DUBAI, United Arab Emirates / AsiaWire.IO / – Dubai Aerospace Enterprise has grown its owned, managed and committed fleet to 983 aircraft, as total revenue rose 13.2% in the first nine months of 2026. Revenue climbed to $1.4469 billion from $1.2777 billion a year earlier. Pre-tax profit excluding exceptional items increased to $370.7 million from $340.8 million. The growth followed the completion of the company’s $9 billion purchase of Macquarie AirFinance at the end of July.
The adjusted pre-tax profit margin was 25.6%, and pre-tax return on equity reached 11.8%. Operating cash flow came in at $1.0881 billion, compared with $1.1274 billion in the same period last year. Reported profit fell to $323.2 million from $566.7 million. The company attributed the drop mainly to higher insurance recoveries recognised in the 2025 period. Revenue growth reflected the larger fleet that followed the acquisition, which DAE first announced in February.
DAE’s total assets jumped to $26.8343 billion at the end of September, up from $16.5477 billion at the end of 2025. Net debt and borrowings stood at $16.7513 billion. Available liquidity reached $5.5985 billion. Chief Executive Firoz Tarapore said the company’s liquidity and capital adequacy metrics remained strong following the acquisition. He said this reflected DAE’s commitment to ensuring major deals are properly capitalised and funded at closing.
Second-largest lessor by owned fleet
The Macquarie AirFinance acquisition brought 290 aircraft, including 272 owned and 18 managed jets. Tarapore said the combined fleet is now around 1,000 aircraft, twice the size it was 24 months ago. With 716 owned aircraft, DAE is now the world’s second-largest aircraft lessor, he said. The functional integration of the acquired business is complete. Full integration is expected by the end of November 2026.
The company sold 58 aircraft and signed 195 lease agreements, extensions and amendments during the nine months. It also announced a purchase and leaseback transaction with Saudia for four Boeing 777F freighters. In such deals, a lessor buys aircraft from an airline and leases them back to the same carrier. Tarapore said mandates from Blackstone and Neuberger, together with the acquisition, strengthen DAE’s ability to serve airline customers. They also deepen its engagement with suppliers and trading counterparties.
Path to a 1,300-aircraft fleet
Tarapore said successful execution of the mandates puts DAE on track for a combined fleet of around 1,300 aircraft. The company expects to reach that level over the next three to five years, including owned, managed, committed and mandated aircraft. The Dubai-based lessor is owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai. It operates aircraft leasing through DAE Capital and maintenance through DAE Engineering.
DAE Engineering booked around 900,000 man-hours and completed more than 170 checks during the period. Tarapore said engineering revenue fell short of target due to persistent airspace closures. He added that the business has a strong pipeline of work for the northern hemisphere winter season. Airlines typically schedule heavy maintenance checks during quieter travel periods. The unit is part of the UAE’s expanding aircraft maintenance and repair hub.