AerCap Holdings N.V. (NYSE: AER), the industry leader across all areas of aviation leasing, today reported strong financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2024.

"We are pleased to announce another strong quarter for AerCap, completing a year of record operating cash flow and earnings per share. These results reflect a continued positive operating environment across our businesses and high demand for leased aircraft, engines and helicopters. We also see this reflected in our asset sales, where we sold $869 million of assets in the fourth quarter at a record gain on sale of $260 million. Given AerCap's strong outlook for 2025 and beyond, we are announcing a new $1 billion share repurchase program as well as an increase in our quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share," said Aengus Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of AerCap.

Highlights:

• Return on equity of 16% and adjusted return on equity of 15% for the fourth quarter of 2024.
• Cash flow from operating activities of $1.3 billion for the fourth quarter of 2024 and $5.4 billion for the full year 2024.
• Unlevered gain on sale margin of 43% for assets sold in the fourth quarter of 2024, or 2.6x book value on an equity basis.
• Ordered over $2 billion of CFM LEAP engines in the fourth quarter of 2024, bringing total new engine orders by AerCap and SES to over $5 billion, at list prices, for the full year.
• Insurance and other recoveries of $195 million related to the Ukraine Conflict in 2024.
• Returned $1.6 billion to shareholders during 2024 through the repurchase of 16.8 million shares at an average price of $87.80 per share and the payment of dividends.
• New $1 billion share repurchase program announced today.
• Increasing quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.
• Book value per share of $94.57 as of December 31, 2024, an increase of approximately 13% from December 31, 2023.
• Adjusted debt/equity ratio of 2.35 to 1 as of December 31, 2024.

Basic lease rents were $1,619 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, compared with $1,576 million for the same period in 2023. Basic lease rents for the fourth quarter of 2024 were negatively impacted by $30 million of lease premium amortization.

Maintenance rents and other receipts were $106 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, compared with $142 million for the same period in 2023. Maintenance rents for the fourth quarter of 2024 were negatively impacted by $22 million as a result of maintenance rights assets that were amortized to revenue.

Net gain on sale of assets for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $260 million, relating to 40 assets sold for $869 million, compared with $94 million for the same period in 2023, relating to 35 assets sold for $625 million. The increase was primarily due to the volume and composition of asset sales in the current strong sales market.

Interest expense excluding mark-to-market of interest rate derivatives was $500 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, compared with $477 million for the same period in 2023. AerCap's average cost of debt was 4.1% for the fourth quarter of 2024 and 3.7% for the same period in 2023, in each case excluding debt issuance costs, upfront fees and other impacts.

Recoveries Related to Ukraine Conflict

During the fourth quarter of 2024, we recognized recoveries related to the Ukraine Conflict of $168 million, consisting of cash insurance settlement proceeds received pursuant to settlements with insurers under our C&P policy.

Other Expenses

Leasing expenses were $214 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, compared with $135 million for the same period in 2023. Leasing expenses for the fourth quarter of 2024 were negatively impacted by $60 million of maintenance rights amortization. Asset impairment charges were $17 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, compared with $50 million recorded for the same period in 2023. Asset impairment charges recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024 related to sales transactions and leasing transactions and were partially offset by related maintenance revenue.

Effective Tax Rate

AerCap's effective tax rate for the full year 2024 was 14.3%, compared with an effective tax rate of 8.9% for the full year 2023. The effective tax rate is impacted by the source and amount of earnings among our different tax jurisdictions as well as the amount of permanent tax differences relative to pre-tax income or loss, and certain other discrete items.

Flight Equipment

As of December 31, 2024, AerCap's portfolio consisted of 3,525 aircraft, engines and helicopters that were owned, managed or on order. The average age of the company's owned aircraft fleet as of December 31, 2024 was 7.4 years (4.8 years for new technology aircraft, 14.9 years for current technology aircraft) and the average remaining contracted lease term was 7.4 years.

Dividend

In February 2025, AerCap's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.27 per share, with a payment date of April 3, 2025, to shareholders of record of AerCap ordinary shares as of the close of business on March 12, 2025, an increase from the 2024 quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share.

Notes Regarding Financial Information Presented in This Press Release

The financial information presented in this press release is not audited.

Due to rounding, numbers presented throughout this document may not add up precisely to the totals provided and percentages may not precisely reflect the absolute figures.

The following are definitions of non-GAAP measures and metrics used in this press release. We believe these measures and metrics may further assist investors in their understanding of our performance. These measures and metrics should not be viewed in isolation and should only be used in conjunction with and as a supplement to our U.S. GAAP financial measures. Non-GAAP measures and metrics are not uniformly defined by all companies, including those in our industry, and so this additional information may not be comparable with similarly-titled measures and metrics and disclosures by other companies.

Adjusted net income / earnings per share, adjusted return on equity and adjusted earnings per share guidance

Adjusted net income is calculated as net income excluding the after-tax impact of the net recoveries related to the Ukraine Conflict and amortization of maintenance rights and lease premium assets recognized under purchase accounting. Adjusted earnings per share is calculated by dividing adjusted net income by the weighted average of our ordinary shares outstanding. Adjusted return on equity is calculated by dividing adjusted net income by average shareholders' equity. Given the relative significance of these items during 2024, we have chosen to present this measure in order to assist investors in their understanding of the changes and trends related to our earnings.

Adjusted debt/equity ratio

This measure is the ratio obtained by dividing adjusted debt by adjusted equity.

• Adjusted debt means consolidated total debt less cash and cash equivalents, and less a 50% equity credit with respect to certain long-term subordinated debt.
• Adjusted equity means total equity, plus the 50% equity credit relating to the long-term subordinated debt.

Adjusted debt and adjusted equity are adjusted by the 50% equity credit to reflect the equity nature of those financing arrangements and to provide information that is consistent with definitions under certain of our debt covenants. We believe this measure may further assist investors in their understanding of our capital structure and leverage.

Adjusted net interest margin, annualized net spread, annualized net spread less depreciation and amortization and average cost of debt

Adjusted net interest margin is calculated as the difference between basic lease rents, excluding the impact of the amortization of lease premium/deficiency recognized under purchase accounting, and interest expense, excluding the impact of the mark-to-market of interest rate derivatives. Annualized net spread is adjusted net interest margin expressed as a percentage of average lease assets. Annualized net spread less depreciation and amortization is adjusted net interest margin less depreciation and amortization, expressed as a percentage of average lease assets.

Average cost of debt is calculated as interest expense, excluding mark-to-market on interest rate derivatives, debt issuance costs, upfront fees and other impacts, divided by average debt balance.

Lease assets

Lease assets include flight equipment held for operating leases, flight equipment held for sale, net investment in finance leases and maintenance rights assets.

Aviation assets

Aviation assets include aircraft, engines and helicopters.

Conference Call

In connection with its report of fourth quarter 2024 results, management will host a conference call with members of the investment community today, Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at 8:30 am Eastern Time. The call can be accessed live via webcast by AerCap's website at www.aercap.com under "Investors", or by dialing (U.S./Canada) +1 646-828-8193 or (International) +353 1 246 5638 and referencing code 1025989 at least 5 minutes before start time.

The webcast replay will be archived in the "Investors" section of the company's website for one year.

For further information, contact Joseph McGinley: +353 1 418 0428 ([email protected]).