Dubai Aerospace reports 5% revenue drop in H1 2022, warns about airport constraints hurting recovery

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) reported a 5 per cent drop in revenue for the first half of 2022 and warned that supply-side constraints could affect aviation’s recovery.

The aircraft lessor reported a revenue of $582.8 million in the six months ending June 30, 2022, lower than the $613.4 million it reported a year earlier. Profit before exceptional items soared more than 185 per cent to $140.1 million.

“Our financial results are reflective of the strength of DAE’s franchise despite emerging macroeconomic headwinds,” said Firoz Tarapore, CEO of DAE, in a statement. “Air travel demand continues to be strong, and all leading indicators continue to point to a strong summer season for our airline customers.”

But, a severe staffing deficit across British and European airports will make prospects of a quick recovery difficult.

“Supply side constraints, particularly among airport ecosystems, as well as inflationary concerns have not dented demand. However, it is likely going to be a key constraint as airlines globally work towards returning to 2019 levels,” said Tarapore.

DAE Capital has committed about $750 million in the first half of the year to acquire assets for both its owned portfolio and managed portfolios. “We have maintained a robust pace of asset sales in the current market environment - we have further cemented our position as a leading global aircraft asset manager by securing a mandate to acquire up to $1.75 billion of additional aircraft assets,” said DAE.

“DAE Engineering recorded its highest half year revenues in history - we remain on course to capture summer southern hemisphere wide-body maintenance with new additions from South America joining our already exceptional customer base,” said the company.