Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), the Dubai-based aircraft lessor, reported nine-month revenue of $1.45 billion, up 13 per cent from a year earlier, and said its recently completed $9 billion acquisition of Macquarie AirFinance has doubled its combined owned, managed and committed fleet to about 1,000 aircraft within 24 months, according to Gulf News.
Revenue for the nine months to September 30 reached $1,446.9 million, against $1,277.7 million a year earlier. Profit before tax and exceptional items rose 9 per cent to $370.7 million, versus $340.8 million. Operating cash flow slipped to $1,088.1 million from $1,127.4 million, while the adjusted pre-tax margin fell to 25.6 per cent from 26.7 per cent and adjusted pre-tax return on equity dropped to 11.8 per cent from 13.6 per cent.
The balance sheet, however, expanded considerably. Total assets climbed to $26.83 billion from $16.55 billion. Net loans and borrowings rose to $16.75 billion from $10.23 billion, and net debt to equity edged up to 2.60x from 2.58x. Available liquidity grew to $5.60 billion from $3.40 billion, with the liquidity coverage ratio reaching 440 per cent, up from 277 per cent.
Chief Executive Firoz Tarapore said the Macquarie AirFinance deal makes DAE the second largest aircraft lessor globally by owned fleet, with 716 owned aircraft. He said the acquisition, along with the Blackstone and Neuberger mandates, will widen DAE’s offering to airlines and put the company on a trajectory to reach a combined fleet count of approximately 1,300 aircraft once mandates complete. Liquidity and capital adequacy remain robust after closing, and integration is functionally complete with a finish expected by the end of November.
DAE completed the Macquarie AirFinance acquisition at the end of July. It acquired 290 aircraft this year, including the MAF portfolio of 272 owned and 18 managed aircraft, and sold 58, of which 48 were owned and 10 managed. The company signed 195 lease agreements, extensions and amendments and announced a purchase-leaseback of four Boeing 777F freighters with Saudia.
The results underscore Dubai’s growing weight in the global aviation finance industry, where Gulf lessors have been consolidating scale to compete with the Irish and American giants that have long dominated aircraft leasing. Aircraft leasing is a capital-intensive business in which companies buy planes and lease them to airlines, collecting steady rental income while managing the resale value of the fleet.
Not all of the business is firing equally. DAE Engineering booked about 900,000 man hours and performed more than 170 checks, but its revenue still trails target because of persistent airspace closures across the region, many of which remain in place amid the ongoing Middle East conflict. The disruptions have forced longer routings for maintenance ferry flights and complicated crew logistics.
Tarapore said he is positive about the future business outlook, especially in the winter months from the northern hemisphere, and is looking forward to a robust pipeline of aircraft inductions. Demand for fuel-efficient aircraft remains strong as airlines worldwide struggle with delivery backlogs from Airbus and Boeing, keeping lease rates elevated for available mid-life and new aircraft.
For Dubai, the scale-up of DAE reinforces the emirate’s position as a global aviation hub not just for airlines but for the financing industry around them, complementing Emirates and dnata at the passenger and cargo end of the ecosystem.
