Air Lease Corporation (ALC) (NYSE: AL) announces financial results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023.

“Fourth quarter and full-year performance at ALC was very strong. With the exception of the benefit of tax reform in 2017, we achieved record revenues and profits for the 4th quarter, with net income increasing 56% and revenues increasing 19% over the prior year’s quarter. Similarly, for the full year 2023 we enjoyed record revenues, aircraft sales, and total assets which exceeded $30 billion for the first time. Looking forward, the commercial aircraft supply/demand backdrop remains highly favorable for our current fleet and our $22 billion forward orderbook scheduled to deliver over the next 4-5 years,” said John L. Plueger, Chief Executive Officer and President, and Steven F. Udvar-Házy, Executive Chairman of the Board.

Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2023 Results

The following table summarizes our operating results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 (in millions, except per share amounts and percentages):

Operating Results

Key Financial Ratios

Highlights

• During the fourth quarter, we took delivery of 22 aircraft from our order book, representing approximately $1.2 billion in aircraft investments, ending the period with 463 aircraft in our owned fleet and over $30 billion in total assets.
• We recognized a net benefit of approximately $67 million from the settlement of insurance claims with respect to four aircraft in our owned fleet and our equity interest in certain aircraft in our managed fleet that were previously on lease to JSC Siberia Airline (“S7”), a Russian airline.
• Sold eight aircraft¹ during the fourth quarter for approximately $440 million in sales proceeds.
• We have $1.5 billion of aircraft in our sales pipeline in 2024, which includes $605 million in flight equipment held for sale as of December 31, 2023 and $892 million of aircraft subject to letters of intent.
• We have placed 100% of our committed orderbook on long-term leases for aircraft delivering through the end of 2025 and have placed approximately 65% of our entire orderbook delivering through 2028.
• We ended the year with $31.0 billion in committed minimum future rental payments consisting of $16.4 billion in contracted minimum rental payments on the aircraft in our existing fleet and $14.6 billion in minimum future rental payments related to aircraft which will deliver between 2024 through 2027.
• In 2023, we raised approximately $3.6 billion in committed debt financings and ended the year with total liquidity of $6.8 billion.
• On February 13, 2024, our board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.21 per share on our outstanding Class A common stock. The next quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share will be paid on April 10, 2024 to holders of record of our Class A common stock as of March 15, 2024.

Financial Overview

Fourth Quarter 2023 vs. Fourth Quarter 2022

Our total revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2023 increased by 19% to $717 million as compared to the three months ended December 31, 2022. The increase in total revenues was primarily driven by the continued growth in our fleet, an increase in sales activity and higher end of lease revenue. During the three months ended December 31, 2023, we recognized $59 million in gains from the sale of eight aircraft. We also recognized $60 million in end of lease revenue related to the return of seven aircraft. During the three months ended December 31, 2022, we recorded approximately $28 million in gains from the sale of six aircraft¹.

Our net income attributable to common stockholders for the three months ended December 31, 2023 was $211 million, or $1.89 per diluted share, compared to $135 million, or $1.21 per diluted share, for the three months ended December 31, 2022. The increase from the prior year period was primarily driven by the increase in revenue as discussed above, partially offset by higher interest expense as a result of the increase in our composite cost of funds. In addition, we recognized a net benefit of approximately $67 million from the settlement of insurance claims under S7’s insurance policies related to four aircraft in our owned fleet and our equity interest in certain aircraft in our managed fleet that were previously on lease to S7.

Adjusted net income before income taxes during the three months ended December 31, 2023 was $214 million or $1.92 per adjusted diluted share, as compared to $158 million, or $1.42 per adjusted diluted share, for the three months ended December 31, 2022. The increase in our adjusted net income before income taxes primarily relates to the increase in revenues as discussed above, partially offset by higher interest expense.

Full Year 2023 vs. Full Year 2022

Our total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023 increased by 16% to $2.7 billion as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase in total revenues was primarily driven by the continued growth in our fleet, an increase in sales activity and higher end of lease revenue. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we recognized $156 million in gains from the sale of 27 aircraft¹ and also recognized $124 million in end of lease revenue from the return of 22 aircraft. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we recognized $48 million in gains from the sale of 15 aircraft¹. In addition, in 2022, we recorded $76.6 million in income related to security deposit forfeitures and maintenance reserve revenue from the return of 12 aircraft as well as the termination of our leasing activities in Russia.

Our net income attributable to common stockholders for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $573 million, or $5.14 per diluted share, as compared to a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $139 million, or $1.24 loss per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase from the prior year was primarily due to an increase in revenues as discussed above partially offset by higher interest expense, which resulted from an increase in our composite cost of funds. In addition, in 2023, we recognized a net benefit of approximately $67 million from the settlement of insurance claims mentioned above, while in 2022, we recognized a net write-off of $772 million related to our Russian fleet.

Adjusted net income before income taxes during the year ended December 31, 2023 was $734 million or $6.58 per adjusted diluted share, as compared to $660 million, or $5.89 per adjusted diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase in our adjusted net income before income taxes primarily relates to the increase in revenues as discussed above, partially offset by higher interest expense.

Flight Equipment Portfolio

As of December 31, 2023, the net book value of our fleet increased to $26.2 billion, compared to $24.5 billion as of December 31, 2022. As of December 31, 2023, we owned 463 aircraft in our aircraft portfolio, comprised of 345 narrowbody aircraft and 118 widebody aircraft, and we managed 78 aircraft. The weighted average fleet age and weighted average remaining lease term of flight equipment subject to operating lease as of December 31, 2023 was 4.6 years and 7.0 years, respectively. We have a globally diversified customer base comprised of 119 airlines in 62 countries as of December 31, 2023.

The following table summarizes the key portfolio metrics of our fleet as of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022:

The following table details the regional concentration of our flight equipment subject to operating leases:

The following table details the composition of our owned fleet by aircraft type:

Debt Financing Activities

We ended the fourth quarter of 2023 with total debt financing, net of discounts and issuance costs, of $19.2 billion. As of December 31, 2023, 84.7% of our total debt financing was at a fixed rate and 98.4% was unsecured. As of December 31, 2023, our composite cost of funds was 3.77%. We ended the year with total liquidity of $6.8 billion.

As of the end of the periods presented, our debt portfolio was comprised of the following components (dollars in millions, except percentages):

Conference Call

In connection with this earnings release, Air Lease Corporation will host a conference call on February 15, 2024 at 4:30 PM Eastern Time to discuss the Company's financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended 2023.

Investors can participate in the conference call by dialing 1 (888) 660-6652 domestic or 1 (646) 960-0554 international. The passcode for the call is 5952437.

The conference call will also be broadcast live through a link on the Investors page of the Air Lease Corporation website at www.airleasecorp.com. Please visit the website at least 15 minutes prior to the call to register, download and install any necessary audio software. A replay of the broadcast will be available on the Investors page of the Air Lease Corporation website.

For your convenience, the conference call can be replayed in its entirety beginning on February 15, 2024 until 11:59 PM ET on February 22, 2024. If you wish to listen to the replay of this conference call, please dial 1 (800) 770-2030 domestic or 1 (647) 362-9199 international and enter passcode 5952437.

About Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL)

Air Lease Corporation is a leading global aircraft leasing company based in Los Angeles, California that has airline customers throughout the world. Air Lease Corporation and its team of dedicated and experienced professionals are principally engaged in purchasing new commercial aircraft and leasing them to its airline customers worldwide through customized aircraft leasing and financing solutions. Air Lease Corporation routinely posts information that may be important to investors in the “Investors” section of its website at www.airleasecorp.com. Investors and potential investors are encouraged to consult Air Lease Corporation’s website regularly for important information. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, Air Lease Corporation's website is not incorporated by reference into, and is not a part of, this press release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Those statements appear in a number of places in this press release and include statements regarding, among other matters, the state of the airline industry, our access to the capital and debt markets, the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the impact of sanctions imposed on Russia, the impact of the Israel Hamas conflict, aircraft and engine delivery delays and manufacturing flaws, our aircraft sales pipeline and expectations, changes in inflation and interest rates and other macroeconomic conditions and other factors affecting our financial condition or results of operations. Words such as “can,” “could,” “may,” “predicts,” “potential,” “will,” “projects,” “continuing,” “ongoing,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates” and “should,” and variations of these words and similar expressions, are used in many cases to identify these forward-looking statements. Any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results to vary materially from our future results, performance or achievements, or those of our industry, expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others:

• our inability to obtain additional capital on favorable terms, or at all, to acquire aircraft, service our debt obligations and refinance maturing debt obligations;
• increases in our cost of borrowing, decreases in our credit ratings, or changes in interest rates;
• our inability to generate sufficient returns on our aircraft investments through strategic acquisition and profitable leasing;
• the failure of an aircraft or engine manufacturer to meet its contractual obligations to us, including or as a result of manufacturing defects and technical or other difficulties with aircraft or engines before or after delivery;
• our ability to recover losses related to aircraft detained in Russia, including through insurance claims and related litigation;
• obsolescence of, or changes in overall demand for, our aircraft;
• changes in the value of, and lease rates for, our aircraft, including as a result of aircraft oversupply, manufacturer production levels, our lessees’ failure to maintain our aircraft, inflation, and other factors outside of our control;
• impaired financial condition and liquidity of our lessees, including due to lessee defaults and reorganizations, bankruptcies or similar proceedings;
• increased competition from other aircraft lessors;
• the failure by our lessees to adequately insure our aircraft or fulfill their contractual indemnity obligations to us, or the failure of such insurers to fulfill their contractual obligations;
• increased tariffs and other restrictions on trade;
• changes in the regulatory environment, including changes in tax laws and environmental regulations;
• other events affecting our business or the business of our lessees and aircraft manufacturers or their suppliers that are beyond our or their control, such as the threat or realization of epidemic diseases, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war or armed hostilities between countries or non-state actors; and
• any additional factors discussed under “Part I — Item 1A. Risk Factors,” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and other Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings, including future SEC filings.

All forward-looking statements are necessarily only estimates of future results, and there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from expectations. You are therefore cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we do not intend and undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking information to reflect actual results or events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

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