Aircraft lessor S
MBC Aviation Capital has booked a further $654 million in proceeds from insura
nce settlements over the past year related to jets stranded in Russia follo
wing Western sanction
s, the Irish-headquartered company said on Thursday.
That brought SMB
’s total recoveries fro
m claims following the
sanctions over Moscow’s war in Ukraine to $1.41 billion. It was one of six
lessors that ended an Irish lawsuit against their insurers last month f
ollowing a series of settlements.
SMBC recorded an
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mpairment of $1.6 billion in 2022 to cover the full financial impact of ha
ving 34 jets stuck in R
ussia after the sanctions forced the termination of all Russian leases.
The world’s third-large
st aircraft lessor gave the update in its full year results to the end of March, wh
ich showed pretax profits rose 22% year-on-year to a company record $56
3 million, excluding the benefit of the insurance settlements.
SMBC, owned by a consortium including Japan’s Sumitomo Corp. an
d Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, said its core lease rental revenue grew by
3% to $2 billion and its
asset sales hit $1.9 billion following the sale of 48 older aircraft.
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; editing by Jamie Freed)