Air Lease Corp. (AL) Thursday posted a higher first-quarter profit, as strong passenger traffic growth, especially in emerging markets, spurred demand for its planes. Quarterly earnings were in line with Wall Street estimates, while sales fell short of expectations, reflecting soft economic conditions in Europe and other parts of the world.
Investors were not impressed, sending Air Lease stock plunging over 8 percent in after-hours trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Los Angeles, California-based company posted quarterly net income of $40 million or $0.38 per share, compared with $27 million or $0.26 per share last year.
Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $47.8 million, compared with $34 million in the prior year.
On average, 12 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.38 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Revenues for the quarter surged 45 percent to $192 million from $133 million a year ago. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $195.98 million for the quarter.
Asia/Pacific surpassed Europe as Air Lease's largest region, measured by percentage of net book value of its fleet. The company also sees some opportunity for growth in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
Meanwhile, results for the quarter were partly impacted by interest expenses that rose to $40 million from $22 million last year.
During the quarter, Air Lease acquired seven aircraft and expanded its fleet to 162 planes.
During the first quarter and through May 9, Air Lease entered into additional debt facilities aggregating $1.2 billion. The company ended the quarter with total unsecured debt outstanding of $3 billion.
Air Lease's stock closed Thursday at $30.58, up 3.94%, on a volume of 1.3 million shares on the NYSE. In after hours, the stock dropped $ 2.58 or 8.44%.
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