Ian Hyland, Business & Finance (left) and Patrick Farrell, AIB Private Banking (centre) present the Business & Finance Outstanding Business Person of the Month Award April 2015 to Dómhnal Slattery (right), CEO, Avolon in Dublin.
Profits at Irish-based international aircraft leasing company Avolon, grew almost 36% to $49.4m during Q1 in 2015.
Since Dómhnal Slattery founded Avolon in 2010, he has continued to build a market-leading aircraft leasing platform, which is indicative of his proven track record in the aviation industry.
Headquartered in Ireland, with offices in the US, Dubai, Singapore and China, Avolon has an owned, managed and committed fleet of 251 aircraft serving 51 customers in 29 countries as of March 31st, 2015.
Profits were up $13m or 35.7% to $49.4 million from $36.4m last year. As well as growing profits in Q1 2015, lease revenues increased 36% to $160.8m during the same period – from $118.2m during the same period last year.
Avolon’s growth is largely down to it buying and leasing additional aircraft and a drop in the interest it is paying on its loans.
Dómhnal Slattery, chief executive, was delighted with the recent results: “Avolon delivered another strong performance in the first quarter of 2015 and again reported strong double-digit growth against all key financial and operating metrics.”
Avolon also recently announced the completion of a new $675m eight-year secured debt facility. The new facility will finance up to 21 aircraft at a margin of 1.65%.
The facility is financed by six banks based in Europe and Asia-Pacific, and proceeds are to be used to finance upcoming deliveries in addition to refinancing existing facilities. Additional financing is incremental to Avolon’s undrawn debt of $920m at March 31, 2015.
The eight-year facility, at a margin of 1.65%, reflects the financial strength of Avolon and strong demand for the transaction. Total value of the company’s 251 aircraft was $5.8bn at the end of March, a 33% increase on 2014.
CV highlights
- Slattery began his career in 1989 with Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA) and GECAS – one of the world’s first and largest commercial aircraft leasing companies.
- Established International Aviation Management Group (IAMG) in 1994.
- In 2001 the Royal Bank of Scotland Group acquired IAMG as the launch platform of RBS Aviation Capital.
- Slattery was CEO of RBS Aviation Capital from 2001 to 2004. Became managing director of the asset finance business for the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
- Continued as a non-executive director of RBS Aviation Capital until 2008.
- Slattery has a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from University College Galway and is a graduate of the Accelerated Development Programme from the London Business School.
- He was nominated as a global ambassador of ORBIS in 2004 and has worked with the organisation for the past 11 years to raise funds for its work in developing countries.
- He is also a board member of the University Foundation of the National University of Ireland, Galway.
