FLY Leasing Reports First Quarter 2017 Financial Results

DUBLIN, May 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- FLY Leasing Limited (NYSE: FLY) ("FLY"), a global lessor of modern, fuel-efficient commercial jet aircraft, today announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2017.

Highlights

• Net income of $5.1 million, $0.16 per share
• Adjusted Net Income of $11.1 million, $0.34 per share
• Repurchased $8.5 million in shares as of May 10
• Committed to nearly $300 million in acquisitions
• Repriced, extended and upsized Term Loan to $450 million

"FLY is moving from a year of very active aircraft sales to focusing on deploying our significant cash reserves," said Colm Barrington, CEO of FLY. "Following quarter end, we have committed to nearly $300 million of aircraft purchases. FLY has financial resources to acquire up to $2.5 billion of additional aircraft and to continue to repurchase our shares. We expect these future aircraft acquisitions to have a material positive impact on our earnings."

"FLY has repurchased $8.5 million in shares at a significant discount to net book value through May 10," added Barrington. "We have approximately $58 million remaining in our current share repurchase authorization."

"We repriced, extended and upsized our Term Loan to $450 million in April, which will save approximately $2 million in annual interest expense," added Barrington. "This transaction demonstrates FLY's continuing access to robust capital markets, and enhances its already strong financial position."

Financial Results

FLY is reporting net income for the first quarter of 2017 of $5.1 million, or $0.16 per diluted share.  This compares to net income of $7.1 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, for the same period in 2016.

Adjusted Net Income

Adjusted Net Income was $11.1 million for the first quarter of 2017 compared to $16.2 million in the same period in the previous year.  On a per share basis, Adjusted Net Income was $0.34 in the first quarter of 2017 compared to $0.47 for the same period in the previous year.

A reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income to net income determined in accordance with GAAP is shown below.

Share Repurchases

During the first quarter of 2017, 99,524 shares were repurchased at an average cost of $12.95 per share.  At March 31, 2017, approximately $65.4 million remained available under the share repurchase program.  Subsequent to quarter end, another 560,858 shares were repurchased at an average cost of $12.83.  These share prices are well below FLY's book value per share of $18.62 at March 31, 2017. As of May 10, 2017, approximately $58 million remained available under the share repurchase program.

Financial Position

At March 31, 2017, FLY's total assets were $3.4 billion, including an investment in flight equipment totaling $2.8 billion. Total cash at March 31, 2017 was $606.1 million, of which $536.9 million was unrestricted. 

Aircraft Portfolio

At March 31, 2017, FLY's 76 aircraft, as shown in the table below, were on lease to 42 airlines in 28 countries.  The table does not show the two B767 aircraft owned by a joint venture in which FLY has a 57% ownership.

At March 31, 2017, the average age of the portfolio was 6.4 years weighted by the net book value of each aircraft. The average remaining lease term was 6.6 years, also weighted by net book value. At March 31, 2017, FLY's leases were generating annualized rental revenue of approximately $325 million.

Conference Call and Webcast

FLY's senior management will host a conference call and webcast to discuss these results at 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Thursday, May 11, 2017. Participants should dial +1-253-237-1145 (International) or 800-535-7056 (North America) and enter confirmation code 94532798 or ask an operator for the FLY Leasing earnings call. A live webcast of the conference call will be also available in the investor relations section of FLY's website at www.flyleasing.com. An archived webcast will be available on FLY's website for one year.

About FLY

FLY is a global aircraft leasing company with a fleet of modern, high-demand, and fuel efficient commercial jet aircraft.  FLY acquires and leases its aircraft under multi-year operating lease contracts to a diverse group of airlines throughout the world. FLY is managed and serviced by BBAM LP, a worldwide leader in aircraft lease management and financing. For more information about FLY, please visit our website at www.flyleasing.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain "forward - looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "will," or words of similar meaning and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the outlook for FLY's future business and financial performance. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions, which are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially due to global political, economic, business, competitive, market, regulatory and other factors and risks, including FLY's inability to achieve its portfolio growth expectations or its failure to achieve the benefits of such growth. Further information on the factors and risks that may affect FLY's business is included in filings FLY makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including its Annual Report on Form 20-F and its reports on Form 6-K.  FLY expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether because of future events, new information, a change in its views or expectations, or otherwise.

Contact:

Matt Dallas
FLY Leasing Limited
+1 203-769-5916
ir@flyleasing.com

FLY defines Adjusted Net Income as net income plus or minus (i) non-cash amortization of debt discounts, loan issuance costs, lease premiums and discounts, and other items; (ii) adjustments related to the GAAM portfolio acquisition comprised primarily of amortization of fair value adjustments recorded in purchase accounting; (iii) net losses from debt modification and extinguishment; (iv) transaction fees and expenses; (v) unrealized foreign exchange losses; (vi) deferred income taxes; and (vii) the ineffective portion and charges associated with cash flow hedges. The adjustments included within Adjusted Net Income are primarily non-cash items, one-time or non-recurring items that are not expected to continue in the future, and certain other items that we consider unrelated to the ongoing performance of our operations. Adjusted Return on Equity is calculated by dividing Adjusted Net Income by the average shareholders' equity for the periods presented. For periods of less than one year, the resulting return is annualized.

FLY uses Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Return on Equity, in addition to GAAP net income and earnings per share, to assess our core operating performance on a consistent basis from period to period. Management believes these measures are helpful in evaluating the operating performance of our ongoing operations and identifying trends in our performance, because they remove the effects of certain non-cash, one-time or non-recurring items that are not expected to continue in the future, and certain other items that are not indicative of our overall operating trends. In addition, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Return on Equity help us compare our performance to our competitors. These measures should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for net income or other financial measures determined in accordance with Accounting Principles Generally Accepted in the United States. FLY's definitions may be different than those used by other companies.

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SOURCE FLY Leasing Limited