Toni Perazzo
Chief Financial Officer
(650) 340-1888
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AEROCENTURY CORP. ANNOUNCES PURCHASE OF FOUR AIRCRAFT
(BURLINGAME, CA), April 14, 2004 -- AeroCentury Corp., (ASE:ACY), an independent aircraft leasing company, today announced the purchase of four Fokker 50 aircraft.
Prior to this purchase, two of the Fokker 50 aircraft owned by the Company had been on lease to Skyways Express AB. Those two aircraft, combined with the four recently purchased aircraft, are now subject to new leases with Skyways Express AB for an average term of twenty-four months.
"This represents the next step in our growth plan," said Neal Crispin, President of AeroCentury. "The resilient European regional aviation market continues to offer growth opportunities. We continue to balance the Company's portfolio to achieve our diversification goals with over forty percent of our portfolio on lease with regional carriers in Europe. Because of their flexible nature, regional carriers remain well positioned to benefit from continued post-9/11 right-sizing by major carriers."
Skyways Express AB, part of the Skyways Group, is one of Sweden's fastest growing companies and its largest regional carrier. Skyways Express carries approximately 1.5 million passengers per year operating 32 aircraft on 30 routes, 10 of which are international. The Skyways Group, comprising Skyways Express & Skyways Aviation (its UK based aviation leasing and consultancy arm), is controlled by the Salen family with Scandinavian Airlines System ("SAS") holding a minority interest. Skyways Express also operates as SAS' exclusive code share partner in Sweden.
AeroCentury is an aircraft operating lessor and finance company specializing in leasing regional aircraft and engines utilizing triple net leases. The Company's aircraft and engines are on lease to regional airlines and commercial users worldwide.
This release includes forward-looking statements regarding the Company such as the European regional market continuing to offer growth opportunities, the Company continuing to balance its portfolio and achieving diversification goals and regional carriers remaining well positioned to benefit from post-9/11 right-sizing. These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to, the effect of worsening economic conditions or other events or circumstances, including terrorist attacks or other geopolitical events, the success of the Company's remarketing efforts, and the availability of acquisition financing on reasonable terms. The forward-looking statements and reasons why results may differ reflect the management's point of view only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. Readers should also carefully review the risk factors described in documents the Company files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission including the Company's Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 2003.