By Doug Cameron
International Lease Finance Corp. said Friday it is still
looking to find homes for aircraft repossessed this year from
bankrupt airlines, while the number of carriers in arrears on
rental payments doubled over the past year.
The world's second-largest aircraft leasing company by asset
value after the Gecas unit of General Electric Co. (GE) also
continued to take write-downs on the value of its fleet as parent
American International Group Inc. (AIG) said market conditions
weren't right to launch an initial public offering of its Los
Angeles unit.
The repossessions and write-downs have been a drag on earnings
at ILFC and come at a time when growth in the global airline
industry has started to slow and dent earnings, despite the help
provided to carriers by a slide in fuel prices.
Sluggish demand and over-ambitious expansion strategies have
taken their toll on the global airline industry, with high-profile
collapses including Spain's Spanair and Hungary's Malev, both ILFC
customers. This has forced leasing companies to recover planes and
find new customers.
ILFC said in a regulatory filing it was still looking to find
homes for three of the 45 planes recovered this year from bankrupt
carriers. It sold one, scrapped 10 and found new customers for
31.
The company had a fleet of 933 planes as of June 30 and said it
had the marketing skills to weather the industry's latest storm,
but it also disclosed financial pressures appeared to be worsening
for some customers.
ILFC said 24 clients operating 79 aircraft were past due on two
or more lease payments--which are usually paid monthly--compared
with 13 airlines this time last year.
While the company said the pressures didn't threaten its cash
position, they will add to the list of concerns that have delayed
an IPO first announced last September.
"We're continuing work to take ILFC public," said AIG Chief
Executive Robert Benmosche on a post-earnings call Friday.
"However, the markets have not been very receptive at this point in
time."
ILFC has taken around $3 billion in write-downs over the past
two years, rattling an industry that had prospered from the
increasing popularity of airlines renting rather than buying
planes. The company attributed part of the charges to the
depressing impact on existing plane values from new aircraft such
as the Airbus A320neo and the 737 Max from Boeing Co. (BA).
Most rivals, including market-leading Gecas, didn't take
parallel write-downs, and have said it is too soon to determine the
impact of new planes that won't come into service until late 2015
at the earliest.
ILFC didn't write down the value of any aircraft remaining in
its fleet during the second quarter, though it did take a charge
for some targeted for disposal.
The reduced charges helped second-quarter profit rise to $223.1
million in the quarter from $73.8 million a year earlier, with
revenue was flat at $1.13 billion.
The company also updated the bank-style stress tests introduced
this year that detail how a potential downturn in its business
could hit aircraft values. A 20% decline in aircraft cash flows
from their estimated level would ensnare 68 more planes with
potential charges against their book value of $1.9 billion. Much of
this could translate into a charge as impaired planes are generally
only worth the sale price of their engines and spare parts.
The aggregate book value of ILFC's fleet was $35.1 billion, down
slightly from the $35.6 billion as of March 31.
Write to Doug Cameron at doug.cameron@dowjones.com
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