Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Business-Jet Financing Demand To Improve In 2011

The head of General Electric Co.'s (GE) business-jet lending and leasing unit is forecasting solid demand in 2011, based on continued improvement in the economy and corporate profits.
"I'm very much encouraged for a much better 2011," said Dave Labrozzi, president of Corporate Aircraft Finance at GE Capital, the conglomerate's big finance arm.
The overall market for business jets has been difficult for the past few years due to the poor economy, which prompted companies to cut costs and sell assets. The aircraft also became a symbol of corporate excess in some cases.
But Labrozzi, speaking in an interview Tuesday, said those issues shouldn't restrain demand next year.
"This market is completely driven by corporate profits and the economy," both of which are on the upswing, he said.
GE doesn't release financial results for its business-jet lending and leasing arm, one of the biggest players in the global sector. Labrozzi declined to say if the unit has been profitable in 2010, although he stressed it performed better than in 2009 and "has been a good business for [GE] for a long time."
He said he thinks negative publicity that became associated with business jets during the era of taxpayer-funded bailouts "has largely abated," meaning the stigma about their use probably won't factor into many future corporate decisions.

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