of 29 owned aircraft and 15 managed aircraft
- Firm order for 75 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft including 55 MAX 8s and 20 MAX 10s with options for a further 20 MAX 8 aircraft
Dómhnal Slattery, CEO Avolon, commented “We are delighted to announce another strong quarter of trading; completing what has been a transformational year for the company. The year was headlined by the acquisition and integration of the CIT aircraft leasing business, and our order for 75 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. We believe that our strong cashflows, credit metrics and proven management team are a testament to the strength of our business. We are highly confident about the future for Avolon, as we continue to build towards becoming the global leader in aircraft leasing.”
In October Avolon published their World Fleet Forecast Summary. The highlights included;
- Against a backdrop of 2.9% average annual growth in global economic activity over the next 20 years, Avolon is forecasting passenger traffic to increase by 5.4% per year, higher than industry consensus, but supported by strong economic and demographic trends in emerging markets
- Almost 43,000 aircraft will be delivered over the next 20 years, comprising 42,000 passenger aircraft and 800 factory-built freighters:
- Over 16,000 aircraft will be retired over the period, representing 64% of today’s fleet. Consequently, 40% of all deliveries will support fleet replacement, with the balance meeting the industry’s growth requirements;
Speaking around the time, Dómhnal Slattery said “Avolon’s strategic objective is to become No. 1 in the world in as short time as possible really,” but topping GE Capital Aviation Services and AerCap Holdings would require doubling in size.
“We can only achieve that sort of scale by further M&A, which means that we’ll be opportunistically waiting for the moment. My feeling though is that moment to pounce will only come in scale at the next downcycle,” Slattery told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of Euromoney’s Asia Pacific Airfinance Conference. “So between now and then, Avolon will grow organically, which is in the region of US$4 billion to US$5 billion per year.”
Headquartered in Ireland, with offices in the United States, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai, Avolon provides aircraft leasing and lease management services. Avolon is a wholly-owned, indirect subsidiary of Bohai Capital Holding Co., Ltd., a Chinese public company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.