Aircraft leasing finance firm sees €627m profits

A SHANNON-based aircraft leasing finance company recorded pre-tax profits of $900.6 million (€627 million) last year.

This makes US-owned GE Capital Aviation Funding — with no employees — one of the most profitable public and private limited companies in the country.

The pre-tax profit of $900m to the end of December last is a 2.7% increase on the $876.5m pre-tax profit recorded in 2009.

The pre-tax profits recorded make GE Capital Aviation Funding more profitable in 2010 than well-known Irish plcs such as CRH, the Kerry Group, Ryanair and Aer Lingus.

In returns filed with the Companies Office, the directors of GE Capital Aviation Funding state that “both the level of business and year end financial position were satisfactory and the directors expect that the present level of activity will be sustained for the foreseeable future”.

The figures show that GE Capital Aviation Funding paid $262,000 in corporation tax on its $900m pre-tax profit.

The accounts show that the company would have been liable to pay $112.5m in tax at the 12.5% corporation rate.

However, the tax bill was reduced through $20.7m being categorised as ‘non-taxable items’ and group relief of $91.6m.

The principal activity of the company is the provision of financing and lending to other related group companies in the aviation industry.

The filings show that its GE aviation subsidiaries are located in France, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Bermuda, India, Russia, Mexico, Brazil and the US.

The figures show that the company’s revenues of $836.6m represents the provision of financing and lending services with all income derived from the company’s activities in Ireland.

The figures show that $802.3m was derived from interest receivable on intercompany balances and $34.2m on ‘other income’.

The returns show that the company’s $836.6m income was boosted by dividend income from two Shannon-based subsidiaries: GE Capital Aviation Services Ltd $55.8m and GECAS Technical Services of $10m. The company also received a dividend of $99.5m from GECC ECA Aircraft Ltd.

The directors state: “The company’s ability to succeed is dependent on the financial strength of these related group companies, which is in turn dependent on the ability of their customers to both compete effectively in the market place and manage the competitive environment in which they operate”.