DAE revenue climbs 13% to $1.45b after MAF acquisition

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) on November 10 reported its nine-month revenue of $1.45 billion or Dh5.31 billion, up 13 per cent. The aircraft lessor also completed its $9 billion acquisition of Macquarie AirFinance (MAF) this quarter. The company also expects its fleet to reach about 1,300 aircraft once its mandates complete.

Revenue for the nine months to September 30 reached $1,446.9 million, against $1,277.7 million a year earlier. Profit before tax and exceptional items rose 9 per cent to $370.7 million , versus $340.8 million. Operating cash flow slipped to $1,088.1 million from $1,127.4 million. The adjusted pre-tax margin fell to 25.6 per cent from 26.7 per cent. Adjusted pre-tax return on equity dropped to 11.8 per cent from 13.6 per cent.

However, the balance sheet expanded considerably. Total assets climbed to $26.83 billion from $16.55 billion, that’s an increase of Dh60.8 billion as of December 31, 2025. Net loans and borrowings rose to $16.75 billion from $10.23 billion, and net debt to equity edged up to 2.60x from 2.58x. Available liquidity grew to $5.60 billion from $3.40 billion. The liquidity coverage ratio reached 440 per cent, up from 277 per cent.

Firoz Tarapore, Chief Executive Officer, says the MAF deal doubled the combined owned, managed and committed fleet to about 1,000 aircraft within 24 months. “Our Owned Fleet count of 716 aircraft makes us the second largest aircraft lessor globally,” he said.

Tarapore said that the acquisition and the Blackstone and Neuberger mandates will widen DAE’s offering to airlines. “Successfully executing our mandates puts us on a trajectory to reach a combined fleet count of approximately 1,300 aircraft”, he added. The deals will help extend DAE’s reach with suppliers and trading counterparties. He confirms that liquidity and capital adequacy remain robust after closing. Integration is functionally complete and should finish by the end of November.

DAE completed the MAF acquisition at the end of July. It acquired 290 aircraft this year, including the MAF portfolio, made up of 272 owned and 18 managed. It sold 58, of which 48 were owned and 10 managed. The company signed 195 lease agreements, extensions and amendments. It also announced a purchase leaseback of four Boeing 777F freighters with Saudia.

Meanwhile, DAE Engineering booked about 900,000 man hours and performed more than 170 checks. Its revenue still trails target because of persistent airspace closures, many of which remain in place.

Tarapore says he is positive about the future business outlook especially in the winter months from the northern hemisphere and is also looking forward to the robust pipeline of inductions.