The value of AerCap chief executive Gus Kelly’s stake in the aircraft lessor has soared since the pandemic and now stands at $360m (€339m).
he lessor’s newly-published annual report shows that Mr Kelly controls 2.2pc of the Dublin-headquartered company via direct holdings and restricted stock.
AerCap is the world’s largest aircraft lessor by a significant margin and its shares are listed in New York. At the end of December, it had 3,532 aircraft, engines and helicopters that were owned, on order or managed by it.
Shares in AerCap – like those of other aviation-related companies including airlines – plunged at the outset of the pandemic in 2020 and were battered again at the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
Mr Kelly is currently assumed to control 2.2pc of the lessor, based on close to 5.5 million unrestricted and restricted shares in AerCap. Those restricted shares are comprised of share awards that have not yet vested.
At the end of 2019, he controlled 2.1pc of the lessor via 3.27 million unrestricted and restricted shares.
In March 2020, the value of those shares sank to about $60m
As governments initiated lockdowns and grounded air travel in March 2020, the value of those shares sank to about $60m.
But shares in the company have nearly quadrupled since then, and even recovered ground lost following the invasion of Ukraine.
With the stock now changing hands at almost $70, the resurgence has seen the value of Mr Kelly’s stake in the business soar to $360m.
Mr Kelly graduated from UCD in the 1990s with a degree in commerce, where he also secured a masters in accountancy. He worked for accountancy firm KPMG after leaving college. He was despatched to lessor Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA) to work on its audit. He did eight-hour shifts photocopying aircraft leases. In 1998, GPA poached him from KPMG.
He did eight-hour shifts photocopying aircraft leases
He was chief executive of AerCap’s US arm from 2008 to 2011, when he was appointed group CEO.
Earlier this week, AerCap posted a strong set of results for 2022 that beat its own forecasts.
Its adjusted net income for the year, excluding losses in respect of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, was $2.2bn. It also recorded a record fourth quarter.
AerCap booked just under $3bn in net charges related to the conflict in 2022. AerCap has made insurance claims in respect of what it said was the total loss of 116 aircraft and 23 engines that have not been retuned by lessee customers in Russia.
After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, the European Union imposed a raft of sanctions on Russia. They included prohibiting lessors from leasing aircraft and parts to Russian airlines. But Russia subsequently seized aircraft in the country owned by western lessors.
AerCap’s 2021 acquisition of rival Gecas made it by far the biggest aircraft lessor in the world.
Mr Kelly said this week that air travel demand continues to recover as more countries reopen their borders.