Dubai, UAE — Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) reported a rise in first-half profit on Wednesday, supported by higher revenue, strong operating cash flow and continued expansion of its aircraft leasing business.
Profit before tax and exceptional items for the six months ended June 30 rose to $229.9 million from $217.1 million a year earlier, while revenue increased to $865.9 million from $843.6 million.
The aircraft lessor reported a pre-tax profit margin of 26.6 percent and operating cash flow of $594 million. Available liquidity increased to $4.4 billion at the end of the period.
During the first half, DAE acquired 18 aircraft, sold 39 and signed 114 lease agreements, extensions and amendments. Its owned, managed and committed fleet stood at 638 aircraft.
The company also expanded its investment platform through agreements with Blackstone Credit & Insurance and Neuberger Berman.
The partnership with Blackstone will establish the “Equator” co-investment platform targeting approximately $1.6 billion in aircraft investments annually, while the “Mustang” platform with Neuberger aims to invest about $6 billion over the medium term.
Chief Executive Officer Firoz Tarapore said the first half had been “a momentous period” for DAE, citing the acquisition of Macquarie AirFinance Limited (MAF) and the launch of the two long-term co-investment programmes.
“These co-investment programs are sized to add approximately US$15 billion of new aircraft assets over the next five years to our total fleet,” Tarapore said.
He said DAE’s larger scale, broader product offerings, disciplined underwriting and financial strength would enable it to serve customers more comprehensively.
Following the completion of the previously announced acquisition of Macquarie AirFinance, DAE said it will serve more than 175 airline customers across 75 countries with an owned, managed and committed fleet of about 1,000 aircraft.
