Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, one of the world's biggest plane lessors, said profit for the first half of 2023 increased marginally amid robust demand from airlines for aircraft to meet the boom in air travel.
Profit before exceptional items in the six months to the end of June inched up to $141.1 million, compared to $140.1 million during the same period of 2022, the company said on Wednesday.
The exceptional items in 2022 related to an asset write-off of $576.5 million for aircraft operating in the fleet of Russian airlines, over which the plane lessor has no control.
First-half revenue rose 15 per cent year-on-year to $670.1 million because airlines are paying off Covid-era rent deferral agreements earlier than scheduled, DAE said.
“Our first half 2023 results continue to demonstrate the strong demand we are seeing in the market for aircraft from our airline customers. Covid-era deferral programmes are being repaid ahead of schedule and secondary market aircraft valuations remain robust,” said DAE chief executive Firoz Tarapore.
“Our profitability metrics continue to trend towards pre-pandemic levels.”
The growth comes as the industry sees no signs of air travel demand abating on one hand and as plane makers struggle to deal with aircraft delivery delays and ease capacity constraints on the other.
Global air traffic recovered in May to 96.1 per cent of its pre-pandemic levels in the same month of 2019, with Middle East airlines leading the rebound, the International Air Transport Association said in its latest report.
Middle East airlines in May fully recovered their international passenger traffic levels, which reached 17.2 per cent above 2019's performance, the industry body said in July.
In the second quarter, DAE repurchased a further $102 million of principal amount of its bonds, bringing the total to $307 million in the first six months of 2023. It had $368 million of remaining bond repurchase authorisation at the end of the quarter.
“Our liquidity coverage ratio remains exceptionally strong at 281 per cent, and our available liquidity is $2.3 billion,” Mr Tarapore said.
“The resilience of our business model continues to be demonstrated by the strength of our credit quality and funding metrics in the quarter.”
Fitch Ratings revised DAE's outlook to positive from stable during the quarter.
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
JERSEY INFO
Red Jersey
General Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the leader of the General Classification by time.
Green Jersey
Points Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the fastest sprinter, who has obtained the best positions in each stage and intermediate sprints.
White Jersey
Young Rider Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the best young rider born after January 1, 1995 in the overall classification by time (U25).
Black Jersey
Intermediate Sprint Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the rider who has gained the most Intermediate Sprint Points.
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESupy%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDani%20El-Zein%2C%20Yazeed%20bin%20Busayyis%2C%20Ibrahim%20Bou%20Ncoula%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFood%20and%20beverage%2C%20tech%2C%20hospitality%20software%2C%20Saas%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%20for%20six%20months%3B%20pre-seed%20round%20of%20%241.5%20million%3B%20seed%20round%20of%20%248%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBeco%20Capital%2C%20Cotu%20Ventures%2C%20Valia%20Ventures%20and%20Global%20Ventures%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Zayed Sustainability Prize
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
