Aircraft lessor FLY Leasing announced a Q3/17 net loss of $12.5 million compared to net income of $22.9 million for the same period in 2016. FLY noted Q3/17 results were primarily driven by a $22.0 non-cash impairment charge. For the nine month period ended September 30, 2017, FLY reported a net loss of $4.6 million compared to net income of $34.7 million for the same period a year earlier.

The following highlights were excerpted from the earnings report:

• As a result of a lessee’s insolvency filing during the third quarter, FLY recorded an impairment charge of $22.0 million on a 2001 vintage Airbus A330-200 to write the aircraft down to its estimated current market value.
• At September 30, 2017, FLY’s total assets were $3.5 billion, including investment in flight equipment totaling $3.1 billion.
• At September 30, 2017, FLY’s 84 aircraft were on lease to 45 airlines in 29 countries.

“We were active on several fronts this quarter as we acquired three aircraft, including another new 737 MAX 8, repurchased a further 1.5 million shares and refinanced our unsecured notes that were due 2020,” said Colm Barrington, CEO of FLY. “We have acquired eight aircraft in the first nine months of 2017 for a total of $403 million, growing the fleet to 84 aircraft. Our growth capacity remains strong with the ability to acquire over $2 billion worth of new aircraft without the need to raise additional funds.

“FLY has repurchased a total of 3.6 million shares so far this year, and we ended the quarter with a net book value per share of $18.95,” Barrington added. “We see great value in our shares and will continue to repurchase stock under our current buyback program.

“We also remain focused on driving down our cost of debt,” Barrington said. “The refinancing of our unsecured notes will result in substantial savings, reducing our borrowing costs by nearly $10 million per year starting in 2018. Further, following quarter end, we repriced our term loan, which will result in an additional $1 million of annual interest cost savings.”