Willis Lease Finance reported quarterly pretax income of $6.5 million in Q3/16 was up $1.9 million, or 40%, when compared to Q3/15 pretax income. Net income for Q3/16 increased by $1.4 million, or 56%, to $4.0 million from $2.6 million in the same quarter in 2015. Earnings in Q3/16 included a $2.0 million non-cash charge associated with the write-down of equipment.

The following highlights were excerpted from the news release:

• Lease rent revenue grew 11.5% to $31.3 million in Q3/16 from $28.1 million in the year ago comparable period. Total lease rent revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, was $88.7 million, up 12.0%, from the corresponding year ago period.
• The book value of owned and managed engines and aircraft was approximately $1.4 billion at the end of the third quarter.
• Liquidity available from the revolving credit facility was $303 million at September 30, 2016, up from $151 million at December 31, 2015.
• During the quarter, the company purchased one aircraft and nine engines for a total purchase price of $42.8 million.
• On October 26, 2016, the company purchased, through its wholly owned subsidiary Willis Asset Management, the assets of Total Engine Support a UK-based, asset management, technical services and consultancy business.

“Our core leasing business continued to drive top line growth and bottom line profitability, achieving 92% utilization at quarter end,” said Charles F. Willis, chairman and CEO. “At the moment, we continue to see strong leasing demand across all engine types, and we are actively growing the portfolio to meet that demand.”

“We had a very active third quarter, as we continue to position ourselves for the future,” said Brian R. Hole, president. “The leasing business is obviously strong, and we added nearly $43 million of income producing assets in the quarter and sold over $4 million of spare parts and equipment. Just after quarter end, we closed a $20 million preferred equity offering and then purchased the assets of Total Engine Support Limited (TES), both of which reinforce our growth strategy across our leasing, trading and asset management and technical services businesses.”