BOC Aviation reports 29th year of profitibility

BOC Aviation Limited has just announced its audited results for the year ending 31 December 2022, in which the aircraft leasing firm recorded a net profit after tax (NPAT) for the period of US$20 million, as a strong second-half performance offset the first-half write-down of the value of aircraft formerly leased to airlines in Russia. 

BOC Aviation's core NPAT and core earnings per share of US$527 million and US$0.76, respectively, when adjusted to exclude the Russian impact, were little changed from the US$561 million and US$0.81 that we reported in 2021.

During the year ended December 2022 the company generated record operating cash flow net of interest expense of US$1.5 billion, the collection rate exceeded 100%, and BOC Aviation ended the year with US$5.3 billion in available liquidity.

The Board has decided to base the final dividend for 2022 on core net profit after tax and has recommended a final dividend of US$0.1770 per share, 2% greater than that paid for the same period in 2021. This will bring the total dividend for 2022 to US$0.26591 per share and recognises the importance many of our investors place on steady distributions.

“The recovery of the world’s aviation industry clearly gathered pace in 2022 and supported our 2H 2022 NPAT of US$333 million, which not only eclipsed the first half, but also 2H 2021’s earnings,” Robert Martin, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, BOC Aviation, commented. “We made commitments to purchase 147 new aircraft during the year, which will allow us to capitalise on the airline industry’s growth demands and to drive future earnings.”

Financial Overview

An overview of our financial position for the year ended 31 December 2022 includes:

• Total revenues and other income were up 6% year-on-year, at US$2.3 billion

• Core net profit after tax was US$527 million, excluding the impact of the write-down of aircraft in Russia

• Recorded a second half net profit after tax of US$333 million, up 8% on US$307 million in 2H 2021

• Net assets per share of US$7.50

• Operating cash flows net of interest rose 14% to US$1.5 billion

Total assets of US$22.1 billion at 31 December 2022

• Utilised US$1.7 billion of debt financing comprising US$1.4 billion of loans and US$300 million of bonds

• Maintained strong liquidity of US$5.3 billion, comprising US$392 million in cash and cash equivalents and US$4.9 billion in undrawn committed credit facilities at 31 December 2022

• Board recommended a final dividend for 2022 of US$0.1770 per share, calculated at 35% of core net profit after tax pending approval at the AGM to be held on 30 May 2023. 

The final dividend will be payable to Shareholders registered at the close of business on the record date, being 7 June 2023, bringing the total dividend for the financial year 2022 to US$0.26591 per share

Portfolio and Operational Overview Our operational overview as at 31 December 2022 included:

• A total fleet of 633 aircraft owned, managed and on order2

, with an average aircraft age 

of 4.4 years and an average remaining lease term of 8.1 years for the 392 owned aircraft 

fleet, weighted by net book value

• A customer base of 84 airlines in 39 countries and regions in the owned and managed portfolios

• Executed 298 transactions in 2022, including:

• Commitments to purchase 147 aircraft

• Delivery of 34 aircraft (including five acquired by airline customers on delivery)

• Sale of 18 aircraft, including one from the managed fleet

• 78 lease commitments

• Placed two large orders with Airbus and Boeing for 120 aircraft in total, to close the year with an orderbook of 206 aircraft2

• Recorded aircraft utilisation of 96% for the owned portfolio for the year ended 31 December 2022