BOC Aviation net profit drops 26% to US$342 million; interim dividend at US$0.1476 per share

[SINGAPORE] Asian aircraft leasing giant BOC Aviation posted a 26 per cent drop in net profit for the first half of 2025, though the number was positive when excluding last year’s write-backs of its aircraft in Russia.

Net profit dropped to US$342 million from US$460 million in the year-ago period, though the latter included US$175 million in write-downs related to its aircraft in Russia, it said on Thursday (Aug 21).

Earnings per share were at US$0.49, compared with US$0.66 in the previous corresponding period. The interim dividend, at 30 per cent of net profit, dropped to US$0.1476 per share from US$0.1988 per share in the first half of 2024.

Headquartered in Singapore, BOC Aviation is the largest aircraft leasing company in Asia by the value of owned aircraft. It was founded as Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise in 1993 by Singapore Airlines and Boullioun Aviation Services. It was sold to the Bank of China in 2006 and has been listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 2016.

It serves 92 airlines in 45 countries and territories in the owned and managed aircraft portfolios.

BOC Aviation’s first-half operating cash flow net of interest of US$1 billion was a record high, driven by rising demand in all its key businesses.

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Revenue grew 6 per cent to US$1.24 billion from US$1.17 billion. Engine-related issues and associated aircraft shortages continued to support high lease rates and valuations for all aircraft, said the company.

As a result, it recorded no aircraft impairments for the first time since 2019. The unencumbered value of its operating leased fleet also continued to rise relative to its book value, exceeding it by 15 per cent or US$2.8 billion.

Total assets of the company grew 2 per cent to US$25.6 billion as at Jun 30, with net assets of US$6.5 billion.

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BOC Aviation placed the largest order for new aircraft in its history, ordering 70 new Airbus A320neo family jets and 50 Boeing 737-8 aircraft, taking its order book to a total of 351 aircraft. It thus has a total fleet of 834 aircraft and engines owned, managed and on order.

It sold 18 owned aircraft and one engine in the first half of 2025, while receiving 24 new aircraft and one engine.

For the 441 aircraft owned by BOC Aviation, the average remaining lease term was 7.9 years. The term is weighted by net book value and includes finance lease receivables.

It had “strong” liquidity as at Jun 30, with US$533 million in cash and cash equivalents, in addition to US$5.5 billion in undrawn committed credit facilities. Its net debt to equity multiple was 2.5.

“Our 351 aircraft order book is one of the largest of any aircraft lessor and will provide the core of our future growth,” said chief executive officer and managing director Steven Townend. “We are well-placed to achieve our target asset base of US$40 billion by 2030.”