Quarterlytics / Industrials / Rental & Leasing Services / AeroCentury Corp.

AeroCentury Corp.

acy · NYSE Industrials
Claim this profile
Ticker acy
Exchange NYSE
Sector Industrials
Industry Rental & Leasing Services
Employees 11-50
← All annual reports
FY2017 Annual Report · AeroCentury Corp.
Sign in to download
Loading PDF…
Annual
Report
2017

WORLDWIDE REGIONAL AIRCRAFT LEASING

Annual
Report
2017

This  Annual  Report  contains  forward-looking  statements 
within  the  “safe  harbor”  provisions  of  the  Private 
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements 
in  this  Annual  Report  other  than  purely  historical 
statements  are  forward-looking  statements.  Forward- 
looking  statements  in  this  Annual  Report  include, 
without limitation, statements regarding the Company’s 
plans  or  intention:  to  continue  a  strategy  of  portfolio 
modernization  in  order  to  achieve  a  well-balanced 
portfolio; to become an important player in its market 
niche;  to  reduce  the  average  age  of  its  portfolio;  to 
acquire  10-  to  12-year  old  aircraft  and  manage  them 
for  3-10  years;  to  grow  its  presence  in  the  regional 
airline market with the main focus on mid-life aircraft; 
to  balance  its  portfolio  between  turboprop  and  jets 
and transition from older to newer generation aircraft; 
to  maintain  a  diverse  customer  base;  resulting  in  a 
higher  average  aircraft  value;  to  be  an  opportunistic 
player  in  the  leasing  market;  to  maintain  a  diverse 
customer base and be a reliable long-term partner for 
regional  airlines;  to  create  value  for  its  shareholders; 
to expand its portfolio to achieve earnings growth while 
maintaining  a  manageable  level  of  investment  risk;  and 
to  have  a  diversified  and  balanced  portfolio  of  new 
and  older  aircraft  on  lease  to  established  carriers.  The 
Company’s  beliefs,  expectations,  forecasts,  objectives 
and strategies for the future are not guarantees of future 

performance  and  are  subject  to  risks  and  uncertainties 
that  could  cause  actual  results  to  differ  materially 
from  the  results  contemplated  by  the  forward-looking 
statements, including but not limited to the lack of any 
unexpected lessee defaults or insolvency; the continued 
availability  of  financing  for  acquisitions;  the  Company’s 
success  in  finding  appropriate  assets  to  acquire  with 
such financing; a deterioration of the market or appraised 
values  of  aircraft  assets  owned  by  the  Company; 
compliance  by  the  Company’s  lessees  with  obligations 
under  their  respective  leases;  and  future  trends  and 
results  that  cannot  be  predicted  with  certainty.  The 
forward-looking  statements 
in  this  Annual  Report 
and  the  Company’s  future  results  of  operations  are 
subject  to  additional  risks  and  uncertainties  set  forth 
under the heading “Factors that May Affect Future Results” 
in documents filed by the Company with the Securities and 
Exchange Commission, including the Company’s quarterly 
reports  on  Form  10-Q  and  the  Company’s  latest  annual 
report  on  Form  10-K,  and  are  based  on  information 
available to the Company on the date hereof. The Company 
does  not  intend,  and  assumes  no  obligation,  to  update 
any forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report. 
Readers  are  cautioned  not  to  place  undue  reliance  on 
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date 
of this Annual Report.

1

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Reportz
t
r
a
w
h
c
S
n
e
L
©

ACY-owned E175LR on lease to Republic Airline flying for American Eagle on approach to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

“During 2017, we modernized our portfolio significantly 
by selling off engines and older turboprops and jets 
while investing in newer Embraer jet aircraft. This was 

on the heels of our 2016 acquisitions of Bombardier 

CRJ900 and CRJ1000 jet aircraft. In 2018, we will 

continue this strategy in order to maintain a well-
balanced portfolio.”

Michael Magnusson
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

2

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report 
 
Message

from Michael Magnusson, Chief Executive Officer

Dear Shareholder:

In this annual report, you will notice not only a new look from previous years’ reports, but also expand-
ed information on the company, its philosophy and business approach. I hope you enjoy this additional 
content.

In 2017, we added another year to AeroCentury’s long and successful history in aircraft leasing. We con-
tinued our market focus on regional passenger aircraft — generally described as jet or turboprop aircraft 
with less than 100 passenger seats — and we intend to continue being an important player in this industry 
niche. 

During 2017, we modernized our portfolio significantly by selling off engines and older turboprops and 
jets while investing in newer Embraer jet aircraft. This was on the heels of our 2016 acquisitions of Bom-
bardier CRJ900 and CRJ1000 jet aircraft. In 2018, we will continue this strategy in order to maintain a 
well-balanced portfolio.

We are moving up the value chain within our market niche. In 2010, our average aircraft value was ap-
proximately $3 million, but by the end of 2017 the average value had doubled to almost $7 million. This 
is a direct result of our conscious decision to focus on aircraft with 50-90 seats, and transition out of 
smaller aircraft in the 30-50 seat range. 

We also want to reduce the average age of our fleet portfolio. Our sweet spot for new acquisitions will 
be 10- to 12-year-old aircraft, which we plan to hold and manage for 3 to 10 years, assuming market 
conditions worldwide unfold as we have projected. 

These moves are in response to our understanding of the industry gleaned from interacting on many 
levels with our customer base — regional airlines worldwide. We always seek to learn what our custom-
ers are looking for, to be opportunistic in offering what they desire, and to create advantageous leasing 
and finance structures to help our customers achieve their business goals.

AeroCentury is fortunate to have excellent management and staff, with deep and relevant experience 
in the industry, who are ready to nurture and grow AeroCentury in 2018 and beyond. We trust you, the 
shareholder, will continue to support us and share in our excitement for the company’s future.

Michael Magnusson

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

3

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Reportn
e
s
r
a
L
n
a
i
r
d
A
©

ACY-owned Wideroe Q300 on approach to Kristiansand, Norway

“AeroCentury has bought approximately 80 and 
sold 50 regional aircraft since its founding. We have 

worked with almost 40 regional carriers spread over 
6 continents.”

Toni M. Perazzo
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

4

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report 
 
Message

from Toni M. Perazzo, Chief Financial Officer

Dear Shareholder,

When Neal Crispin and I launched AeroCentury in 1997, we believed that a focus on regional aircraft, 
which larger leasing companies were mostly ignoring, would create a great business opportunity for the 
new company. Starting on a small scale with 19- to 50-seat turboprops such as de Havilland Twin Otters 
and Dash-7s, Fairchild Metros, Shorts 360s and Saab 340As, AeroCentury proved the opportunity for 
success in this niche was real. We were then able to expand into Fokker F50, Bombardier Dash-8 and 
Saab 340B aircraft, and to enter the jet market with the acquisition of Fokker F100s.

AeroCentury  has  bought  approximately  80  and  sold  50  regional  aircraft  since  its  founding. We  have 
worked with almost 40 regional carriers spread over 6 continents. Today, modern regional jets — Bom-
bardier CRJ700/900/1000s and Embraer E175s and E145s — make up the core of AeroCentury’s aircraft 
portfolio. But turboprops, such as the Bombardier Q400, still make up a significant part of our portfolio, 
giving it balance and diversity in asset type.

As  a  result  of  this  long  history,  AeroCentury’s  wealth  of  experience  and  deep  relationships  with  cus-
tomers, vendors, financial institutions and other players in the aviation industry has become its greatest 
asset. In looking back over the last 20 years, I am proud of what AeroCentury’s experienced and dedi-
cated team has achieved. As many of you know, Neal passed away in January 2016. I think he would be 
pleased with the current success of the vision we had when founding AeroCentury, and proud of how 
the company that he guided for so many years has continued to grow and evolve.

AeroCentury enters 2018 as an established and well-respected industry player in the regional aircraft 
market, and I am excited to see what the future holds.

Thank you for your continued support.

Toni M. Perazzo

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER 

5

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportCorporate Profile

AeroCentury  Corp.  is  an  aircraft  operat-
ing  lessor  and  finance  company  special-
izing in leasing regional turboprop and jet 
aircraft  to  regional  airlines.  The  compa-
ny’s assets consist of a variety of aircraft 
on lease to regional operators and other 
commercial  users  in  North  America,  Eu-
rope, Africa, and Asia.

The company utilizes triple net leases of 
3  to  10  years  in  duration.  AeroCentury 
was formed in 1997 by the consolidation 
of predecessor companies and was listed 
on the American (now New York) Stock 
Exchange in January 1998 (NYSE Amer-
ican: ACY).

Our Management Experience
AeroCentury  is  proud  of  its  20  years  of 
aircraft experience with approximately 80 
aircraft purchased and 50 sold.

Vision Going Forward
AeroCentury  will  continue  to  grow  its 
presence  in  the  regional  airline  market 
with its main focus on mid-life turboprops 
and  regional  jets.  Our  goal  is  to  have  a 
balance between turboprops and region-
al jets while transitioning from older gen-
eration to newer generation aircraft. This 
will result in a portfolio of aircraft with a 
higher average value.

AeroCentury remains committed to being 
a small opportunistic player in the aircraft 
leasing  market.  The  company  aims  to 
maintain a diverse customer base and be 
a  reliable  long-term  partner  for  regional 
airlines.

This vision should result in creating value 
for our shareholders and a continued role 
as a trusted supplier to our customers.

s
e
g
a
m

I

m
a
e
T
r
i
A

|

z
t
i

i

w
o
b
e
L
e
c
u
r
B
©

ACY-owned CRJ900 on lease to Jazz flying for Air Canada Express departing from Houston, Texas  

6

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report 
 
 
 
 
 
Our Team

Michael G. Magnusson
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Toni M. Perazzo
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER 
& SECRETARY

Christopher Tigno
GENERAL COUNSEL

Frank Pegueros
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT 
OPERATIONS

Glenn Roberts
VICE PRESIDENT
CONTROLLER

Brian Ginna
VICE PRESIDENT
CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT

Christopher Hughes
MANAGER OF TAXATION 
& ACCOUNTING

Harold Lyons
VICE PRESIDENT
FINANCE

Hans Middelkoop
VICE PRESIDENT
TECHNICAL SERVICES

Tom Stevens
VICE PRESIDENT
TECHNICAL SERVICES

Tom Cunningham
VICE PRESIDENT
TECHNICAL SERVICES

Zoya Chittum
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

Janet Ratto
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

Our Board

Evan M. Wallach
CHAIRMAN

Roy Hahn

David Wilson

Karen Rogge

7

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportGrowing Portfolio

Year

Revenue

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

$30.7m $24.6m $29.4m $38.2m $28.7m $38.5m $28.7m $35.6m

Net Income

$1.6m ($1.5)m

$5.2m

$8.3m ($11.3)m

$6.4m

$1.2m

$7.4m

Portfolio

Per Asset

$127m

$124m

$144m

$152m

$187m

$155m

$193m

$195m

$2.7m

$2.8m

$3.1m

$3.5m

$4.8m

$4.8m

$6.8m

$6.8m

Credit Facility

$90m

$130m

$150m

$170m

Invested

$9m

$8m

$31m

$25m

$76m

0

$54m

$40m

Q400

340B+

Q400
S340B+

CRJ705
S340B+

CRJ700
CRJ900
ATR42

CRJ900
CRJ1000

E145
E175

Average Utilization

78%

86%

76%

82%

92%

93%

93%

l
l

u
h
S

l
l
i

B
©

ACY-owned CRJ700ER leased to American Airlines flying for Amerlcan Eagle on approach to 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pioneer in Leasing Regional Aircraft

Founded  in  1997  by  the  late  Neal  Crispin,  AeroCentury  has  firmly 
followed its mission as trailblazer in leasing regional aircraft around 
the world. The company’s stock was listed on what is now the NYSE 
American Stock Exchange in January 1998, and is the only publicly 
traded company focusing exclusively on regional aircraft leasing.

Today,  AeroCentury’s  portfolio  has  been  modernized  to  include 
Bombardier  CRJ700/900/1000  regional  jets,  as  well  as  Embraer 
E175s, and Bombardier Q400 high-speed turboprops.

8

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report 
 
Portfolio Evolution

Year:

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

TURBOPROPS

DHC-6

S340A

S340B

S340Bplus

DHC8-100

DHC8-300

Q400

F50

ATR42-600

JETS

F100

CRJ705 (900)

CRJ701ER

CRJ900

CRJ1000

E145

E175LR

ENGINES

Total Aircraft

% JET value

3

4

4

2

8

1

1

3

4

2

2

8

1

1

2

4

4

1

9

3

2

3

6

9

3

14

14

13

10

7

7

7

7

1

3

43

30%

3

42

28%

4

44

22%

6

41

31%

1

6

8

3

7

1

7

1

3

2

5

1

5

6

3

6

1

6

1

3

2

5

1

5

6

3

3

2

1

3

4

2

4

1

4

6

2

3

1

3

4

2

3

3

1

39

45%

34

46%

30

66%

32

76%

ACY-owned CRJ1000 on lease to Air Nostrum flying for Iberia Regional on approach to 
Toulouse, France

8
0
2
m
d
©

9

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report 
AeroCentury Geographical Spread
(32 aircraft and 9 customers as of 12/31/17)

i

z
t
e
T
n
i
t
r
a
M
©

ACY-owned CRJ900LR climbing away from Munich, Germany

10

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report 
 
AeroCentury Geographical Spread

AeroCentury Past Customers

ACY-owned Q400 operated by LAM in Mozambique, Africa

11

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportGlobal Commercial 
Aircraft Fleet

GLOBAL COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT FLEET — 28,000
!"# $%&

Other
1%

Turboprops
14%

Widebodies
19%

Regional Jets
12%

Narrowbodies
54%

FLEET FOCUS
(30-90 seat)

Number of aircraft

Global Aircraft  
Key Facts & Figures

•  ~15,000 narrowbodies of 
which about 7,500 leased

•  ~5,000 widebodies of which 

about 1,800 leased

•  ~3,500 regional jets of which 

about 1,200 leased

•  ~4,000 turboprops of which 

about 1,100 leased

•  ~300 “other” specialized 

aircraft

6,000

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

1,000

0
1991

90 seats-

70 seats

50 seats

-
30 seats

ACY Fleet 
as of 12/31/17
(excluding 2 CRJ1000s)

CRJ900
E190

CRJ700
ATR72
Q400
E170/175

ATR42
E145
Focus

5

8

12

5

1996

2001

2006

2011

2012

2013

2014

2016

2017

Source: Flight Database

Business Strategy

AeroCentury is an established lessor of 30- to 90-seat regional air-
craft. Its business model is to carefully expand its portfolio of leased 
aircraft to achieve earnings growth while maintaining a manageable 
level  of  investment  risk.  The  goal  is  to  have  a  diversified  and  bal-
anced portfolio of new and older aircraft on lease to established air 
carriers worldwide. 

While  historically  the  airline  industry  is  cyclical,  the  regional  airline 
market  traditionally  has  fared  better  during  economic  downturns 
compared to the larger carriers because regional airlines tend to be 
resilient, opportunistic, and flexible in handling their cost structures.

12

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportAEROCENTURY INVESTMENT HISTORY
Over $240m Invested

ACY Key Facts and Figures 
(12/31/17)

•   $219 million total aircraft 

assets

•   32 aircraft, 1 engine

•  $47 million equity, or $33 

per share

•  9 customers in 8 countries

M$
80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

-10

-20

Revenue
Net Income/Loss
Investments

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

AEROCENTURY PROFITABLE HISTORY

M$
50

40

30

20

10

0

-10

-20

Revenue

Net Income/Loss

Lost new
ATR42
income

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

September 11

Financial crisis Mexican

deregulation

!"#$%&#'()

Different Leasing Models

AeroCentury  carefully  monitors  market  trends  in 
the aircraft leasing markets, identifying three main 
market segments and business models.

airlines. The key factor for lessor success is to buy 
right  and  sell  at  the  right  time.  This  segment  is 
AeroCentury’s main focus.

The  new  aircraft  market  requires  lessors  to  have 
significant  capital  and  only  is  viable  for  lessors 
buying in large volume. The customers are top tier 
airlines in a highly competitive segment.

Players in the older aircraft market segment focus 
on  short-term  leases  and  parting  out  only.  As  a 
result,  this  segment  requires  lessors  to  have  ex-
tensive resources to store and sell parts.

In comparison, the mid-life aircraft segment is less 
competitive,  with  a  focus  on  mid-  and  lower  tier

13

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report 
Summary of 2017

A recap of 2017 versus 2016 shows that AeroCentury’s total revenue 
is  up  24%  ($35.6  million  versus  $28.7  million).  Expenses  increased 
20% to $32.1 million; however, maintenance costs were reduced and 
no bad debt was recorded in 2017, compared to 2016.

Net income in 2017 was $7.4 million which included a $5.4 million tax 
benefit from the revaluation of the company’s deferred tax liability 
caused  by  the  passage  of  the  Tax  Cuts  and  Jobs  Act  of  2017.  The 
portfolio’s net book value increased to $219 million. The utilization of 
the portfolio remained at 93%.

AeroCentury  invested  $40  million  in  newer  Embraer  regional  jets, 
including 3 E145s and 3 E175s, compared with $54 million in 2016.

During  2017,  AeroCentury  recorded  $13.7  million  in  sales  owing  to 
the sale of 1 Saab 340Bplus, 2 CF34-8E engines, 2 CT7-9 engines, 2 
F100s and a Q400 gear and parts.

The company’s credit line was increased by $20 million to $170 million.

14

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report10-K Filing

16

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportUNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549

(Mark One)

FORM 10-K

	ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT  

OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017

	TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT 

OF 1934

For the transition period from ____________ to ____________

Commission File Number:  001-13387

AeroCentury Corp.
(Exact name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)

(IRS Employer Identification No.)

Delaware

94-3263974

1440 Chapin Avenue, Suite 310
Burlingame, California 94010
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:  (650) 340-1888

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class

Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share

Name of each exchange on which registered
NYSE American Exchange

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. 

Yes    No  

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. 

Yes    No    

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was re-
quired to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes   No  

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, 
every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of 
this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and 
post such files).  

Yes    No  

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§ 229.405) is not con-
tained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information state-
ments incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  

17

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report 
 
 
 
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or 
a smaller reporting company.  See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting 
company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.  (Check one):

Large accelerated filer    
Non-accelerated filer     
Emerging growth company  

Accelerated filer   
Smaller reporting company  

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition 
period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the 
Exchange Act.  

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). 

Yes    No  

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates (based upon the closing 
price as of June 30, 2017) was $12,966,200. 

The number of shares of the Registrant’s Common Stock outstanding as of March 8, 2018 was 1,416,699.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K incorporates information by reference from the Registrant’s Proxy State-
ment for its 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.  Except as expressly incorporated by reference, the Registrant’s Proxy 
Statement shall not be deemed to be a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

18

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report 
 
 
 
Forward-Looking Statements

PART I
FINANCIAL INFORMATION

This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the 
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as 
amended (“the Exchange Act”). All statements in this Report other than statements of historical fact are “forward-look-
ing statements” for purposes of these provisions, including any statements of plans and objectives for future operations 
and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Statements that include the use of terminology such 
as  “may,”  “will,”  “expects,”  “plans,”  “anticipates,”  “estimates,”  “potential,”  or  “continue,”  or  the  negative  thereof,  or 
other comparable terminology are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include these statements: (i) 
in Part I, Item 1, “Business of the Company,” that the Company can purchase assets at an appropriate price and maintain 
an acceptable overall on-lease rate for the Company’s assets; and that it is able and willing to enter into transactions with 
a wider range of lessees than would be possible for traditional, large lending institutions and leasing companies; (ii) in 
Part I, Item 1, “Working Capital Needs,” that the Company will have sufficient cash flow to cover its expenses and pro-
vide excess cash flow; and that if the Company incurs unusually large maintenance costs or reimbursements for mainte-
nance in any given period, the Company will have sufficient cash flow or borrowing availability under its credit facility to 
fund such maintenance; (iii) in Part I, Item 1, “Competition,” that the Company has a competitive advantage due to its 
experience and operational efficiency in financing the transaction sizes that are desired by many in the regional air carri-
er market; and that the Company continues to have a competitive advantage because JMC has developed a presence as 
a global participant in the regional aircraft leasing market; (iv) in Part I, Item 1, “Environmental Matters,” that neither 
compliance with federal, state and local provisions regulating discharge of greenhouse gas emissions (including carbon 
dioxide (CO2)) in the environment and/or aircraft noise regulations, nor remedial agreements or other actions relating to 
the environment, has had, or is expected to have, a material effect on the Company’s capital expenditures, financial con-
dition, results of operations or competitive position; (v) in Part I, Item 3, “Legal Proceedings,” that none of the current 
litigation, if resolved adverse to the Company, is anticipated to have a material adverse effect on the Company; (vi) in 
Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Overview,” 
that if the Merger is consummated, the Company will record a settlement loss related to its existing obligations under the 
management agreement with JMC on the Merger closing date in an amount equal to a substantial portion of the pur-
chase consideration to be paid as part of the Merger; and that the Merger is expected to occur in early April 2018; (vii) 
in Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Results 
of Operations,” that the most significant effect to the Company of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 is expected to be the 
reduced corporate tax rate; (viii) in Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and 
Results of Operations – Liquidity and Capital Resources,” that available borrowings under the Credit Facility will be 
sufficient to meet its continuing obligations and, if the Credit Facility is expanded from its current amount of $170 mil-
lion to the maximum of $180 million,  to fund anticipated acquisitions; that the revised covenant limits agreed to in the 
modification to the Company’s credit facility covenants are sufficient to avoid causing a default under the loan agree-
ment; and that the Company will have adequate cash flow to meet its ongoing operational needs, including any required 
repayments under the Credit Facility; (ix) in Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Con-
dition and Results of Operations – Outlook”, that the Merger with JetFleet Holding Corp. is anticipated to be consum-
mated early in the second quarter of 2018; that the combination of the management function performed by JMC and the 
portfolio held by the Company will be accretive to the Company and will create shareholder value for the shareholders 
of the combined post-Merger company, but such accretion may not be realized until after transaction and integration 
costs in connection with the Merger have been incurred; that the elimination of the outside management company struc-
ture removes a key impediment to capital raising by the Company; that the Company will incur certain non-recurring 
Merger expenses in the periods leading up to the Merger, and immediately following, as well as having to record, for ac-
counting purposes, a settlement loss at the time of consummation of the Merger, which could negatively affect the Com-
pany’s results for those periods; that the Company anticipates the trend of higher acquisition prices and lower lease rates, 
margins and fewer acquisition opportunities will continue for the short- to medium-term, until yields on alternative in-
vestments return to a more normal historical range; and that the Company is competitive because of JMC’s expertise and 
operational efficiency in identifying and obtaining financing for the transaction types desired by regional air carriers; (x) 
in Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Factors 
that May Affect Future Results”, that the Company will be in compliance with all of its credit facility covenants; that if 

19

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Reportthe acquisition by merger of JHC is consummated, the Company will record a settlement loss related to its existing obli-
gations under the management agreement with JMC on the closing date of the Merger in an amount equal to a substan-
tial portion of the purchase consideration to be paid in the Merger;  that the credit line modifications made are sufficient 
to avoid the settlement loss and merger costs from causing a default under the Credit Facility financial covenants; that 
even if the credit facility limit were increased, in order to utilize the higher limit, the Company would need to source 
additional equity capital in order to remain in compliance with the debt to equity ratio covenant to utilize the higher 
limit; that the Company will have sufficient cash funds to make any required principal repayment that arises due to any 
credit facility borrowing limitations; that as competition increases, it will likely continue to create upward pressure on 
acquisition prices for many of the aircraft types that the Company has targeted to buy and, at the same time, create 
downward pressure on lease rates, resulting in lower margins for the Company and, therefore, fewer acceptable acquisi-
tion opportunities for the Company; that the Company does not anticipate any worsening of the financial condition of 
its overall customer base, but believes that there may be further shakeouts of weaker carriers in economically troubled 
regions; that most of the Company’s growth will be outside North America; that the Company intends to continue to 
focus solely on regional aircraft; that the Company may continue to seek acquisition opportunities for new types and 
models of aircraft used in the Company’s targeted customer base of regional air carriers but that the Company’s overall 
industry expertise may permit the Company to effectively manage such new aircraft types; that if the Merger is consum-
mated, the Company would have control over JMC’s operations and it is expected that the risks of conflicts of fiduciary 
duty would be largely mitigated; that there are effective mitigating factors against undue compensation-incented risk-tak-
ing by JMC; that the burden and cost of complying with governmental requirements will fall primarily upon lessees; that 
it is not expected that the costs of complying with current environmental regulations will have a material adverse effect 
on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, or cash flows; that the Company’s main vulnerability to a 
cyber-attack would be interruption of the Company’s email communications internally and with third parties, loss of 
customer and lease archives, and loss of document sharing between the Company’s offices and remote workers; that the 
Company has sufficient cyber-security measures in place commensurate with the risks to the Company of a successful 
cyber-attack or breach of security; and that sufficient replacement mechanisms exist in the event of such a cyber-attack 
interruption that there would not be a material adverse financial impact on the Company’s business; (xi) in Part II, Item 
8, “Financial Statements,” that the Company does not expect to adopt ASU 2016-02 early, and expects to elect practical 
expedients in connection with its adoption, including not re-evaluating lease classification or capitalized initial direct 
costs on existing leases; that the Company expects to account for the acquisition using the acquisition method of ac-
counting, whereby the purchase price will be allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their re-
spective fair values as of the acquisition date; that the Company expects that it will be required, for accounting purposes, 
to record, at the time of acquisition, a substantial portion of the Merger consideration paid for JHC as a settlement loss 
arising from the deemed extinguishment of the obligation to pay fees to JetFleet Management Corp. (“JMC”) under the 
management agreement between the Company and JMC, since any fees paid to JMC post-Merger under the manage-
ment agreement will be treated as intercompany transfers; that the outcome of any existing or known threatened pro-
ceedings, even if determined adversely, should not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial 
condition, liquidity or results of operations; and that it is more than not that the Company’s entire deferred federal in-
come tax asset will be realized; that the Company expects to utilize the net operating loss carryovers remaining at Decem-
ber 31, 2017 in future years.  These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and it is important to note 
that the Company’s actual results could differ materially from those projected or assumed in such forward-looking state-
ments. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are the factors detailed under the heading 
“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations –– Factors That May Affect 
Future Results,” including no sudden current economic downturn or unanticipated future financial crises or other unan-
ticipated events, such as war, terrorist events or a flu epidemic that might adversely affect the travel industry or the com-
mercial airline business, the lack of any unexpected lessee defaults or insolvency; a deterioration of the market values of 
aircraft  types  owned  by  the  Company;  compliance  by  the  Company’s  lessees  with  obligations  under  their  respective 
leases; the continued availability of financing for acquisitions under the Credit Facility; the Company’s success in finding 
appropriate assets to acquire with such financing; deviations from the assumption that future major maintenance expens-
es will be relatively evenly spaced over the entire portfolio; and future trends and results which cannot be predicted with 
certainty. The cautionary statements made in this Report should be read as being applicable to all related forward-look-
ing statements wherever they appear herein. All forward-looking statements and risk factors included in this document 
are made as of the date hereof, based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof, and the Company 
assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement or risk factor. You should consult the risk factors listed 
from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

20

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportItem 1. 

Business.

Business of the Company

AeroCentury Corp., a Delaware corporation incorporated in 1997, typically acquires used regional aircraft for lease to 
regional carriers worldwide.  In August 2016, AeroCentury Corp. formed two wholly-owned subsidiaries, ACY 19002 
Limited (“ACY 19002”) and ACY 19003 Limited (“ACY 19003”) for the purpose of acquiring aircraft using a combina-
tion of cash and financing separate from the parent’s credit facility.   

The business of AeroCentury Corp., ACY 19002 and ACY 19003 (collectively, the “Company”) is managed by JetFleet 
Management Corp. (“JMC”), pursuant to a management agreement (the “Management Agreement”) with JMC.  JMC 
is  an  integrated  aircraft  management,  marketing  and  financing  business  and  a  subsidiary  of  JetFleet  Holding  Corp. 
(“JHC”).  Certain officers of the Company are also officers of JHC and JMC and hold significant ownership positions in 
both JHC and the Company.  As discussed in Item 7 – “Overview,” below, the Company has entered into an Agreement 
and Plan of Merger to acquire JHC for a combination of stock and cash consideration (the “Merger”).  The Merger has 
not been consummated and factors concerning it are discussed below under Item 7 –  “Outlook,” as well as in Notes 7 
and 13 to the Company’s consolidated financial statements in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Since  its  formation,  the  Company  has  been  engaged  in  the  business  of  investing  in  used  regional  aircraft  equipment 
leased to foreign and domestic regional air carriers. The Company’s principal business objective is to increase stockhold-
er value by acquiring aircraft assets and managing those assets in order to provide a return on investment through lease 
revenue and, eventually, sale proceeds.  The Company strives to achieve its business objective by reinvesting cash flow and 
using short-term and long-term debt and/or equity financing.  

The Company’s success in achieving its objective depends in large part on its success in three areas: asset selection, lessee 
selection and obtaining financing for acquisition of aircraft and engines.  

The Company typically acquires assets in one of three ways.  The Company may purchase an asset already subject to a 
lease and assume the rights and obligations of the seller, as lessor under the existing lease.  Additionally, the Company 
may purchase an asset from an air carrier and lease it back to the air carrier.  Finally, the Company may purchase an 
asset from a seller and then immediately enter into a new lease for the aircraft with a third party lessee.  In this last case, 
the Company typically does not purchase an asset unless a potential lessee has been identified and has committed to 
lease the asset.

The Company generally targets used regional aircraft with purchase prices between $10 million and $20 million, and 
lease terms of three to ten years.  In determining assets for acquisition, the Company evaluates, among other things, the 
type of asset, its current price and projected future value, its versatility or specialized uses, the current and projected 
availability of and demand for that asset, and the type and number of future potential lessees.  Because JMC has exten-
sive experience in purchasing, leasing and selling used regional aircraft, the Company believes it can purchase these assets 
at an appropriate price and maintain an acceptable overall on-lease rate for them. 

In order to improve the remarketability of an aircraft after expiration of a lease, the Company’s leases generally contain 
provisions that require lessees to either return the aircraft in a condition that allows the Company to expediently re-lease 
or sell the aircraft, or pay sufficient amounts based on usage under the lease to cover any maintenance or overhaul of the 
aircraft required to bring the aircraft to such a state.

When considering whether to enter into transactions with a lessee, the Company generally reviews the lessee’s creditwor-
thiness, growth prospects, financial status and backing; the experience of its management; and the impact of legal and 
regulatory matters in the lessee’s market, all of which are weighed in determining the lease terms offered to the lessee. 
In addition, it is the Company’s policy to monitor the lessee’s business and financial performance closely throughout 
the term of the lease, and, if requested, provide assistance drawn from the experience of the Company’s management 
in many areas of the air carrier industry.  Because of its “hands-on” approach to portfolio management, the Company 
believes it is able and willing to enter into transactions with a wider range of lessees than may be possible for traditional, 
large lending institutions and leasing companies.

21

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportThe Company has funded its asset acquisitions primarily through debt financing supplemented by free cash flow.  The 
Company’s primary source of debt financing has been a secured credit facility.  The Company’s current credit facility (the 
“Credit Facility”) is provided by a syndicate of banks, with MUFG Union Bank, N.A. as agent, and expires on May 31, 
2019.  As discussed above, during 2016, the Company also financed the purchase of two aircraft using special purpose 
financing.

Working Capital Needs

The Company’s portfolio of assets has historically generated revenues that have exceeded the Company’s cash expenses, 
which consist mainly of management fees, maintenance costs, principal and interest payments on debt, professional fees, 
and insurance premiums.

The management fees paid by the Company to JMC are based upon the book value of the Company’s asset pool. Main-
tenance costs for off-lease aircraft are recognized as expenses as incurred, while reimbursement of lessee maintenance 
costs from previously collected maintenance reserves reduce the Company’s maintenance reserves liability. Interest ex-
pense is dependent on both the balance of the Company’s indebtedness and applicable interest rates.  Professional fees 
are paid to third parties for expenses not covered by JMC under the Management Agreement.  Insurance expense in-
cludes amounts paid for directors and officers insurance, as well as product liability insurance and aircraft hull insurance 
for periods when an aircraft is off lease.  

So long as the Company succeeds in keeping the majority of its assets on lease and interest rates do not rise significantly and 
rapidly, the Company’s cash flow should continue to be sufficient to cover its expenses and provide excess cash flow.  If the 
Company incurs unusually large maintenance costs or reimbursements for maintenance in any given period, the Company 
expects it will have sufficient cash flow or borrowing availability under its credit facility to fund such maintenance.

Competition 

The Company competes with other leasing companies, banks, financial institutions, private equity firms, and aircraft 
leasing syndicates for customers that generally are regional commercial aircraft operators seeking to lease aircraft under 
operating  leases.    Competition  has  increased  as  competitors  who  have  traditionally  neglected  the  regional  air  carrier 
market have recently focused on that market.  The industry has also experienced a number of consolidations of smaller 
leasing companies, creating a handful of very large companies operating in this market.  Because competition is largely 
based on price and lease terms, the entry of new competitors into the market, the creation of larger competitors due to 
consolidation, and/or the entry of traditional large aircraft lessors into the regional aircraft niche, particularly those with 
greater access to capital markets than the Company, could lead to fewer acquisition opportunities for the Company and/
or lease terms less favorable to the Company, as well as fewer renewals of existing leases or new leases of existing aircraft, 
all of which could lead to lower revenues, profitability and cash flow for the Company.  

The Company, however, believes that it has a competitive advantage due to its experience and operational efficiency in 
financing the transaction sizes that are desired by many in the regional air carrier market.  Management believes that the 
Company also continues to have a competitive advantage as a global participant in the regional aircraft leasing market.

Dependence on Significant Customers

For the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company’s four largest customers accounted for 28%, 20%, 14%, and 11% of 
lease revenue.  For the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company’s three largest customers accounted for 21%, 17%, 
and 17% of lease revenue. Concentration of credit risk with respect to lease receivables will diminish in the future only if 
the Company is able to expand the customer base by re-leasing assets currently on lease to significant customers to new 
customers and/or acquire assets for lease to new customers.

22

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportEnvironmental Matters

Neither compliance with federal, state and local provisions regulating discharge of greenhouse gas emissions (including 
carbon dioxide (CO2)) in the environment and/or aircraft noise regulations, nor remedial agreements or other actions 
relating to the environment, has had, or is expected to have, a material effect on the Company’s capital expenditures, 
financial condition, results of operations or competitive position.  

Employees

Under the Company’s Management Agreement, JMC is responsible for all administration and management of the Com-
pany.  Consequently, the Company does not have any employees.  This is expected to change when the Merger is consum-
mated and the Company assumes responsibility for administration and management of the Company.

Available Information

The headquarters of AeroCentury Corp. is located at 1440 Chapin Avenue, Suite 310, Burlingame, California 94010.  
The main telephone number is (650) 340-1888.  The Company’s website is located at: http://www.aerocentury.com.

The Company is subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act (the “Exchange Act”). Therefore, 
the Company files periodic reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commis-
sion (the “SEC”).  Copies of these materials, filed by us with the SEC, are available free of charge on the Company’s 
website at www.aerocentury.com through the Investor Relations link (SEC Filings).  The public may read and copy any 
materials the Company files with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room of the SEC at 100 F Street N.E., Washing-
ton, D.C. 20549.  The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC 
at 1-800-SEC-0330. In addition, the SEC maintains an Internet site (http://www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and 
information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.

Item 1A.  Risk Factors.

Smaller reporting companies are not required to provide this information.

Item 1B.  Unresolved Staff Comments.

None.

Item 2. 

Properties.

As of December 31, 2017, the Company did not own or lease any real property, plant or materially important physical 
properties.  The Company maintains its principal office at 1440 Chapin Avenue, Suite 310, Burlingame, California 94010.  
However, since the Company has no employees and the Company’s portfolio of leased aircraft assets is managed and 
administered under the terms of the Management Agreement with JMC, all office facilities are provided by JMC.

For information regarding the aircraft and aircraft engines owned by the Company, refer to Notes 2 and 3 to the Com-
pany’s consolidated financial statements in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Item 3. 

Legal Proceedings.

The Company from time to time engages in ordinary course litigation relating to lease collection matters against default-
ing lessees and mechanic’s lien claims by vendors hired by lessees. None of the current litigation, if resolved adverse to the 
Company, is anticipated to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition or results of operations.

Item 4.  Mine Safety Disclosures.

Not applicable.

23

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportItem 5.  Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

PART II

The shares of the Company’s Common Stock are traded on the NYSE American exchange (“NYSE American”) under 
the symbol “ACY.”

Market Information

The Company’s Common Stock has been traded on the NYSE American exchange, formerly known as NYSE MKT 
and the American Stock Exchange, since January 16, 1998.  The following table sets forth the high and low sales prices 
reported on the NYSE American exchange for the Company’s Common Stock for the periods indicated: 

Period 
Fiscal year ended December 31, 2017: 

Fourth Quarter 
Third Quarter 
Second Quarter 
First Quarter 

Fiscal year ended December 31, 2016: 

Fourth Quarter 
Third Quarter 
Second Quarter 
First Quarter 

High  

Low

$15.75 
16.10 
13.10 
11.10 

9.69 
9.50 
11.45 
14.88 

$12.05
10.10
9.65
9.00

8.50
8.50
8.52
10.03

On March 7, 2018, the closing sale price of the Company’s Common Stock on the NYSE American exchange was $15.40 
per share.

Sale of Unregistered Securities

In April 2007, the Company issued warrants to purchase up to 81,224 shares of the Company’s Common Stock at $8.75 
per share.  On December 16, 2015, the holders of the warrants exercised all warrants outstanding on a “cashless” basis, 
resulting in the issuance on that date of 23,442 net shares of Common Stock. Such shares of Common Stock were is-
sued pursuant to an exemption from registration under Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 
“Securities Act”), and no underwriters were used in connection with the warrant exercise.  The 23,442 shares issued to 
the holders of the warrants may be resold by such holders under an exemption from registration provided by Rule 144 
under the Securities Act.

Number of Security Holders

According to the Company’s transfer agent, the Company had approximately 1,300 stockholders of record as of March 
8, 2018.  Because brokers and other institutions on behalf of beneficial stockholders hold many of the Company’s shares 
of Common Stock, the Company is unable to estimate the total number of beneficial stockholders represented by those 
record holders.

Dividends

No dividends have been declared or paid to date.  The Company has no plans at this time to declare or pay dividends, and 
intends to re-invest any earnings into the acquisition of additional revenue-generating aircraft equipment.

The terms of the Credit Facility prohibit the Company from declaring or paying dividends on its Common Stock, except 
for cash dividends in an aggregate annual amount not to exceed 50% of the Company’s net income in the immediately 
preceding fiscal year so long as immediately prior to and immediately following such dividend the Company is not in 
default under the Credit Facility.

24

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report 
 
 
Stockholder Rights Plan

For information regarding the Company’s stockholder rights plan, refer to Note 8 to the Company’s consolidated finan-
cial statements in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Item 6. 

Selected Financial Data.

This report does not include information described under Item 301 of Regulation S-K pursuant to the rules of the SEC 
that permit “smaller reporting companies” to omit such information.

Item 7.  Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Overview

The Company provides leasing and finance services to regional airlines worldwide. The Company is principally engaged 
in providing leasing services of mid-life regional aircraft to carriers, including operating leases and finance leases.  In 
addition to leasing activities, the Company sells aircraft from its operating lease portfolio to third parties, including other 
leasing companies, financial services companies, and airlines, as well as “parting out” aircraft when that is deemed the 
most profitable means of disposal.  The Company’s operating performance is driven by the growth of its aircraft portfo-
lio, the terms of its leases, the interest rate of its debt, as well as asset sales.

On October 26, 2017, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger to acquire JHC, the corporate parent 
of JMC, the Company’s management company, for a combination of stock and cash consideration.  The Merger has not 
been consummated and factors concerning it are discussed below under “Outlook” as well as in Notes 7 and 13 to the 
Company’s consolidated financial statements in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.  The Company believes 
that if the Merger is consummated, it will record a settlement loss related to its existing obligations under the manage-
ment agreement with JMC on the Merger closing date in an amount equal to a substantial portion of the purchase con-
sideration to be paid as part of the Merger.  The amount of the loss cannot be ascertained exactly until the Merger closes, 
as it depends on several variables, including final adjustments to the agreed purchase price and the quoted market price 
of AeroCentury Common Stock on the Merger closing date, which is expected to occur in early April 2018.  

During 2017, the Company purchased three aircraft subject to operating leases.  During the same period, the Company 
sold an aircraft and three engines for cash, exchanged one of its spare engines for 150,000 shares of the Company’s com-
mon stock held by a stockholder, and reclassified an airframe and one of its engines at lease termination to held for sale 
for parts, while the second engine remains held for lease.  The Company also reclassified an aircraft that had previously 
been held for sale to held for lease.  The Company ended the year with a total of twenty-three aircraft and one engine 
held for lease, with a net book value of approximately $195 million.  This represents a 1% increase compared to the net 
book value at December 31, 2016.  The Company also ended the year with nine aircraft subject to finance leases, of which 
three were acquired in 2017.

The Company currently has a customer base of nine airlines in eight countries. Average portfolio utilization was approx-
imately 93% during 2017 and 2016.

During 2017, the Company expanded its revolving credit facility to $170 million.  The unused amount of the Credit 
Facility was $36 million as of December 31, 2017. The weighted average interest rate on the Credit Facility was 5.21% at 
December 31, 2017. 

Total revenues and other income of $35.6 million increased by $6.8 million compared to 2016, primarily as a result of 
increased operating lease, finance lease and maintenance reserves revenues, the effects of which were substantially offset 
by decreased gains from asset dispositions.

As discussed in Results of Operations, below, the Company recorded a $5.4 million decrease in tax expense in 2017 as a 
result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “Act”).

25

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportNet income for 2017 was $7.4 million, compared to net income of $1.2 million in 2016, resulting in basic and diluted 
earnings per share of $5.10 and $0.78 respectively.  Pre-tax profit margin was 10% in 2017 compared to 7% in 2016.  
Expenses for 2017 expenses included $619,400 of legal and advisory expenses incurred in connection with the proposed 
acquisition of JHC by the Company.

Fleet Summary

The Company operates in one business segment, the leasing of regional aircraft and engines to foreign and domestic 
regional airlines, and therefore does not present separate segment information for lines of business.  

Portfolio metrics of the Company’s assets held for lease as of December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 were as follows.

Number of aircraft and aircraft engines held for lease

24

28

December 31,
2017

December 31, 
2016

Weighted average fleet age

Weighted average remaining lease term

Aggregate fleet net book value

Average portfolio utilization

11.4 years

58 months

11.3 years

59 months

$195,098,200

$192,799,800

For the Years Ended December 31, 

2017

93%

2016

93%

26

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportThe following table sets forth the net book value and percentage of the net book value, by type, of the Company’s assets 
that were held for lease at December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016.

Type

Turboprop aircraft:
  Bombardier Dash-8-400
  Bombardier Dash-8-300
  Saab 340B Plus
  Saab 340B
  Fokker 50

Regional jet aircraft:
  Canadair 900
  Embraer 175
  Canadair 1000
  Canadair 700
  Canadair 705
  Fokker 100

Engines:
  Pratt & Whitney 150A
  General Electric CF34-8E5A1
  General Electric CT7-9B

December 31, 2017

December 31, 2016

Number
owned

% of net 
book value

Number
owned

% of net 
book value

2
3
4
1
-

4
3
2
3
1
-

1
-
-

7%
6%
3%
1%
-

31%
16%
15%
13%
7%
-

1%
-
-

3
3
5
-
1

4
-
2
3
1
2

-
2
2

11%
6%
5%
-
1%

33%
-
16%
14%
8%
2%

-
3%
1%

At December 31, 2017, and December 31, 2016, the Company also had nine aircraft and five aircraft, respectively, subject 
to finance leases.

The following table sets forth the net book value and percentage of the net book value of the Company’s assets that were 
held for lease at December 31, 2017, and December 31, 2016, in the indicated regions:

Region

Europe

North America

Asia

Africa

Australia

Off lease

December 31, 2017

December 31, 2016

Net book 
value

$  92,108,500

72,270,700

6,082,100

-

-

24,636,900

$195,098,200

% of
net book 
value

47%

37%

3%

-

-

13%

100%

Net book 
value

$105,088,300

42,824,300

6,463,700

21,724,400

3,585,900

13,113,200

% of
net book 
value

55%

22%

3%

11%

2%

7%

$192,799,800

100%

For the year ended December 31, 2017, approximately 28%, 21%, 20%, and 11% of the Company’s operating lease rev-
enue was derived from customers in Slovenia, the United States, Spain and Mozambique, respectively.  For the quarter 
ended December 31, 2017, approximately 29%, 28%, and 21% of the Company’s operating lease revenue was derived 
from customers in Slovenia, the United States, and Spain, respectively.  Operating lease revenue does not include interest 
income from the Company’s finance leases.  

27

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportThe following table sets forth geographic information about the Company’s operating lease revenue for leased assets, 
grouped by domicile of the lessee:

Region

Europe

North America

Africa

Asia

Australia

South America

For the Years Ended December 31, 

2017

2016

Number
of lessees

% of
operating
lease revenue

Number
of lessees

% of
operating
lease revenue

4

5

1

1

1

-

52%

29%

12%

4%

3%

-

5

3

2

2

1

1

41%

28%

18%

7%

5%

1%

For the year ended December 31, 2017, approximately 75% and 25% of the Company’s finance lease revenue was derived 
from customers in Africa and Europe, respectively.  For the quarter ended December 31, 2017, approximately 70% and 
30% of the Company’s finance lease revenue was derived from customers in Africa and Europe, respectively.   

Results of Operations

During 2017, the Company acquired three regional jet aircraft that are on lease pursuant to operating leases and three 
regional jet aircraft that are subject to direct financing leases.  During 2016, the Company acquired four regional jet air-
craft, all of which are subject to operating leases.

During 2017, the Company sold two regional jets, one turboprop aircraft and three spare engines that had been held for 
lease.  The Company also exchanged one of its spare engines for 150,000 shares of common stock of the Company held 
by a stockholder.  During 2016, the Company sold four regional jet aircraft that had been held for sale, and, pursuant to 
sales-type finance leases, an additional three turboprop aircraft that had been held for lease.

Total revenues and other income increased by 24% to $35.6 million in 2017 from $28.7 million in 2016.

Operating lease revenue increased 19% to $29.0 million in 2017 from $24.5 million in 2016, primarily due to revenue from 
assets that were purchased during the third quarter of 2016 and in 2017, the effect of which was partially offset by the loss 
of revenue from assets that were on lease during 2016, but off lease in 2017 and by the loss of revenue from an aircraft 
that was involved in an accident in April 2016 and was declared a total loss.

Average portfolio utilization was approximately 93% during both 2017 and 2016. 

Maintenance reserves that are retained by the Company at lease end are recorded as revenue at that time.  During 2017, 
the Company recorded maintenance reserves revenue of $3.9 million related to retained maintenance reserves at the time 
of lease termination for seven aircraft. The Company did not record any maintenance reserves revenue in 2016. 

Finance lease revenue increased 81% to $1.6 million in 2017 from $0.9 million in 2016 as a result of (i) the sale of three 
aircraft pursuant to sales-type finance leases in late 2016 and early 2017 and (ii) the acquisition and lease of three aircraft 
pursuant to direct financing leases in early 2017.

As a result of asset acquisitions and sales during 2016 and 2017, as well as changes in estimated residual values from 
year-to-year, depreciation increased by 32% in 2017 as compared to 2016. 

The average net book value of assets held for lease during 2017 and 2016 was approximately $196.5 million and $163.4 
million, respectively.  Management fees, which are based on the net book value of the Company’s aircraft and engines as 
well as finance lease receivable balances, were 17% higher in 2017 as compared to 2016.  

28

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportAs a result of both a higher average debt balance and a higher average interest rate on the Company’s Credit Facility, 
reflecting increases in LIBOR rates, in 2017, the Company’s interest expense increased by 45% to $7.8 million from $5.3 
million in 2016.

The Company’s professional fees, general and administrative and other expenses increased by 16% to $1.9 million in 2017 
from $1.7 million in 2016.  The increase was primarily a result of $619,400 of expenses incurred in 2017 related to the 
proposed acquisition of JHC by the Company, the total of which exceeded expenses incurred in 2016 in connection with 
the return of three aircraft by a lessee.

The Company’s maintenance expense decreased by 11% to $2.9 million in 2017 from $3.3 million in 2016, as a result of a 
decrease in maintenance performed by the Company on off-lease aircraft to prepare them for sale or re-lease.

During 2017, the Company recorded impairment charges of (i) $0.7 million for two turboprop aircraft, based on their 
appraised values, (ii) $0.1 million for an asset that was written down to its net sales value and subsequently sold in 2017 
and (iii) $0.2 million for an asset that was written down to its net sales value and sold in early 2018.  During 2016, the 
Company  recorded  impairment  charges  of  (i)  $0.9  million  for  a  spare  engine,  based  on  its  appraised  value,  (ii)  $0.2 
million on a second spare engine, based on its net sales value and (iii) $0.1 million related to two of its four regional jet 
aircraft based their net sales value.

The Company did not incur bad debt expense in 2017.  During 2016, the Company recorded bad debt expense of $0.8 
million related to an aircraft that was returned prior to lease end, for which the Company did not receive the operating 
lease revenue previously accrued.

In December 2017, the Act was enacted; a principal provision of the new law was a reduction in the U.S. federal corpo-
rate income tax rate from a maximum of 35% to 21% for years beginning in 2018, as well as a number of other provisions, 
including changes to net operating loss rules, repeal of the corporate alternative minimum tax and significant changes 
to U.S. corporate taxation of foreign subsidiaries and their accumulated, untaxed income.  The most significant effect 
to the Company is expected to be the reduced corporate tax rate.  Under U.S. accounting principles, a reporting entity’s 
deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined by reference to the expected future tax rate applicable to when differenc-
es between the book carrying value and the adjusted tax basis of assets and liabilities are expected to be realized (or the 
value or cost of other recognized items, such as tax credits).  As such, and given the net deferred tax liability position of 
the Company, the reduced future corporate rate resulted in a decrease in net tax liabilities, which is reflected as a decrease 
in tax expense in 2017 of approximately $5.4 million and a net tax benefit, or increase to income, of $4.0 million.

The Company recorded net income of $7.4 million in 2017, compared to net income of $1.2 million in 2016.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The Company is currently financing its assets primarily through debt financing and excess cash flows.  

(a) 

Credit Facility

During July 2017, the Company’s Credit Facility, as described in Note 6(a) to the Company’s consolidated financial state-
ments in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, was increased from $150 million to $170 million.  In December 
2017, the Credit Facility was amended to allow for the Company’s proposed acquisition of JHC, discussed in Note 7 and 
below.  Covenants regarding profitability, a debt to equity ratio and customer concentration were also modified. 

The Company was in compliance with all covenants at December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016.  Among the more 
significant factors that could have an impact on the Company’s future covenant compliance are (i) unanticipated de-
creases in the market value of the Company’s assets, or in the rental rates deemed achievable for such assets that cause 
the Company to record an impairment charge against earnings, (ii) lessee non-compliance with lease obligations, (iii) 
inability to locate new lessees for returned equipment within a reasonable remarketing period, or at a rent level consistent 
with projected rates, (iv) an inability to locate and acquire a sufficient volume of additional assets at prices that will pro-
duce acceptable net returns, (v) increases in interest rates, or (vi) an inability to timely dispose of off-lease assets at prices 
commensurate with their market value. 

29

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportThe unused amount of the Credit Facility was $43 million as of the date of this filing.  The Company believes that avail-
able borrowings under the Credit Facility will be sufficient to meet its continuing obligations and, if the Credit Facility 
is expanded from its current amount of $170 million to the maximum of $180 million, to fund anticipated acquisitions.  
However, there can be no assurance that the entire unused amount of the Credit Facility will be available for acquisitions 
as a result of covenant restrictions or that the lenders under the Credit Facility will agree to expand the Credit Facility 
when requested by the Company.  

As discussed above, in December 2017, the Company obtained the consent of the Credit Facility lenders to the Merger, 
and modifications to the Credit Facility for post-Merger periods in order to prevent certain expense items arising from 
the Merger from causing a default under the Credit Facility agreement covenants.  The modifications impose a limit on 
the amount of settlement loss and merger costs that will be disregarded for covenant purposes, but the Company believes 
that these limits are sufficient to avoid causing a default under the loan agreement financial covenants. 

Any default under the Credit Facility, if not cured in the time permitted under the facility or waived by the lenders, 
could result in the Company’s inability to borrow any further amounts under the Credit Facility, the acceleration of the 
Company’s obligation to repay amounts borrowed under the Credit Facility, or foreclosure upon any or all of the assets 
of the Company.

(b) 

Special purpose financings

In August 2016, using wholly-owned special purpose entities, the Company acquired two regional jet aircraft, using cash 
and  third-party  financing  separate  from  its  Credit  Facility,  as  described  in  Note  6(b)  to  the  Company’s  consolidated 
financial statements in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.  

(c) 

Cash flow

The Company’s primary sources of cash are payments due under the Company’s operating and finance leases, main-
tenance reserves, which are billed monthly to lessees based on asset usage, and proceeds from the sale of aircraft and 
engines. 

The Company’s primary uses of cash are for (i) purchase of assets, (ii) Credit Facility and special purpose financing inter-
est and principal payments, (iii) maintenance expense and reimbursement to lessees from collected maintenance reserves, 
(iv) management fees, and (v) professional fees, including legal and accounting.

The Company’s payments for maintenance consist  of  reimbursements to lessees for eligible maintenance costs under 
their leases and maintenance incurred directly by the Company for preparation of off-lease assets for re-lease to new 
customers or for sale.  The timing and amount of such payments may vary widely between quarterly and annual periods, 
as the required maintenance events can vary greatly in magnitude and cost, and the performance of the required main-
tenance events by the lessee or the Company, as applicable, are not regularly scheduled calendar events and do not occur 
at uniform intervals throughout any calendar period.  The Company’s maintenance payments typically constitute a large 
portion of its cash needs, and the Company may from time to time borrow additional funds under the Credit Facility to 
provide funding for such payments. 

Management fees paid by the Company are relatively predictable because they are based on the net asset value of the 
Company’s  portfolio  and  finance  lease  receivable  balances.    Because  of  this,  the  risk  of  increased  costs  for  employee 
salaries and benefits, worldwide travel related to the management of the Company’s aircraft portfolio, office rent, out-
side technical experts and other overhead expenses is entirely placed on JMC.  If, pursuant to the Merger, the Company 
acquires JHC causing JMC to become an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, the Company will assume 
this risk of fluctuating costs.

The amount of interest paid by the Company depends primarily on the outstanding balance of its Credit Facility, which 
carries a floating interest rate as well as an interest rate margin, and is therefore also dependent on changes in prevailing 
interest rates.  Interest related to the Company’s special purpose financings is payable at a fixed rate.  

30

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportManagement believes that the Company will have adequate cash flow to meet its ongoing operational needs, including 
any required repayments under the Credit Facility, based upon its estimates of future revenues and expenditures, which 
include assumptions regarding (i) revenues for assets to be re-leased, (ii) cost and anticipated timing of maintenance to 
be performed, (iii) required debt payments, (iv) timely use of proceeds of unused debt capacity for additional acquisitions 
of income producing assets and (v) interest rates.  Although the Company believes that the assumptions it has made in 
forecasting its cash flow are reasonable in light of experience, actual results could deviate from such assumptions.  As 
discussed above, in Liquidity and Capital Resources – (a) Credit Facility, there are a number of factors that may cause 
actual results to deviate from such forecasts.

(i) 

Operating activities

The Company’s cash flow from operations increased by $3.2 million in 2017 compared to 2016.  As discussed below, 
the increase in cash flow was primarily a result of increases in payments received for operating lease revenue and main-
tenance reserves and a decrease in payments for maintenance.  This positive effect was partially offset by increases in 
payments for interest and management fees.

(A) 

Receipts for operating lease revenue

Rent receipts from lessees increased by $2.7 million, to $27.6 million in 2017 from $24.9 million in 2016, primarily due to 
additional rent from assets purchased and leased to customers in late 2016 and during 2017.

As of the date of this filing, the Company is receiving no lease revenue for six aircraft held for lease that are off lease.  The 
total book value of these assets is $21.1 million, representing 11% of the Company’s total assets held for lease. 

(B) 

Receipts for maintenance reserves

Receipts for maintenance reserves from lessees increased by $2.9 million, to $7.7 million in 2017 from $4.8 million in 
2016, primarily as a result of additional assets purchased in the third quarter of 2016 and during 2017, for which the 
Company collected maintenance reserves in 2017.

(C) 

Payments for maintenance

Payments for maintenance decreased by $1.6 million, to $7.1 million in 2017 from $8.7 million in 2016 as a result of lower 
maintenance expense in 2017 and a difference in the timing of payments for maintenance.

(C) 

Payments for interest

Payments for interest increased by $2.1 million, to $6.7 million in 2017 from $4.6 million in 2016 as a result of a higher 
average debt balance and higher rates during the 2017 period, as well as fees for amendments to the Company’s Credit 
Facility during 2017.

(D) 

Payments for management fees

Management fee payments, which are based on the net book value of assets, increased by $1.9 million, to $6.6 million 
in 2017 from $4.7 million in 2016, as a result of aircraft acquisitions during 2016 and 2017, as well as a difference in the 
timing of management fee payments. 

(ii) 

Investing activities

During 2017 and 2016, the Company received net cash of $12.9 million and $6.3 million, respectively, from the sale of 
assets.  During 2016, the Company also received $18.9 million of insurance proceeds related to the total loss of an air-
craft during the period and for the 2015 damage to an aircraft.  

31

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report 
 
 
 
 
 
 
During 2017, the Company used cash of $32.1 million for acquisitions of aircraft subject to operating leases and $7.6 
million for acquisition of aircraft subject to direct financing leases.  During 2016, the Company used cash of $54.4 mil-
lion for acquisition of aircraft subject to operating leases.  

(iii) 

Financing activities

The Company borrowed an additional $35.9 million and $31.3 million under the Credit Facility during 2017 and 2016, 
respectively.  In 2017 and 2016, the Company repaid $12.0 million and $31.6 million, respectively, of its total outstanding 
debt under the Credit Facility.  Such repayments were funded by operating cash flow and the sale of assets and, in 2016, 
insurance proceeds.  During 2017 and 2016, the Company paid $1.2 million and $0.1 million, respectively, of issuance 
and amendment fees.

During 2017 and 2016, the Company’s special purpose entities repaid $4.1 million and $2.0 million, respectively, of spe-
cial purpose entity financing principal.  The special purpose entities borrowed $19.6 million during 2016.

Outlook  

The Company has identified three factors that may affect the Company’s growth and operating results: 

The Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger to acquire JHC on October 26, 2017. There are several 
conditions to the closing of the Merger between the Company and JHC, most of which are out of the control of the 
Company.  On February 22, 2018, the State of California Department of Business Oversight (“DBO”) held a hear-
ing regarding the Merger pursuant to Section 25142 of the California Corporations Code, to determine whether the 
terms and conditions of the issuance of AeroCentury’s shares of Common Stock in the Merger to JHC’s sharehold-
ers are fair.  Following the hearing, a permit was issued by the DBO, which will allow the issuance of the Company’s 
common stock in the Merger transaction to be exempt from federal securities registration under Section 3(a)(10) of 
the Securities Act.  The Company is currently in the process of soliciting the consent of JHC’s shareholders to the 
Merger which is one of several conditions precedent to the closing of the Merger. The Merger is anticipated to be 
consummated early in the second quarter of 2018, but there can be no assurance that such closing will occur, or that 
it will occur in the anticipated time frame.  The Company believes that the combination of the management function 
performed by JMC and the portfolio held by the Company will be accretive to the Company and will create share-
holder value for the shareholders of the combined post-Merger company, but such accretion may not be realized until 
after transaction and integration costs in connection with the Merger have been incurred.  The Company also believes 
that the elimination of the outside management company structure removes a key impediment to capital raising by 
the Company.  The Company, however, will incur certain non-recurring Merger expenses in the periods leading up to 
the Merger, and immediately following, as well as having to record, for accounting purposes, a settlement loss at the 
time of consummation of the Merger, which could negatively affect the Company’s results for those periods.

Increased production of aircraft types in the Company’s market niche has resulted in some manufacturers offering 
competitive pricing for new aircraft to regional aircraft customers.  In addition, notwithstanding recent interest 
rate increases in the U.S., competition for assets in the Company’s market niche of worldwide regional aircraft has 
continued to increase.  Some of the Company’s newer competitors are funded by investment banks and private 
equity firms seeking higher yields on investment assets than are currently available from traditional income invest-
ment types.  The increased competition has resulted in higher acquisition prices for many of the aircraft types that 
the Company has targeted to buy and, at the same time, continues to put downward pressure on lease rates, result-
ing in lower margins and, therefore, fewer acceptable acquisition opportunities for the Company.  The Company 
anticipates this trend will continue for the short- to medium-term, until yields on alternative investments return to a 
more normal historical range.  The Company believes, however, that it is competitive because of JMC’s expertise and 
operational efficiency in identifying and obtaining financing for the transaction types desired by regional air carriers.

The Company has not identified re-lease or sale customers for six turboprop aircraft that are currently off lease.  
The Company is analyzing the amount and timing of maintenance required to remarket these assets, the amount 
of which may differ significantly if the assets are sold rather than re-leased.  These aircraft are older types that are 
no longer in production, so it is not unusual that market demand for them is weak and, therefore, they may remain 
off lease for significant periods of time. 

• 

• 

• 

32

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report 
Critical Accounting Policies, Judgments and Estimates

The Company’s discussion and analysis of its financial condition and results of operations are based upon the financial 
statements which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States 
of America.  The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and judgments that 
affect  the  reported  amounts  of  assets  and  liabilities,  revenues  and  expenses,  and  the  related  disclosure  of  contingent 
assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements.  In the event that actual results differ from these estimates or 
the Company adjusts these estimates in future periods, the Company’s operating results and financial position could be 
materially affected.  For a discussion of Critical Accounting Policies, Judgments and Estimates, refer to Note 1 to the 
Company’s financial statements in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Factors that May Affect Future Results

Noncompliance with Debt Financial Covenants.  The Company’s use of debt as the primary form of acquisition financing 
subjects the Company to increased risks associated with leverage.  In addition to payment obligations, the Company’s 
debt agreements include financial covenants, including some requiring the Company to have positive earnings, meet min-
imum net worth standards and be in compliance with certain other financial ratios.

Although the Company believes it will continue to be in compliance with all of the covenants under its debt agreements, 
there can be no assurance of such compliance, and in the event of any non-compliance, the Company would need to seek 
further waivers or amendments of applicable covenants from its lenders if such compliance failure is not timely cured.  
Any default under a debt agreement, if not cured in the time permitted or waived by the respective lender, could result in 
the Company’s inability to borrow under the Credit Facility, the acceleration of the Company’s debt obligations, or the 
foreclosure upon any or all of the assets of the Company.

Consummation of Merger May Subject the Company to Additional Risks. In October 2017, the Company announced its 
agreement to acquire JHC, the parent of the Company’s management company, JMC, by way of a reverse triangular 
merger.  There can be no assurance that the Merger will be consummated as there are numerous closing conditions that 
must be satisfied, some of which are out of the control of the Company.  The entry into the Agreement and Plan of 
Merger subjects the Company to additional risks, including the following:  

• 

• 

• 

Merger Expenses.  In addition to legal, accounting and financial advisory fees incurred prior to the execution 
of the Agreement and Plan of Merger, in order to consummate the Merger, the Company will need to incur 
significant additional expenses, including legal and third party consulting fees, which will be payable whether or 
not the Merger eventually occurs.

Settlement Loss Effect on Covenant Compliance.  The Company believes that if the acquisition by merger of JHC 
is consummated, it will record a settlement loss related to its existing obligations under the management agree-
ment with JMC on the closing date of the Merger in an amount equal to a substantial portion of the purchase 
consideration to be paid in the Merger.  The amount of the loss cannot be ascertained exactly until the Merger 
closes, as it depends on several variables, including final adjustments to the agreed purchase price and the quoted 
market price of AeroCentury Common Stock on the Merger closing date.  In December 2017, the Company 
obtained the consent of the Credit Facility lenders to the Merger, and modifications to the Credit Facility for 
post-Merger periods to prevent certain expense items arising from the Merger causing a default under the Credit 
Facility agreement covenants.  The modifications impose a limit on the amount of settlement loss and merger 
costs that will be disregarded for covenant purposes, but the Company believes that they are sufficient to avoid 
these from causing a default under the Credit Facility financial covenants. 

Assumption of Expenses Covered under Management Agreement.  Under the Management Agreement, the Com-
pany pays a management fee to JMC based upon the book value of the Company’s aircraft assets, an acquisition 
fee for each asset purchased by the Company, and a remarketing/re-lease fee for each sale or re-lease transaction 
entered into with respect to the Company’s aircraft.  In return, JMC provides the Company with comprehensive 
management services, under which JMC has full responsibility for payment of all employee salaries and benefits, 
outside technical services, worldwide travel needed to promote the Company’s business, office space, utilities, IT 

33

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Reportand  communications,  furniture  and  fixtures,  and  other  general  administrative  and  overhead  costs.    Under  the 
Management Agreement, if the fees collected are not enough to cover JMC’s expenses in managing the Company’s 
portfolio, such losses are borne entirely by JMC.  If the Merger is consummated, then the obligation to pay JMC 
management fees will cease, but the costs previously borne by JMC in managing the Company’s assets will be 
borne by the Company and will not be limited, as was the case when the Management Agreement was in place.

• 

Assumption  of  JHC  Liabilities.    By  acquiring  JHC  in  a  reverse  triangular  merger,  JHC  will  become  a  whol-
ly-owned subsidiary of the Company.  To the extent that JHC or any of its subsidiaries have liabilities, these will 
become liabilities of the Company on a consolidated basis.  While the Merger Agreement provides for limited 
indemnification by JHC shareholders for certain liabilities of JHC or its subsidiaries that arise from pre-Merger 
occurrences, and the Company has performed due diligence reviews of the liabilities of JHC and its subsidiaries, 
the indemnification is limited to the consideration paid by the Company to JHC. 

Availability  of  Financing.    The  Company’s  continued  growth  will  depend  on  its  ability  to  continue  to  obtain  capital, 
either through debt or equity financings.  One of the current primary limiters on the Company’s ability to draw under 
the current credit facility is the covenant limitation on the Company’s maximum debt to equity ratio. Under the current 
terms, even if the credit facility limit were increased, in order to utilize the higher limit, the Company would need to 
source additional equity capital in order to remain in compliance with the debt to equity ratio covenant to utilize the 
higher limit.  Thus, the Company would need to raise additional equity capital to accompany any increase in the current 
credit facility, or, in the alternative, would need to refinance its credit facility debt with a new lender with more favorable 
financial  covenants  not  limited  by  the  Company’s  current  equity  capitalization.    There  can  be  no  assurance  that  the 
Company will obtain such additional equity capital in the future or that it will be successful in obtaining more favorable 
credit facility financing.

Credit Facility Debt Limitations. The amount available to be borrowed under the Credit Facility is limited by asset-spe-
cific advance rates.  Lease arrearages or off-lease periods for a particular asset that is collateral under the Credit Facility 
may reduce the loan advance rate permitted with respect to that asset and, therefore, reduce the permitted borrowing 
under the facility.  Amounts subject to payment deferral agreements also reduce the amount of permitted borrowing.  
The Company believes it will have sufficient cash funds to make any required principal repayment that arises due to any 
such borrowing limitations. 

Ownership Risks.  The Company’s leases typically are for a period shorter than the entire, anticipated, remaining useful 
life of the leased assets.  As a result, the Company’s recovery of its investment and realization of its expected yield in 
such a leased asset is dependent upon the Company’s ability to profitably re-lease or sell the asset following the expiration 
of the lease.  This ability is affected by worldwide economic conditions, general aircraft market conditions, regulatory 
changes,  changes  in  the  supply  or  cost  of   aircraft  equipment,  and  technological  developments  that  may  cause  the 
asset to become obsolete. If  the Company is unable to remarket its assets on favorable terms when the leases for such 
assets expire, the Company’s financial condition, cash flow, ability to service debt, and results of  operations could be 
adversely affected. 

The Company typically acquires used aircraft equipment.  The market for used aircraft equipment has been cyclical, and 
generally reflects economic conditions and the strength of the travel and transportation industry.  The demand for and 
value of many types of used aircraft in the recent past has been depressed by such factors as airline financial difficulties, 
airline consolidations, the number of new aircraft on order, an excess supply of newly manufactured aircraft or used 
aircraft coming off lease, as well as introduction of new aircraft models and types that may be more technologically 
advanced, more fuel efficient and/or less costly to maintain and operate.  Values may also increase or decrease for certain 
aircraft types that become more or less desirable based on market conditions and changing airline capacity.  Because 
the Company’s ability to borrow under its credit facility is subject to a covenant setting forth a minimum ratio of the 
outstanding debt under the facility to the appraised value of the collateral base of aircraft assets securing the credit fa-
cility, a significant drop in the appraised market value of the portfolio could require the Company to make a substantial 
prepayment of outstanding principal under the credit facility in order to avoid a default under the credit facility.

34

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportIn addition, a successful investment in an asset subject to a lease depends in part upon having the asset returned by the 
lessee in the condition as required under the lease.  Each lease typically obligates a customer to return an asset to the 
Company in a specified condition, generally in equal or better condition than at delivery to the lessee.  The Company 
strives to ensure this result through onsite management during the return process.  However, if the lessee were to become 
insolvent during the term of its lease and the Company had to repossess the asset, it is unlikely that the lessee would 
have the financial ability to meet these return obligations.  In addition, if the lessee filed for bankruptcy and rejected the 
aircraft lease, the lessee would be required to return the aircraft but would be relieved from further lease obligations, in-
cluding return conditions specified in the lease.  In either case, it is likely that the Company would be required to expend 
funds in excess of any maintenance reserves collected to return the asset to a remarketable condition.

Several of the Company’s leases with financially strong lessees do not require payment of monthly maintenance reserves, 
which serve as the lessee’s advance payment for its future repair and maintenance obligations.  If repossession due to les-
see default or bankruptcy occurred under such a lease, the Company would be left with the costs of unperformed repair 
and maintenance under the applicable lease and the Company would likely incur an unanticipated expense in order to 
re-lease or sell the asset.

Furthermore,  the  occurrence  of  unexpected  adverse  changes  that  impact  the  Company’s  estimates  of  expected  cash 
flows generated from an asset could result in an asset impairment charge against the Company’s earnings. The Company 
periodically reviews long-term assets for impairment, particularly when events or changes in circumstances indicate the 
carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. An impairment charge is recorded when the carrying amount of an 
asset is estimated to be not recoverable and exceeds its fair value. The Company recorded impairment charges for some 
of its aircraft in 2016 and 2017, and may be required to record asset impairment charges in the future as a result of a 
prolonged weak economic environment, challenging market conditions in the airline industry, events related to particular 
lessees, assets or asset types or other factors affecting the value of aircraft or engines.

Lessee Credit Risk.  The Company carefully evaluates the credit risk of each customer and attempts to obtain a third par-
ty guaranty, letters of credit or other credit enhancements, if it deems them necessary, in addition to customary security 
deposits.  There can be no assurance, however, that such enhancements will be available, or that, if obtained, will fully 
protect the Company from losses resulting from a lessee default or bankruptcy. 

If a lessee that is a certified U.S. airline were in default under a lease and sought protection under Chapter 11 of the 
United States Bankruptcy Code, Section 1110 of the Bankruptcy Code would automatically prevent the Company from 
exercising any remedies against such lessee for a period of 60 days.  After the 60-day period had passed, the lessee would 
have to agree to perform the lease obligations and cure any defaults, or the Company would have the right to repossess 
the equipment.  However, this procedure under the Bankruptcy Code has been subject to significant litigation, and it is 
possible that the Company’s enforcement rights would be further adversely affected by a bankruptcy filing by a default-
ing lessee. 

Lessees located in low-growth or no-growth areas of the world carry heightened risk of an unanticipated lessee default.  
The Company has had customers that have experienced significant financial difficulties, become insolvent, or have en-
tered bankruptcy proceedings.  An insolvency or bankruptcy of a customer usually results in a total loss of the receivables 
from that customer, as well as the Company incurring additional costs in order to repossess and, in some cases, repair 
the aircraft. The Company closely monitors the performance of all of its lessees and its risk exposure to any lessee that 
may be facing financial difficulties, in order to guide decisions with respect to such lessee that would mitigate losses in 
the event the lessee is unable to meet or rejects its lease obligations.  There can be no assurance that additional customers 
will not become insolvent or file for bankruptcy or that the Company will be able to mitigate any of the resultant losses.

It  is  possible  that  the  Company  may  enter  into  deferral  agreements  for  overdue  lessee  obligations.  When  a  customer 
requests a deferral of lease obligations, the Company evaluates the lessee’s financial plan, the likelihood that the lessee 
can remain a viable carrier, and whether the deferral will be repaid according to the agreed schedule.  The Company may 
elect to record the deferred rent and reserves payments from the lessee on a cash basis, which could have a material effect 
on the Company’s financial results in the applicable periods.  Deferral agreements with lessees also reduce the Company’s 
borrowing capacity under its Credit Facility.

35

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportConcentration of Lessees and Aircraft Type.  For the month ended February 28, 2018, the Company’s four largest cus-
tomers accounted for a total of approximately 84% of the Company’s monthly operating lease revenue.  A lease default 
by or collection problem with one or a combination of any of these significant customers could have a disproportionate 
negative impact on the Company’s financial results and borrowing base under the Credit Facility, and, therefore, the 
Company’s  operating  results  are  especially  sensitive  to  any  negative  developments  with  respect  to  these  customers  in 
terms of lease compliance or collection.  In addition, if the Company’s revenues become overly concentrated in a small 
number of lessees, the Company could fail to comply with certain financial covenants in its Credit Facility related to 
customer concentration.  In the event of any non-compliance that is not cured in the time permitted under the Credit 
Facility, the Company would need to seek waivers or amendment of the applicable covenants if such compliance failure 
is not timely cured.  Any default under the Credit Facility, if not cured in the time permitted under the Credit Facility or 
waived by the lenders, could result in foreclosure upon any or all of the assets of the Company. 

The Company’s aircraft portfolio is currently focused on a small number of aircraft types and models compared to the 
variety of aircraft used in the commercial air carrier market.  A change in the desirability and availability of any of the 
particular types and models of aircraft owned by the Company could affect valuations and future rental revenues of 
such aircraft, and would have a disproportionately significant impact on the Company’s portfolio value. Such aircraft 
type concentration would diminish if the Company acquires assets of other types. Conversely, acquisition of additional 
aircraft of types currently owned by the Company will increase the Company’s risks related to its concentration of those 
aircraft types.

Competition.  The aircraft leasing industry is highly competitive.  The Company competes with aircraft manufacturers, 
distributors, airlines and aircraft operators, equipment managers, leasing companies, equipment leasing programs, finan-
cial institutions and other parties engaged in leasing, managing or remarketing aircraft, many of which have significantly 
greater financial resources.  Competition in the Company’s market niche of regional aircraft, however, has increased sig-
nificantly recently as a result of new entrants to the acquisition and leasing market and consolidation of certain competi-
tors.  As competition increases, it has and will likely continue to create upward pressure on acquisition prices for many of 
the aircraft types that the Company has targeted to buy and, at the same time, create downward pressure on lease rates, 
resulting in lower margins for the Company and, therefore, fewer acceptable acquisition opportunities for the Company.

Risks Related to Regional Air Carriers.  The Company’s continued focus on its customer base of regional air carriers 
subjects the Company to additional risks. Many regional airlines rely heavily or even exclusively on a code-share or other 
contractual relationship with a major carrier for revenue, and can face financial difficulty or failure if the major carrier 
terminates the relationship or if the major carrier files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent.  Some regional carriers 
may depend on contractual arrangements with industrial customers such as mining or oil companies, or franchises from 
governmental agencies that provide subsidies for operating essential air routes, which may be subject to termination or 
cancellation on short notice.  Furthermore, many lessees in the regional air carrier market are start-up, low-capital, and/
or low-margin operators.  A current concern for regional air carriers is the supply of qualified pilots.  Due to recently 
imposed  FAA  regulations  requiring  a  higher  minimum  number  of  hours  to  qualify  as  a  commercial  passenger  pilot, 
many regional airlines have had difficulty meeting their business plans for expansion.  This could in turn affect demand 
for aircraft and the Company’s business.

General Economic Conditions and Lowered Demand for Travel.  While the United States economy has seen substantial 
improvement since its most recent global recession, not all global regions are experiencing growth, and some remain in 
recession. The Company does not anticipate any worsening of the financial condition of its overall customer base, but 
believes that there may be further shakeouts of weaker carriers in economically troubled regions.

A growing concern arises from the fact that much of the recent growth in demand for regional aircraft in developing 
countries has arisen from mining or other resource extraction operations by Chinese enterprises in these countries. A 
future, sustained major downturn in the Chinese domestic economy that reduces demand for imported raw materials 
could have a significant negative impact on the demand for business and regional aircraft in these developing countries, 
including in some of the markets in which the Company does, or seeks to do, business.

36

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportFurthermore, any further upheavals due to instability in Europe due to newly imposed U.S. sanctions against Russia, 
and the Russian and European reaction to such sanctions could have a negative impact on intra-European carriers with 
which the Company does business.  Also, Brexit and any further departures from the European Union (“EU”) could 
threaten “open-sky” policies under which EU based carriers operate freely within the EU.  Losing open-sky flight rights 
could have a significant negative impact on the health of the Company’s European lessees and, as a result, the financial 
performance and condition of the Company. 

If international conflicts erupt into military hostilities, heightened visa requirements make international travel more dif-
ficult, or terrorist attacks involving aircraft or airports occur, or a major flu outbreak occurs, passengers may avoid air 
travel altogether, and global air travel worldwide could be significantly affected. This would have an adverse impact on 
many of the Company’s customers.

Airline reductions in capacity in response to lower passenger loads can result in reduced demand for aircraft and aircraft 
engines and a corresponding decrease in market lease rental rates and aircraft values.  This reduced market value could 
affect the Company’s results if the market value of an asset or assets in the Company’s portfolio falls below carrying 
value, and the Company determines that a write-down of the value on its balance sheet is appropriate. Furthermore, 
if older, expiring leases are replaced with leases at decreased lease rates, the lease revenue from the Company’s existing 
portfolio is likely to decline, with the magnitude of the decline dependent on the length of the downturn and the depth 
of the decline in market rents.  

Economic downturns can affect certain regions of the world more than others.  As the Company’s portfolio is not entire-
ly globally diversified, a localized downturn in one of the key regions in which the Company leases assets could have a 
significant adverse impact on the Company.  The Company’s significant sources of operating lease revenue by region are 
summarized in Item 7 - Fleet Summary, above.

International Risks.  The Company leases assets in overseas markets.  Leases with foreign lessees, however, may present 
different risks than those with domestic lessees.  Most of the Company’s expected growth is outside of North America.

A lease with a foreign lessee is subject to risks related to the economy of the country or region in which such lessee is 
located, which may be weaker than the U.S. economy.  An economic downturn in a particular country or region may 
impact a foreign lessee’s ability to make lease payments, even if the U.S. and other foreign economies remain stable.

Foreign lessees are subject to risks related to currency conversion fluctuations. Although the Company’s current leases 
are all payable in U.S. dollars, the Company may agree in the future to leases that permit payment in foreign currency, 
which would subject such lease revenue to monetary risk due to currency fluctuations. 

Even with U.S. dollar-denominated lease payment provisions, the Company could still be affected by a devaluation of 
the lessee’s local currency and a stronger U.S. dollar that would make it more difficult for a lessee to meet its U.S. dol-
lar-denominated payments, increasing the risk of default of that lessee, particularly if its revenue is primarily derived in 
the local currency. 

Foreign lessees that operate internationally may also face restrictions on repatriating foreign revenue to their home coun-
try.  This could create a cash flow crisis for an otherwise profitable carrier, affecting its ability to meet its lease obligations.  
Foreign lessees may also face restrictions on payment of obligations to foreign vendors, including the Company, which 
may affect their ability to timely meet lease obligations to the Company.

Foreign lessees are not subject to U.S. bankruptcy laws, although there may be debtor protection similar to U.S. bank-
ruptcy  laws  available  in  some  jurisdictions.    Certain  countries  do  not  have  a  central  registration  or  recording  system 
which can be used to locally record the Company’s interest in equipment and related leases.  This could make it more 
difficult for the Company to recover an aircraft in the event of a default by a foreign lessee.  In any event, collection and 
enforcement may be more difficult and complicated in foreign countries.

Finally, ownership of a leased asset operating in a foreign country and/or by a foreign carrier may subject the Company 
to additional tax liabilities that are not present with aircraft operated in the United States.  Depending on the jurisdic-
tion, laws governing such tax liabilities may be complex, not well formed or not uniformly enforced. In such jurisdictions, 

37

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Reportthe Company may decide to take an uncertain tax position based on the best advice of the local tax experts it engages, 
which position may be challenged by the taxing authority.  If the taxing authority later assesses a liability, the Company 
may be required to pay penalties and interest on the assessed amount, which penalties and interest would not give rise to 
a corresponding foreign tax credit on the Company’s U.S. tax return.

Interest Rate Risk.  The Credit Facility carries a floating interest rate based upon short-term interest rate indices. Lease 
rates typically, but not always, move over time with interest rates, but market demand and numerous other asset-specific 
factors also affect lease rates. Because the Company’s typical lease rates are fixed at lease origination, interest rate chang-
es during the lease term have no effect on existing lease rental payments.  Therefore, if interest rates rise significantly and 
there is relatively little lease origination by the Company following such rate increases, the Company could experience 
decreased net income as additional interest expense outpaces revenue growth.  Further, even if significant lease origina-
tion occurs following such rate increases, other contemporaneous aircraft market forces may result in lower or flat rental 
rates, thereby decreasing net income. 

Investment in New Aircraft Types.  The Company intends to continue to focus solely on regional aircraft. Although the 
Company invested in a limited number of turboprop aircraft types in the past, the Company has also acquired several 
regional jet aircraft types, which now comprise a larger percentage of the Company’s portfolio based on number of air-
craft and net book value.  The Company may continue to seek acquisition opportunities for new types and models of 
aircraft used in the Company’s targeted customer base of regional air carriers. Acquisition of aircraft types not previous-
ly acquired by the Company entails greater ownership risk due to the Company’s lack of experience managing those assets. 
The Company believes, however, that its overall industry expertise may permit the Company to effectively manage such 
new aircraft types.  Further, the broadening of the asset types in the aircraft portfolio may have a benefit of diversifying the 
Company’s portfolio (see “Factors That May Affect Future Results – Concentration of Lessees and Aircraft Type,” above).

Reliance on JMC.  All management of the Company is currently performed by JMC under a Management Agreement 
between the Company and JMC that expires in August of 2025 and provides for an asset-based management fee.  JMC 
is not a fiduciary of the Company or its stockholders. The Company’s board of directors (the “Board”) has ultimate 
control and supervisory responsibility over all aspects of the Company and owes fiduciary duties to the Company and 
its stockholders. The Board has no control over the internal operations of JMC, but the Board does have the ability and 
responsibility to manage the Company’s relationship with JMC and the performance of JMC’s obligations to the Com-
pany under the Management Agreement, as it would have for any third-party service provider to the Company.  While 
JMC may not owe any fiduciary duties to the Company by virtue of the Management Agreement, all of the officers of 
JMC are also officers of the Company, and, in that capacity, owe fiduciary duties to the Company and its stockholders.  
In addition, an officer of the Company holds significant ownership positions in the Company and JHC, the parent com-
pany of JMC, and JHC is the Company’s largest shareholder.  Therefore, the economic interests of the Company should 
be aligned with the interests of JHC and JMC, and JMC should have substantial incentive to make financial decisions as 
the management company for the Company that are in the best interests of the Company.

The  Management  Agreement  may  be  terminated  if  JMC  defaults  on  its  obligations  to  the  Company.    However,  the 
agreement provides for liquidated damages in the event of its wrongful termination by the Company.  A director of the 
Company is also a director of JMC and, as discussed above, the officers of the Company are also officers of JMC, and 
one such officer holds significant ownership positions in both the Company and JHC, the holding company for JMC.  
Consequently, the director and officers of JMC may have a conflict of interest in the event of a dispute between the 
Company and JMC.  Although the Company has taken steps to prevent conflicts of interest arising from such dual roles, 
such conflicts may still occur.

There can be no assurance that the proposed Merger with JHC, the parent of JMC, will be consummated.  If the Merg-
er is consummated, the Company would have control over JMC’s operations and it is expected that the foregoing risks 
would be largely mitigated.  However, operating costs previously borne by JMC in managing the Company’s assets would 
be borne by the Company, and there can be no assurance that such costs will be less than the fees previously paid to JMC.

Management Fee Structure. All decisions regarding acquisitions and disposal of aircraft from the Company’s portfolio 
are currently made by JMC.  JMC is paid a management fee based on the net asset value of the Company’s portfolio.  It 
may also receive a one-time asset acquisition fee upon purchase of an asset by the Company, and a one-time remarketing 

38

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Reportfee in connection with the sale or re-lease of an asset.  Optimization of the results of the Company depends on timing of 
the acquisition, lease yield on the acquired assets, and re-lease or sale of its portfolio assets.  Under the current manage-
ment fee structure, a larger volume of acquisitions generates acquisition fees and also increases the periodic management 
fee by increasing the size of the aircraft portfolio.  Since the Company’s current business strategy involves continued 
growth of its portfolio, with the intention to buy and hold assets until the appropriate time to sell them, a compensation 
structure that results in greater compensation with an increased portfolio size is consistent with that strategy.  The com-
pensation structure does, nonetheless, create a situation where a decision by JMC for the Company to forego an asset 
transaction deemed to be an unacceptable business risk due to the lessee or the aircraft type is in conflict with JMC’s own 
short-term pecuniary interest.  As a result, the compensation structure could act to incent greater risk-taking by JMC in 
asset acquisition decision-making.  However, because JMC’s sole business and source of revenue arises from and is ex-
pected to continue arising from acting as the management company for the Company, the long-term financial health and 
viability of the Company are important to JMC’s own long-term health and viability.  Therefore, in assessing risk-taking 
in the Company’s acquisition transactions, JMC’s and the Company’s motivations are closely aligned, as JMC is incented 
to make asset acquisitions that are expected to contribute to the long-term viability of the Company.  In addition, the 
Company has established objective target guidelines for yields on acquired assets and the Company’s Board, including 
a majority of the outside independent directors, must approve any acquisition that involves a new asset type.  While the 
Company currently believes the foregoing are effective mitigating factors against undue compensation-incented risk-tak-
ing by JMC, there can be no assurance that such mechanisms can entirely and effectively eliminate such risk.

If the Merger is consummated, the management fee would be internalized and it is expected that the foregoing risks 
would be largely mitigated.

Government Regulation.  There are a number of areas in which government regulation may result in costs to the Company.  
These include aircraft registration safety requirements, required equipment modifications, maximum aircraft age, and air-
craft noise requirements.  Although it is contemplated that the burden and cost of complying with such requirements will fall 
primarily upon lessees, there can be no assurance that the cost will not fall on the Company.  Furthermore, future government 
regulations could cause the value of any non-complying equipment owned by the Company to decline substantially. 

Casualties, Insurance Coverage.  The Company, as an owner of transportation equipment, may be named in a suit claim-
ing damages for injuries or damage to property caused by its assets.  As a triple-net lessor, the Company is generally 
protected against such claims, since the lessee would be responsible for, insure against and indemnify the Company for 
such claims.  A “triple net lease” is a lease under which, in addition to monthly rental payments, the lessee is generally 
responsible for the taxes, insurance and maintenance and repair of the aircraft arising from the use and operation of the 
aircraft during the term of the lease.  Although the United States Aviation Act may provide some protection with respect 
to the Company’s aircraft assets, it is unclear to what extent such statutory protection would be available to the Company 
with respect to its assets that are operated in foreign countries where such provisions of the United States Aviation Act 
may not apply.   

The Company’s leases generally require a lessee to insure against likely risks of loss or damage to the leased asset, and 
liability to passengers and third parties pursuant to industry standard insurance policies and require lessees to provide 
insurance certificates documenting the policy periods and coverage amounts.  The Company tracks receipt of the certifi-
cates and calendars their expiration dates.  Prior to the expiration of an insurance certificate, if a replacement certificate 
has not been received, the Company reminds the lessee of its obligation to provide current insurance certificates to avoid 
a default under the lease.

Despite these requirements and procedures, there may be certain cases where the loss is not entirely covered by the lessee 
or its insurance.  The possibility of such an event is remote, but any such uninsured loss with respect to the equipment 
or insured loss for which insurance proceeds are inadequate might result in a loss of invested capital in and any profits 
anticipated from, such equipment, as well as a potential claim directly against the Company. 

Compliance with Future Environmental Regulations.  Compliance with future environmental regulations may harm the 
Company’s business. Many aspects of aircraft operations are subject to increasingly stringent environmental regulations, 
and growing concerns about climate change may result in the imposition by the U.S and foreign governments of addi-
tional regulation of carbon emissions, aimed at either requiring adoption of technology to reduce the amount of carbon 

39

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Reportemissions or putting in place a fee or tax system on carbon emitters. It is likely that any such regulation will be directed 
at the Company’s customers, as operators of aircraft, or at the Company, as owners of aircraft.  Under the Company’s 
triple-net lease arrangements, the Company would likely shift responsibility for compliance to its lessees, but there might 
be some costs of regulation that the Company could not shift and would itself have to bear. Although it is not expected 
that the costs of complying with current environmental regulations will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s 
financial position, results of operations, or cash flows, no assurance can be given that the costs of complying with envi-
ronmental regulations adopted in the future will not have such an effect.

Cyber-Security Risks. The Company believes that its main vulnerability to a cyber-attack would be interruption of the 
Company’s  email  communications  internally  and  with  third  parties,  loss  of  customer  and  lease  archives,  and  loss  of 
document sharing between the Company’s offices and remote workers.  Such an attack could temporarily impede the 
efficiency of the Company’s operations; however, the Company believes that sufficient replacement and backup mecha-
nisms exist in the event of such an interruption such that there would not be a material adverse financial impact on the 
Company’s business.  A cyber-hacker could also gain access to and release proprietary information of the Company, its 
customers, suppliers and employees stored on the Company’s data network. Such a breach could harm the Company’s 
reputation and result in competitive disadvantages, litigation, lost revenues, additional costs, or liability to third parties.  
While the Company believes that it has sufficient cyber-security measures in place commensurate with the risks to the 
Company of a successful cyber-attack or breach of its data security, its resources and technical sophistication may not 
be adequate to prevent all types of cyber-attacks.  

Possible Volatility of Stock Price.  The market price of the Company’s common stock is subject to fluctuations following 
developments relating to the Company’s operating results, changes in general conditions in the economy, the financial 
markets, the airline industry, changes in accounting principles or tax laws applicable to the Company or its lessees, or 
other developments affecting the Company, its customers or its competitors, or arising from other investor sentiment un-
known to the Company.  Because the Company has a relatively small capitalization of approximately 1.4 million shares 
outstanding, there is a correspondingly limited amount of trading and float of the Company’s shares.  Consequently, the 
Company’s stock price is more sensitive to a single large trade or a small number of simultaneous trades along the same 
trend than a company with larger capitalization and higher trading volume and float. 

Item 7A.  Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

This report does not include information described under Item 305 of Regulation S-K pursuant to the rules of the Secu-
rities and Exchange Commission that permit “smaller reporting companies” to omit such information.

Item 8. 

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

(a)  Financial Statements and Schedules

(1)  Financial statements for the Company: 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2017 and 2016
Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2017 and 2016
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for the Years Ended December 31, 2017 and 2016
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2017 and 2016

  Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 

(2)  Schedules:

All schedules have been omitted since the required information is presented in the consolidated financial 
statements or is not applicable.

40

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Stockholders and Board of Directors
AeroCentury Corp.
Burlingame, California

Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of AeroCentury Corp. (the “Company”) as of December 
31, 2017 and 2016 the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of 
the two years in the period ended December 31, 2017 and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated 
financial statements”).  In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the 
financial position of the Company at December 31, 2017 and 2016, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for 
each of the two years in the period ended December 31 2017, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted 
in the United States of America.

Basis for Opinion

These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management.  Our responsibility is to 
express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements based on our audits.  We are a public accounting 
firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to 
be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules 
and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB.  Those standards require that we plan and 
perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of materi-
al misstatement, whether due to error or fraud.  The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, 
an audit of its internal control over financial reporting.  As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding 
of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the 
Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.  

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial 
statements,  whether  due  to  error  or  fraud,  and  performing  procedures  that  respond  to  those  risks.    Such  procedures 
included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial state-
ments.  Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by manage-
ment, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements.  We believe that our audits 
provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

/s/ BDO USA, LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2006.

San Francisco, California
March 8, 2018

41

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportItem 8. 

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

AeroCentury Corp.

Consolidated Balance Sheets

ASSETS

Assets:

Cash and cash equivalents
Accounts receivable, including deferred rent of $707,300 and $604,800 at 
     December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively
Finance leases receivable
Aircraft and aircraft engines held for lease, net of accumulated 
   depreciation of $33,234,200 and $32,639,600 at  
   December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively
Assets held for sale
Prepaid expenses and other

Total assets

Liabilities:

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

December 31, December 31,

2017

2016

$    8,657,800

$    2,194,400

3,825,100
23,561,000

4,046,100
17,468,300

195,098,200
4,966,500
301,300

192,799,800
1,998,100
229,400

$236,409,900

$218,736,100

Accounts payable and accrued expenses

$       645,200

$    1,218,100

Notes payable and accrued interest, net of unamortized debt issuance 
   costs of $2,216,000 and $1,999,900 at December 31, 2017 and 
   December 31, 2016, respectively
Maintenance reserves
Accrued maintenance costs
Security deposits
Unearned revenues
Deferred income taxes
Income taxes payable

Total liabilities

Commitments and contingencies

Stockholders’ equity:

Preferred stock, $0.001 par value, 2,000,000 shares 
   authorized, no shares issued and outstanding
Common stock, $0.001 par value, 10,000,000 shares authorized, 
   1,629,999 shares issued, 1,416,699 and 1,566,699 outstanding
   at December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively
Paid-in capital
Retained earnings

Treasury stock at cost, 213,300 and 63,300 shares at 
   December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016

Total stockholders’ equity

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

145,598,200
26,942,800
1,275,300
3,147,900
2,447,500
8,533,700
452,600

125,837,900
29,424,100
965,000
3,933,200
1,903,900
12,830,500
123,200

189,043,200

176,235,900

-

-

1,600
14,780,100
35,621,800
50,403,500

1,600
14,780,100
28,222,600
43,004,300

(3,036,800)

47,366,700

(504,100)

42,500,200

$236,409,900

$218,736,100

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

42

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportAeroCentury Corp.

Consolidated Statements of Operations

Revenues and other income:

Operating lease revenue, net
Maintenance reserves revenue, net
Finance lease revenue
Net gain on disposal of assets
Net gain on sales-type finance leases
Other income

Expenses:

Depreciation
Interest
Management fees
Maintenance 
Professional fees, general and administrative and other
Provision for impairment in value of aircraft
Bad debt expense
Insurance
Other taxes

Income before income tax provision

Income tax (benefit)/provision

Net income

Earnings per share:

  Basic

  Diluted

Weighted average shares used in earnings per share computations:

  Basic

  Diluted

For the Years Ended December 31,

2017

2016

$29,002,700
3,886,900
1,571,500
791,500
297,400
3,800

$24,464,500
-
868,100
2,149,600
1,216,700
17,400

35,553,800

28,716,300

12,025,600
7,753,200
6,109,200
2,924,300
1,945,100
1,002,100
-
271,300
90,300

9,139,700
5,339,700
5,216,400
3,285,700
1,667,600
1,226,800
835,800
309,200
(276,600)

32,121,100

26,744,300

3,432,700

1,972,000

(3,966,500)

750,300

$  7,399,200

$  1,221,700

$           5.10

$           5.10

$           0.78

$           0.78

1,449,576

1,449,576

1,566,699

1,566,699

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

43

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportAeroCentury Corp.

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity

For the Years Ended December 31, 2017 and 2016

Number of 
Common 
Stock Shares 
Outstanding

Common
Stock

Paid-in
Capital

Retained
Earnings

Treasury
Stock

Total

Balance, December 31, 2015

1,566,699

$1,600

$14,780,100

$27,000,900

$   (504,100)

$ 41,278,500

Net income

-

-

-

1,221,700

-

1,221,700

Balance, December 31, 2016

1,566,699

1,600

14,780,100

28,222,600

(504,100)

42,500,200

Repurchase of shares

(150,000)

Net income

-

-

-

-

-

-

(2,532,700)

(2,532,700)

7,399,200

7,399,200

Balance, December 31, 2017

1,416,699

$1,600

$14,780,100

$35,621,800

$(3,036,800)

$47,366,700

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

44

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportAeroCentury Corp.

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

Operating activities:
  Net income
  Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash
    provided by operating activities:
      Net gain on disposal of assets
      Net gain on sales-type finance leases
      Depreciation
      Provision for impairment in value of aircraft
      Non-cash interest
      Deferred income taxes
      Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
        Accounts receivable
        Finance leases receivable
        Prepaid expenses and other
        Accounts payable and accrued expenses
        Accrued interest on notes payable
        Maintenance reserves and accrued costs
        Security deposits
        Unearned revenue
        Income taxes payable
Net cash provided by operating activities
Investing activities:

Proceeds from sale of aircraft and aircraft engines held for lease, 
   net of re-sale fees

Proceeds from sale of assets held for sale, net of re-sale fees
Proceeds from insurance

Investment in direct financing leases
Purchases of aircraft and aircraft engines

Net cash used in investing activities
Financing activities:

Issuance of notes payable – Credit Facility
Repayment of notes payable – Credit Facility
Debt issuance costs
Issuance of notes payable – special purpose financing
Repayment of notes payable – special purpose financing

Net cash provided by financing activities
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year

Cash and cash equivalents, end of year

For the Years Ended December 31,

2017

2016

$     7,399,200

$     1,221,700

(791,500)
(297,400)
12,025,600
1,002,100
1,012,300
(4,296,800)

1,000,700
(510,700)
(123,500)
(572,000)
188,100
(2,171,000)
(232,300)
608,500
329,400
14,570,700

(2,149,600)
(1,216,700)
9,139,700
1,226,800
879,000
626,300

400,100
(668,200)
(10,200)
(152,400)
(35,400)
698,700
780,500
481,000
123,200
11,344,500

12,741,200

2,918,400

193,000
-

3,422,800
18,886,700

(7,614,200)
(32,063,100)
(26,743,100)

-
(54,357,600)
(29,129,700)

35,900,000
(12,000,000)
(1,152,500)
-
(4,111,700)
18,635,800
6,463,400
2,194,400

31,300,000
(31,600,000)
(65,000)
19,609,900
(1,986,300)
17,258,600
(526,600)
2,721,000

$     8,657,800

$     2,194,400

During the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, the Company paid interest totaling $6,642,300 and $4,581,400, 
respectively.  The Company paid income taxes of $800 during each of 2017 and 2016.  During 2017, the Company repur-
chased 150,000 shares of common stock in exchange for an aircraft engine with a value of $2,532,700.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

45

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportAeroCentury Corp.

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

Year Ended December 31, 2017

1. 

Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

(a) 

The Company and Basis of Presentation

AeroCentury Corp., a Delaware corporation incorporated in 1997, typically acquires used regional aircraft and engines 
for lease to foreign and domestic regional carriers.  

In August 2016, AeroCentury Corp. formed two wholly-owned subsidiaries, ACY 19002 Limited (“ACY 19002”) and 
ACY 19003 Limited (“ACY 19003”) for the purpose of acquiring aircraft using a combination of cash and financing 
(“SPE Financing”) separate from the parent’s credit facility.  Financial information for AeroCentury Corp., ACY 19002 
and ACY 19003 (collectively, the “Company”) is presented on a consolidated basis in accordance with accounting prin-
ciples generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) based upon the continuation of the business as a 
going concern.  All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.  Certain prior year 
amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year’s presentation.  These changes did not impact the previ-
ously reported revenue, net income, stockholders’ equity or cash flows.

 (b)  Use of Estimates

The  Company’s  consolidated  financial  statements  have  been  prepared  in  accordance  with  GAAP.    The  preparation  of 
consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that 
affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the 
consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.  Actual 
results could differ from those estimates.  The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other 
assumptions that are believed to be reasonable for making judgments that are not readily apparent from other sources.

The most significant estimates with regard to these consolidated financial statements are the residual values and useful 
lives of the Company’s long lived assets, the amount and timing of future cash flows associated with each asset that are 
used to evaluate whether assets are impaired, accrued maintenance costs, accounting for income taxes, and the amounts 
recorded as allowances for doubtful accounts.

(c)   Cash and cash equivalents

The Company considers highly liquid investments readily convertible into known amounts of cash, with original matur-
ities of 90 days or less from the date of acquisition, as cash equivalents.

(d) 

Aircraft Capitalization and Depreciation

The Company’s interests in aircraft and aircraft engines are recorded at cost, which includes acquisition costs.  Since in-
ception, the Company has typically purchased only used aircraft and aircraft engines.  It is the Company’s policy to hold 
aircraft for approximately twelve years unless market conditions dictate otherwise.  Therefore, depreciation of aircraft 
is initially computed using the straight-line method over the anticipated holding period to an estimated residual value 
based on appraisal. For an aircraft engine held for lease as a spare, the Company estimates the length of time that it will 
hold the aircraft engine based upon estimated usage, repair costs and other factors, and depreciates it to the appraised 
residual value over such period using the straight-line method.

The Company periodically reviews plans for lease or sale of its aircraft and aircraft engines and changes, as appropriate, 
the remaining expected holding period for such assets.  Estimated residual values are reviewed and adjusted periodically, 
based upon updated estimates obtained from an independent appraiser.  Decreases in the fair value of aircraft could 
affect not only the current value, discussed below, but also the estimated residual value.  

46

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportAssets that are held for sale are not subject to depreciation and are separately classified on the balance sheet.  Such assets 
are carried at the lower of their carrying value or estimated fair values, less costs to sell.

(e) 

Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) 
in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market partic-
ipants on the measurement date. Valuation techniques used to measure fair value must maximize the use of observable 
inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs, to the extent possible. The fair value hierarchy under GAAP is based 
on three levels of inputs. 

Level 1 - Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. 

Level 2 - Inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets 
or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by 
observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities. 

Level 3 - Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value 
of the assets or liabilities. 

Assets and Liabilities Measured and Recorded at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis 

The carrying amount of the Company’s money market funds included in cash and cash equivalents was $6,151,900 and 
$1,348,100 at December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively.  The fair value of the Company’s money market 
funds is categorized as Level 1 under the GAAP fair value hierarchy.

As of December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, there were no liabilities that were required to be measured and record-
ed at fair value on a recurring basis.

Assets Measured and Recorded at Fair Value on a Nonrecurring Basis 

The Company determines fair value of long-lived assets held and used, such as aircraft and aircraft engines held for lease 
and assets held for sale, by reference to independent appraisals, quoted market prices (e.g., offers to purchase) and other 
factors. With respect to aircraft assets not on lease, the appraised value the Company uses is the average of current value 
appraisals from two appraisers, based on their understanding of the market for such aircraft and assuming an open and 
unrestricted market on an arm’s length basis, and given an adequate amount of time for effective exposure to buyers.  For 
assets subject to lease, the Company uses the average of two appraisals calculated on an “encumbered” basis that takes 
into consideration the rental stream and future value at lease end based on each appraiser’s estimate as adjusted for actu-
al return conditions, using an appropriate discount rate.  An impairment charge is recorded when the Company believes 
that the carrying value of an asset will not be recovered through future net cash flows and that the asset’s carrying value 
exceeds its fair value.  

(a)  

Assets held for lease

During 2017 and 2016, the Company recorded impairment charges of $1,002,100 and $905,600, respectively, on its assets 
held for lease.

(b) 

Assets held for sale

The Company recorded no impairment charges on its aircraft held for sale during 2017.  During 2016, the Company 
recorded impairment charges of $321,200 on three assets prior to their sale during the year.

47

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report 
 
 
 
 
 
Fair Value of Other Financial Instruments

The Company’s financial instruments, other than cash and cash equivalents, consist principally of finance leases receiv-
able, amounts borrowed under its credit facility (the “Credit Facility”) and notes payable under special purpose financ-
ing.  The fair value of accounts receivable, finance leases receivable, accounts payable and the Company’s maintenance 
reserves and accrued maintenance costs approximates the carrying value of these financial instruments.

Borrowings under the Company’s Credit Facility bear floating rates of interest that reset periodically to a market bench-
mark rate plus a credit margin.  The Company believes that the effective interest rate under the Credit Facility approxi-
mates current market rates for such indebtedness at the balance sheet date, and therefore that the outstanding principal 
and  accrued  interest  of  $134,278,900  and  $110,183,600  at  December  31,  2017  and  December  31,  2016,  respectively, 
approximate their fair values on such dates.  The fair value of the Company’s outstanding balance of its Credit Facility 
would be categorized as Level 3 under the GAAP fair value hierarchy.

The amounts payable under the Company’s SPE Financing are payable through the fourth quarter of 2020 and bear a 
fixed rate of interest, as described in Note 6(b) to the consolidated financial statements.  The Company believes that the 
effective interest rate under the SPE Financing approximates current market rates for such indebtedness at the balance 
sheet date, and therefore that the outstanding principal and accrued interest of $13,535,300 and $17,654,200 approxi-
mate their fair values at December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively.  Such fair value would be categorized 
as Level 3 under the GAAP fair value hierarchy.

(f) 

Impairment of Long-lived Assets

The Company reviews assets for impairment when there has been an event or a change in circumstances indicating that the 
carrying amount of a long-lived asset may not be recoverable. In addition, the Company routinely reviews all long-lived assets 
for impairment semi-annually. Recoverability of an asset is measured by comparison of its carrying amount to the future es-
timated undiscounted cash flows (without interest charges) that the asset is expected to generate.  Estimates are based on cur-
rently available market data and independent appraisals and are subject to fluctuation from time to time.  If these estimated 
future cash flows are less than the carrying value of an asset at the time of evaluation, any impairment to be recognized is mea-
sured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds its fair value.  Fair value is determined by reference to 
independent appraisals and other factors considered relevant by management. Significant management judgment is required 
in the forecasting of future operating results that are used in the preparation of estimated future undiscounted cash flows and, 
if different conditions prevail in the future, material write-downs may occur.  As discussed in (e) Fair Value Measurements 
above, the Company recorded impairment provisions totaling $1,002,100 and $1,226,800 in 2017 and 2016, respectively.  

(g)  Deferred Financing Costs and Commitment Fees

Costs incurred in connection with debt financing are deferred and amortized over the term of the debt using the effective 
interest method or, in certain instances where the differences are not material, using the straight-line method.  Costs 
incurred in connection with the Company’s Credit Facility are deferred and amortized using the straight-line method.  
Commitment fees for unused funds are expensed as incurred.  

(h) 

Security deposits

The Company’s leases are typically structured so that if any event of default occurs under a lease, the Company may 
apply all or a portion of the lessee’s security deposit to cure such default.  If such application of the security deposit is 
made, the lessee typically is required to replenish and maintain the full amount of the deposit during the remaining lease 
term.  All of the security deposits received by the Company are refundable to the lessee at the end of the lease upon 
satisfaction of all lease terms.

(i) 

Taxes

As part of the process of preparing the Company’s consolidated financial statements, management estimates income 
taxes in each of the jurisdictions in which the Company operates.  This process involves estimating the Company’s cur-
rent tax exposure under the most recent tax laws and assessing temporary differences resulting from differing treatment 

48

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report 
of items for tax and GAAP purposes.  These differences result in deferred tax assets and liabilities, which are included 
in the balance sheet.  Management also assesses the likelihood that the Company’s deferred tax assets will be recovered 
from future taxable income, and, to the extent management believes it is more likely than not that some portion or all of 
the deferred tax assets will not be realized, the Company establishes a valuation allowance.  To the extent the Company 
establishes a valuation allowance or changes the allowance in a period, the Company reflects the corresponding increase 
or  decrease  within  the  tax  provision  in  the  statement  of  operations.  Significant  management  judgment  is  required  in 
determining the Company’s future taxable income for purposes of assessing the Company’s ability to realize any benefit 
from its deferred taxes.

The Company accrues non-income based sales, use, value added and franchise taxes as other tax expense in the state-
ments of operations. 

(j) 

Revenue Recognition, Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Revenue from leasing of aircraft assets pursuant to operating leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the terms 
of the applicable lease agreements. Deferred payments are recorded as accrued rent when the cash rent received is lower 
than the straight-line revenue recognized. Such receivables decrease over the term of the applicable leases.  Interest income 
is recognized on finance leases based on the interest rate implicit in the lease and the outstanding balance of the lease 
receivable.  Maintenance reserves retained by the Company at lease-end are recognized as maintenance reserves revenue.  

In instances where collectability is not reasonably assured, the Company recognizes revenue as cash payments are re-
ceived.  The Company estimates and charges to income a provision for bad debts based on its experience with each spe-
cific customer, the amount and length of payment arrearages, and its analysis of the lessee’s overall financial condition.  
If the financial condition of any of the Company’s customers deteriorates, it could result in actual losses exceeding any 
estimated allowances.  

The Company had no allowance for doubtful accounts at December 31, 2017 and 2016.

(k) 

Comprehensive Income

The Company does not have any comprehensive income other than the revenue and expense items included in the 
statements of  operations.  As a result, comprehensive income equals net income for the years ended December 31, 
2017 and 2016.

(l) 

Finance Leases

As of December 31, 2017, the Company had six aircraft subject to sales-type finance leases and three aircraft subject to 
direct financing leases.  All nine leases contain lessee bargain purchase options at prices substantially below the subject 
assets’ estimated residual values at the exercise date for the options.  Consequently, the Company has classified each of 
these nine leases as finance leases for financial accounting purposes.  For such finance leases, the Company reports the 
discounted present value of (i) future minimum lease payments (including the bargain purchase option) and (ii) any re-
sidual value not subject to a bargain purchase option as a finance lease receivable on its balance sheet and accrues interest 
on the balance of the finance lease receivable based on the interest rate inherent in the applicable lease over the term of 
the lease.  For each of the six sales-type finance leases, the Company recognized as a gain or loss the amount equal to 
(i) the net investment in the sales-type finance lease plus any initial direct costs and lease incentives less (ii) the net book 
value of the subject aircraft at inception of the applicable lease. 

The Company recognized revenue from interest earned on finance leases in the amount of $1,571,500 and $868,100 in 
2017 and 2016, respectively.

(m)  Maintenance Reserves and Accrued Maintenance Costs

Maintenance costs under the Company’s triple net leases are generally the responsibility of the lessees.  Some of the 
Company’s  leases  require  payment  of  maintenance  reserves,  which  are  based  upon  lessee-reported  usage  and  billed 
monthly, and are intended to accumulate and be applied by the Company toward reimbursement of most or all of the 

49

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Reportcost of the lessees’ performance of certain maintenance obligations under the leases. Such reimbursements reduce the 
associated maintenance reserve liability. 

Maintenance reserves are characterized as either refundable or non-refundable depending on their disposition at lease-
end.  The Company retains non-refundable maintenance reserves at lease-end, even if the lessee has met all of its ob-
ligations under the lease, including any return conditions applicable to the leased asset, while refundable reserves are 
returned to the lessee under such circumstances.  Any reserves retained by the Company at lease end are recorded as 
revenue at that time.

Accrued maintenance costs include (i) maintenance for work performed for off-lease aircraft, which is not related to 
the release of maintenance reserves received from lessees and which is expensed as incurred and (ii) lessor maintenance 
obligations assumed and recognized as a liability upon acquisition of aircraft subject to a lease with such provisions. 

(n) 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 
2014-09 that created the new Topic 606 (“Topic 606”) in the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”).  Topic 606 also 
included numerous conforming additions and amendments to other Topics within the ASC.  Topic 606 established new 
rules that affect the amount and timing of revenue recognition for contracts with customers, but does not affect lease 
accounting and reporting.  As such, adoption of these provisions will not affect the Company’s lease revenues but may af-
fect the reporting of the Company’s non-lease revenues.  On August 12, 2015, the FASB deferred the effective date of the 
provisions included in Topic 606 to years commencing after December 15, 2017, although early adoption was permitted 
for the year ended December 31, 2017.  Adoption may be reflected using either a full retrospective method, applying the 
standard to all periods presented, or a simplified method that does not recast prior periods but does disclose the effect of 
the adoption on the current period consolidated financial statements.  Since most of the Company’s revenues arise from 
its lease contracts, which are not affected by the new standard, and since the Company’s revenue recognition for other 
sources of revenue is generally the same as it was under previous accounting standards, the Company has determined 
that adoption of Topic 606, using the modified retrospective approach, does not have a material effect on its consolidated 
financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) (“ASU 2016-02”).  ASU 2016-02 is effective for 
public companies for years beginning after December 15, 2018, although early adoption is permitted.  ASU 2016-02 
substantially modifies lessee accounting for leases, requiring that lessees recognize lease assets and liabilities for leases 
extending beyond one year. Leases will be classified as either finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern 
of expense recognition in the income statement.

The new standard requires a lessor to classify leases as sales-type, finance or operating.  A lease will be treated as a sale 
if it transfers all of the risks and rewards, as well as control of the underlying asset, to the lessee. If risks and rewards 
are conveyed without the transfer of control, the lease is treated as a financing.  If the lessor does not convey risks and 
rewards or control, an operating lease results.  A modified retrospective transition approach is required for lessors for 
sales-type, finance, and operating leases existing at, or entered into after, the beginning of the earliest comparative period 
presented in the financial statements, with certain practical expedients available.  

The Company is reviewing those agreements under which it is the lessor and is evaluating the impact of the adoption of 
ASU 2016-02 on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.  The Company does not expect to adopt 
ASU 2016-02 early, and expects to elect practical expedients in connection with its adoption, including not re-evaluating 
lease classification or capitalized initial direct costs on existing leases. 

The Company is not a lessee under any agreements that would be considered leases under ASU 2016-02, and so would 
be unaffected with respect to its adoption with respect to lessee accounting.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-01, Business Combinations (Topic 805) (“ASU 2017-01”).  ASU 2017-01 
is  effective  for  public  companies  for  years  beginning  after  December  15,  2017,  although  early  adoption  is  permitted.  
ASU 2017-01 clarifies the definition of a business with the objective of adding guidance to assist entities with evaluating 
whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses.  The Company has 

50

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Reportearly adopted ASU 2017-01 effective beginning the first quarter ended March 31, 2017 and has determined that none 
of its acquired assets qualifies as a business, such that no gain, loss or adjustment to the carrying value of assets was 
required in connection with such adoption.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, Intangibles -- Goodwill and Other (Topic 350) (“ASU 2017-04”), which 
provides for simplification of the test for goodwill impairment.  Under the revised standard, “step 2” of the test under the 
previous standard is eliminated and (i) the fair value of the reporting unit is compared to its carrying value, with (ii) an 
impairment charge up to the amount of goodwill recognized for the excess of carrying value over fair value (considering 
the income tax effects of deductible goodwill, if applicable).  The new provisions are required to be adopted for fiscal 
years beginning after December 15, 2019, although the Company has elected to early adopt the new provisions beginning 
with its quarter ended March 31, 2017.  Adoption of ASU 2017-04 has had no effect on the financial results or position 
of the Company.

2. 

Finance Leases Receivable

During 2017, the Company leased a turboprop aircraft pursuant to a sales-type finance lease and recorded a related gain 
of $297,400.  The Company used cash of $7,614,200 for the acquisition of three regional jet aircraft, which are recorded 
as direct financing leases.

During 2016, the Company leased three turboprop aircraft pursuant to sales-type finance leases and recorded related 
gains totaling $1,208,100.  The Company also recorded gains totaling $8,600 related to the lessee’s exercise of its pur-
chase options under two sales-type finance leases.  

At December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the net investment included in sales-type finance leases and direct financ-
ing leases receivable were as follows:

Gross minimum lease payments receivable
Less unearned interest

Finance leases receivable

December 31,
2017
$27,074,400
(3,513,400)

December 31,
2016
$20,829,200
(3,360,900)

$23,561,000

$17,468,300

As of December 31, 2017, minimum future payments receivable under finance leases were as follows:

Years ending

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

$  6,262,200

7,087,600

5,036,600

5,381,000

3,307,000

$27,074,400

51

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report3. 

Aircraft and Aircraft Engines Held for Lease or Sale

(a) 

Assets Held for Lease

At December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company’s assets held for lease consisted of the following.  

Type

Regional jet aircraft
Turboprop aircraft
Engines

December 31, 2017

December 31, 2016

Number
owned

% of net 
book value

Number
owned

% of net 
book value

13
10
1

82%
17%
1%

12
12
4

73%
23%
4%

During  2017  and  2016,  the  Company  used  cash  of  $32,063,100  and  $54,357,600,  respectively,  for  the  purchase  and 
capital improvement of aircraft.  At the time of purchase in 2016, the Company received $17,179,300 of maintenance 
reserves related to two aircraft; such reserves are reflected as a deduction in the amount of cash used for purchases and 
related acquisition costs in the investing activities section of the Company’s statement of cash flows for the year ended 
December 31, 2016.

During 2017, the Company sold seven of its assets held for lease and recorded gains totaling $704,100.  

In April 2016, one of the Company’s turboprop aircraft was involved in an accident and was declared a total loss by 
the  lessee’s  insurer.    The  Company  received  insurance  proceeds  of  $17,640,000  in  May  2016  and  recorded  a  gain  of 
$2,146,500.

During 2017, the Company extended the leases for one of its assets held for lease.  The Company also leased, and subse-
quently sold, an aircraft that had been off lease at December 31, 2016.

Eight of the Company’s aircraft held for lease were off lease at December 31, 2017, representing 13% of the net book 
value of the Company’s aircraft and engines held for lease.  As discussed in Note 13, two of the off-lease aircraft were 
sold in the first quarter of 2018.

As of  December 31, 2017, minimum future lease revenue payments receivable under non-cancelable operating leases 
were as follows:

Years ending

2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Thereafter

(b) 

Assets Held for Sale

$  24,743,000
24,641,300
23,003,000
15,901,600
13,944,000
29,447,400
$131,680,300

Assets held for sale at December 31, 2017 consist of turboprop airframe parts from three aircraft. 

During 2017, the Company received $193,100 from the sale  of   parts and accrued receivables totaling $779,700 for 
2017 parts sales, payment for which was received in 2018.  Of  such amounts, $885,400 reduced the carrying value of 
the parts and $87,400 was recorded as gains in excess of  the carrying value of  the parts.  During 2016, the Company 
received $178,400 from the sale of  parts, of  which $175,300 reduced the carrying value of  the parts and $3,100 was 
recorded as a gain.

52

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportDuring 2016, the Company sold four regional aircraft that had been held for sale at December 31, 2015, as well as a 
spare engine that had been written down by $246,200 to its net sales price and classified as held for sale.  The Company 
recorded impairment charges totaling $75,000 for two of the aircraft, based on a reduced sale price.

4. 

Operating Segments

The Company operates in one business segment, the leasing of regional aircraft to foreign and domestic regional airlines, 
and therefore does not present separate segment information for lines of business.

Approximately 21% and 17% of the Company’s operating lease revenue was derived from lessees domiciled in the United 
States during 2017 and 2016, respectively.  All revenues relating to aircraft leased and operated internationally are de-
nominated and payable in U.S. dollars. 

The tables below set forth geographic information about the Company’s operating lease revenue for leased aircraft and 
aircraft equipment, grouped by domicile of the lessee: 

Operating Lease Revenue

Europe and United Kingdom
North America
Africa
Asia
Australia
Central and South America

For the Years Ended December 
31,

2017

2016

$14,941,100
8,506,700
3,306,100
1,251,300
997,500
-
$29,002,700

$  9,999,900
6,840,500
4,430,300
1,800,400
1,140,000
253,400
$24,464,500

December 31,

Net Book Value of Aircraft and Aircraft Engines Held for Lease

2017

2016

Europe and United Kingdom
North America
Off lease
Asia
Africa
Australia

$92,108,500
72,270,700
24,636,900
6,082,100
-
-
$195,098,200

$105,088,300
42,824,300
13,113,200
6,463,700
21,724.400
3,585,900
$192,799,800

The table below set forth geographic information about the Company’s finance lease revenue, grouped by domicile of 
the lessee: 

Finance Lease Revenue

Africa
United Kingdom

For the Years Ended December 31,

2017

2016

$   1,180,600
390,900
$   1,571,500

$   868,100
-
$   868,100

53

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report5. 

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash 
deposits and receivables.  The Company places its deposits with financial institutions and other creditworthy issuers and 
limits the amount of credit exposure to any one party.

For the year ended December 31, 2017 the Company had five significant customers, four of which individually accounted 
for 28%, 20%, 14% and 11%, respectively, of operating lease revenue and one of which accounted for 75% of finance lease 
revenue.  For the year ended December 31, 2016 the Company had four significant customers, three of which individu-
ally accounted for 21%, 17% and 17%, respectively, of operating lease revenue and one of which accounted for 100% of 
finance lease revenue.

At December 31, 2017, the Company had receivables from four customers totaling $2,959,200 representing 77% of the 
Company’s total accounts receivable, as well as receivables totaling $779,700 for parts sales related to its aircraft held for 
sale.  In early 2018, the Company received payments totaling $3,147,600 related to these receivables.

At December 31, 2016, the Company had receivables from two customers totaling $2,663,400 representing 78% of the 
Company’s total accounts receivable.  The Company received payment for these receivables during 2017.

6. 

Notes Payable and Accrued Interest

At December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company’s notes payable and accrued interest consisted of 
the following:

Credit Facility:
   Principal
   Unamortized debt issuance costs
   Accrued interest
SPE Financing:
   Principal
   Accrued interest

December 31,
2017

December 31,
2016

$134,000,000
(2,216,000)
278,900

13,511,900
23,400

$110,100,000
(1,999,900)
83,600

17,623,600
30,600

$145,598,200

$125,837,900

As of December 31, 2017, principal payments due under the Company’s notes payable were as follows:

Years ending

2018
2019
2020

(a) 

Credit Facility

$    4,300,700
138,498,300
4,712,900
$147,511,900

The Company’s Credit Facility is provided by a syndicate of banks and is secured by all of the assets of the Company, 
including its aircraft and engine portfolio. In July 2017, the Credit Facility was amended to increase the total amount 
available for borrowing from $150 million to $170 million.  In December 2017, the Credit Facility was amended to allow 
for the Company’s proposed acquisition of JetFleet Holding Corp. (“JHC”), discussed in Note 7.  Covenants regarding 
profitability, a debt to equity ratio and customer concentration were also modified.

The Credit Facility, which expires on May 31, 2019, can be expanded to a maximum of $180 million.  The Company was 
in compliance with all covenants under the Credit Facility at December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016. 

54

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportThe unused amount of the Credit Facility was $36,000,000 and $39,900,000 as of December 31, 2017 and December 31, 
2016, respectively.  The weighted average interest rate on the Credit Facility was 5.21% and 4.15% at December 31, 2017 
and December 31, 2016, respectively.

(b) 

SPE Financing

In August 2016, the Company acquired two regional jet aircraft using cash and financing separate from its Credit Facili-
ty. The separate SPE Financing resulted in note obligations totaling $19,609,900, which are being paid from a portion of 
the rent payments on the related aircraft leases through October 3, 2020 and November 7, 2020, respectively, and which 
bear interest at the rate of 4.455% per annum.  The borrower under each note obligation is the special purpose entity 
that owns each aircraft.  The notes are collateralized by the aircraft and are recourse only to the special purpose entity 
borrower and its aircraft asset, subject to standard exceptions for this type of financing.  Payments due under the notes 
consist of quarterly principal and interest.  The combined balance of the notes payable and accrued interest on these 
notes at December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 was $13,535,300 and $17,654,200, respectively.  

7. 

Acquisition of Management Company

In October 2017, the Company and JHC entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) for 
the acquisition of JHC by the Company in a reverse triangular merger (“Merger”) for consideration of $3.5 million in 
cash and 129,286 shares of common stock of the Company, subject to adjustment as provided in the Merger Agreement.  
The Company submitted an application to the State of California Department of Business Oversight (the “DBO”) for 
a permit (“Permit”) to issue securities to JHC’s shareholders in the Merger, which Permit was issued on February 22, 
2018 after a hearing with the DBO.  It is anticipated that the closing will occur early in the second quarter of 2018, upon 
the fulfillment of several conditions, including votes in favor of the Merger by certain specified constituencies of JHC 
shareholders.  The Company is evaluating the accounting for the Merger.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company accrued $619,400 of expenses related to the proposed Merger 
transaction.  Such expenses are included in professional fees, general and administrative and other in the Company’s 
consolidated statements of operations.

8. 

Contingencies

In the ordinary conduct of the Company’s business, the Company is subject to lawsuits, arbitrations and administrative 
proceedings from time to time. The Company believes that the outcome of any existing or known threatened proceedings, 
even if determined adversely, should not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, 
liquidity or results of operations.

9. 

Stockholder Rights Plan

In December 2009, the Company’s Board of Directors adopted a stockholder rights plan granting a dividend of one 
stock  purchase  right  for  each  share  of  the  Company’s  common  stock  outstanding  as  of  December  18,  2009  and  the 
Company entered into a rights agreement dated December 1, 2009 in connection therewith. The rights become exercis-
able only upon the occurrence of certain events specified in the rights agreement, including the acquisition of 15% of the 
Company’s outstanding common stock by a person or group in certain circumstances.  Each right allows the holder, oth-
er than an “acquiring person,” to purchase one one-hundredth of a share (a unit) of Series A Preferred Stock at an initial 
purchase price of $97.00 under circumstances described in the rights agreement. The purchase price, the number of units 
of preferred stock and the type of securities issuable upon exercise of the rights are subject to adjustment. The rights 
expire at the close of business December 1, 2019 unless earlier redeemed or exchanged. Until a right is exercised, the 
holder thereof, as such, has no rights as a stockholder of the Company, including the right to vote or to receive dividends.

55

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report10.  

Income Taxes

The items comprising the income tax provision are as follows:

Current tax provision:

Federal
State
Foreign
Current tax provision
Deferred tax provision/(benefit):

Federal
State
Foreign
Net legislative change in corporate tax rate

Deferred tax (benefit)/provision

Total income tax (benefit)/provision

For the Years Ended December 31,

2017

2016

$                  -
800
329,500
330,300

1,159,700
35,100
(111,300)
 (5,380,300)
(4,296,800)

$                -

800
123,200
124,000

626,700
45,100
(45,500)
-
626,300

$(3,966,500)

$750,300

Total income tax (benefit)/expense differs from the amount that would be provided by applying the statutory federal 
income tax rate to pretax earnings as illustrated below:

Income tax provision at statutory federal income tax rate
State tax provision, net of federal benefit
Non-deductible expenses
Net legislative change in corporate tax rate 
Total income tax (benefit)/provision

For the Years Ended December 31,

2017

2016

$  1,167,100
33,100
213,500
(5,380,200)
$(3,966,500)

$670,500
45,200
34,600
 -
$750,300

Temporary differences and carry-forwards that give rise to a significant portion of deferred tax assets and liabilities as of 
December 31, 2017 and 2016 were as follows: 

Deferred tax assets:

Maintenance reserves
Current and prior year tax losses
Foreign tax credit 
Alternative minimum tax credit
Deferred maintenance, bad debt allowance and other

Deferred tax assets

Deferred tax liabilities:

Accumulated depreciation on aircraft and aircraft engines

       Deferred income

Net deferred tax liabilities

December 31,

2017

2016

$   2,810,200
3,362,100
295,800
45,500
38,800
6,552,400

$    6,846,800
4,016,000
77,700
45,500
62,100
11,048,100

(14,591,000)
(495,100)
$(8,533,700)

(23,012,800)
(865,800)
$(12,830,500)

Deferred federal income taxes arise from temporary differences between the valuation of assets and liabilities as deter-
mined for financial reporting purposes and federal income tax purposes and are measured at enacted tax rates.  As of 
December 31, 2016, the Company measured its deferred tax items at an effective federal tax rate of 34%.  On December 
22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “Act”) was signed into law.  Among other things, the Act reduced the 
Company’s corporate federal tax rate to a flat 21% for years after 2017.  As a result, the Company’s deferred tax items 

56

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report  
 
are measured at an effective federal tax rate of 21% as of December 31, 2017.  Although realization is not assured, man-
agement believes it is more likely than not that the entire deferred federal income tax asset will be realized.  The amount 
of the deferred federal income tax assets considered realizable could be reduced in the near term if estimates of future 
taxable income are reduced. 

The current year federal operating loss carryovers of approximately $16 million will be available to offset taxable income 
in future years through 2037 (and would be available in the two preceding years if the Company had taxable income in 
such years).  The current year state operating loss carryovers of approximately $62,000 will be available to offset taxable 
income in the two preceding years and in future years through 2037.  The Company expects to utilize the net operating 
loss carryovers remaining at December 31, 2017 in future years.

Utilization of the domestic NOLs may be subject to a substantial annual limitation due to ownership change limitations 
that may have occurred or that could occur in the future, as required by the Internal Revenue Code Section 382, as well 
as similar state provisions. In general, an “ownership change,” as defined by the code, results from a transaction or series 
of transactions over a three-year period resulting in an ownership change of more than 50 percentage points of the out-
standing stock of a company by certain stockholders or public groups. Any limitation may result in expiration of all or 
a portion of the NOL or tax credit carryforwards before utilization.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company had pre-tax income from domestic sources of approximately 
$2.2  million  and  pre-tax  income  from  foreign  sources  of  approximately  $1.2  million.    The  Company  had  pre-tax  in-
come from domestic sources of approximately $1.6 million and pre-tax income from foreign sources of approximately 
$388,000 for the year ended December 31, 2016.  The foreign tax credit carryover will be available to offset federal tax 
expense in future years through 2027.   

The Act repeals the corporate alternative minimum tax for tax years beginning after 2017.  In addition, beginning in 
2018, the Company’s alternative minimum tax credit (“MTC”) will be available to offset federal tax expense and is re-
fundable in an amount equal to 50% of the excess MTC for the tax year over the amount of the credit allowable for the 
year against regular tax liability.  In 2021, any remaining MTC will be fully refundable. 

At December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company had no material uncertain tax positions.

The Company accounts for interest related to uncertain tax positions as interest expense, and for income tax penalties 
as tax expense.

All of the Company’s tax years remain open to examination other than as barred in the various jurisdictions by statutes 
of limitation.

11. 

Computation of Earnings Per Share

Basic and diluted earnings per share are calculated as follows:

Net income

Weighted average shares outstanding for the period

Basic earnings per share
Diluted earnings per share

For the Years Ended December 31,

2017

2016

$7,399,200

$1,221,700

1,449,576

$        5.10
$        5.10

1,566,699

$        0.78
$        0.78

57

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportBasic earnings per common share is computed using net income and the weighted average number of common shares 
outstanding during the period.  Diluted earnings per common share are computed using net income and the weighted 
average number of common shares outstanding, assuming dilution.  Weighted average common shares outstanding, as-
suming dilution, include potentially dilutive common shares outstanding during the period, of which the Company had 
none during 2017 and 2016. 

12. 

Related Party Transactions

The Company’s portfolio of leased aircraft assets is managed and administered under the terms of the Management 
Agreement with JMC, which is an integrated aircraft management, marketing and financing business and a subsidiary 
of JHC.  Certain officers of the Company are also officers of JHC and JMC and hold significant ownership positions in 
both JHC and the Company. 

Under the Management Agreement, JMC receives a monthly management fee based on the net asset value of the assets 
under  management.    JMC  also  receives  an  acquisition  fee  for  locating  assets  for  the  Company.    Acquisition  fees  are 
included in the cost basis of the asset purchased.  JMC may receive a remarketing fee in connection with the re-lease or 
sale of the Company’s assets.  Remarketing fees are amortized over the applicable lease term or included in the gain or 
loss on sale.  If the Merger is consummated, then the current JMC management fee structure will cease, but the costs 
previously borne by JMC in managing the Company’s assets will be borne by the Company and will not be limited to the 
management fee amount, as was the case when the Management Agreement was in place.

Fees incurred during 2017 and 2016 were as follows:

Management fees
Acquisition fees
Remarketing fees

For the Years Ended December 31,

2017

2016

$6,109,200
850,500
51,100

$5,204,500
1,124,200
284,500

See the discussion in Note 7 regarding the Agreement and Plan of Merger for the acquisition of JHC by the Company.

In August 2009, the Company entered into an agreement (the “Assignment Agreement”) with Lee G. Beaumont in which 
Mr. Beaumont assigned to the Company his rights to purchase certain aircraft engines from an unrelated third party 
seller.  In January 2012, Mr. Beaumont became a “related person” with respect to the Company due to his open market 
acquisitions of shares representing over 5% of the Company’s common stock.  In March 2017, the Company exchanged 
one of its engines for 150,000 shares of common stock of the Company held by Mr. Beaumont.  The Company recorded 
no gain or loss related to the exchange.

13. 

Subsequent Events

In January 2018, the Company sold a turboprop aircraft and recorded a gain of approximately $47,000.

In February 2018, the Company sold a turboprop aircraft that had been written down to its net sales value at December 
31, 2017.

On February 22, 2018, the DBO held a hearing regarding the Merger transaction pursuant to Section 25142 of the Cal-
ifornia Corporations Code, to determine whether the terms and conditions of the issuance of the Company’s shares of 
Common Stock in the Merger to JHC’s shareholders are fair.  Following the hearing, a permit was issued by the DBO, 
which will allow the issuance of the Company’s common stock in the Merger transaction to be exempt from federal se-
curities registration under Section 3(a)(10) of the Securities Act.  The Company is currently in the process of soliciting 
the consent of the JHC shareholders to the Merger which is one of the material conditions precedent to the closing of 
the Merger transaction.

58

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportItem 9. 

Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.

None.

Item 9A.  Controls and Procedures.

CEO and CFO Certifications. Attached as exhibits to this Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Report”) are certifications 
of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer (the “CEO”) and the Company’s Chief Financial Officer (the “CFO”), which 
are required pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Section 302 Certifications”). This section 
of the Report includes information concerning the evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures referred to in the 
Section 302 Certifications and this should be read in conjunction with the Section 302 Certifications for a more complete 
understanding of the topics presented.

Evaluation of the Company’s Disclosure Controls and Procedures. Disclosure controls and procedures (the “Disclosure 
Controls”) are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in 
the Company’s reports filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), such as this Report, is 
recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the Securities 
and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s 
management, including the CEO and CFO, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. 

The Company’s management, with the participation of the CEO and CFO, evaluated the effectiveness of the design and 
operation of the Company’s Disclosure Controls and concluded that the Company’s Disclosure Controls were effective 
as of December 31, 2017. 

Management’s Annual Report on the Company’s Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Internal control over financial 
reporting (“Internal Control”) is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial 
reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted ac-
counting principles and includes policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable 
detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company; (2) provide reason-
able assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance 
with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance 
with authorizations of management and directors; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely 
detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on 
the financial statements.  The Company’s management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate Internal 
Control.  Because of its inherent limitations, any system of internal control over financial reporting, no matter how well 
designed, may not prevent or detect misstatements due to the possibility that a control can be circumvented or overridden 
or that misstatements due to error or fraud may occur that are not detected.  Also, because of changes in conditions, 
internal control effectiveness may vary over time.

Management evaluated the Company’s Internal Control based on the framework set forth by the Committee of Spon-
soring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) and concluded 
that the Company’s Internal Control was effective as of December 31, 2017.  This report does not include an attestation 
report  on  Internal  Control  by  the  Company’s  independent  registered  public  accounting  firm  since  the  Company  is  a 
smaller reporting company under the rules of the SEC.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting.  No change in Internal Control occurred during the fiscal quarter 
ended December 31, 2017 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s Internal 
Control. 

Item 9B.  Other Information.

None.

59

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportItem 10.  Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.

PART III

The information required by this item is included under (i) “Proposal 1: Election of Directors” as it relates to members 
of the Company’s Board of Directors, including the Company’s Audit Committee and the Company’s Audit Committee 
financial  experts,  any  changes  to  procedures  by  which  security  holders  may  recommend  nominees  to  the  Company’s 
Board of Directors, (ii) “Information Regarding the Company’s Directors and Officers” as it relates to the Company’s 
executive officers, and (iii) “Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance” as it relates to information con-
cerning Section 16(a) beneficial ownership reporting compliance, in the Company’s definitive proxy statement (“Proxy 
Statement”), to be filed in connection with the Company’s 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, and is incorporated 
herein by reference.

The Company has adopted a code of business conduct and ethics, or code of conduct.  The code of conduct qualifies 
as a “code of ethics” within the meaning of Section 406 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules promulgated 
thereunder. A copy of the code of conduct is available on the Company’s website at http://www.aerocentury.com or upon 
written request to the Investor Relations Department, 1440 Chapin Avenue, Suite 310, Burlingame, California 94010.  
To the extent required by law, any amendments to, or waivers from, any provision of the code will be promptly disclosed 
publicly. To the extent permitted by such requirements, the Company intends to make such public disclosure on its web-
site in accordance with SEC rules.

Item 11.    Executive Compensation.

Incorporated by reference to the section of the Proxy Statement entitled “Information Regarding the Company’s Direc-
tors and Officers — Employee Compensation.”

Item 12. 

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and 
  Related Stockholder Matters.

Incorporated  by  reference  to  the  section  of  the  Proxy  Statement  entitled  “Security  Ownership  of  Certain  Beneficial 
Owners and Management.”

Item 13.  Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.

Incorporated by reference to the section of the Proxy Statement entitled “Related Party Transactions.”

Item 14.  Principal Accountant Fees and Services.

Incorporated by reference to the section of the Proxy Statement entitled “Information Regarding Auditors – Audit Fees.” 

60

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report 
PART IV

Description

Item 15.  Exhibits.

(b) 

Exhibits

Exhibit  
Number

10.37

10.38

31.1

31.2

32.1*

32.2*

Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of October 26, 2017, by and among the AeroCentury 
Corp., Falcon Landing, Inc., JHC Holding Corp., and Fortis Advisors LLC, incorporated herein 
by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the Company’s Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and 
Exchange Commission on October 30, 2017 

Fifth Modification Agreement between the Company and MUFG Union Bank, N.A., as Lender 
and Swing Line Lender, and as Agent, California Bank & Trust, a division of ZB, N.A., Columbia 
State Bank, Umpqua Bank, U.S. Bank National Association, and Columbia State Bank, dated 
December 20, 2017, incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Report on 
Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 21, 2017

Certification of Michael G. Magnusson, Chief Executive Officer, pursuant to Section 302 of the 
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

Certification  of  Toni  M.  Perazzo,  Chief  Financial  Officer,  pursuant  to  Section  302  of  the  Sar-
banes-Oxley Act of 2002

Certification  of  Michael  G.  Magnusson  Chief  Executive  Officer,  pursuant  to  Section  906  of  the 
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 

Certification of Toni M. Perazzo, Chief Financial Officer, pursuant to
Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

101.INS XBRL Instance Document

101.SCH XBRL Schema Document

101.CAL XBRL Calculation Linkbase Document

101.LAB XBRL Label Linkbase Document

101.PRE XBRL Presentation Linkbase Document

101.DEF XBRL Definition Linkbase Document

* These certificates are furnished to, but shall not be deemed to be filed with, the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Item 16. 

Form 10-K Summary.

None.

61

AeroCentury 2017 Annual ReportSIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly 
caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

AEROCENTURY CORP.

By 

/s/ Toni M. Perazzo 
Toni M. Perazzo
Senior Vice President-Finance and
Chief Financial Officer

Date 

March 8, 2018

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and 
appoints Toni M. Perazzo, or her attorneys-in-fact, with the power of substitution, for her in any and all capacities, to 
sign any amendments to this Report on Form 10K and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in 
connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attor-
neys-in-fact, or her substitute or substitutes, may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.  

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following 
persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities indicated.

Signature

Title

Dated

/s/ Michael G. Magnusson
Michael G. Magnusson

President of the Registrant (Principal Executive Officer)

 March 8, 2018

/s/ Toni M. Perazzo
Toni M. Perazzo

Director and Senior Vice President-Finance and Secretary of the 
Registrant (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) 

 March 8, 2018

Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Registrant

 March 8, 2018

Director

Director

Director

 March 8, 2018

March 8, 2018

 March 8, 2018

/s/ Evan M. Wallach
Evan M. Wallach

/s/ Roy E. Hahn
Roy E. Hahn

/s/ Karen M. Rogge
Karen M. Rogge

/s/ David P. Wilson
David P. Wilson

62

AeroCentury 2017 Annual Report 
CORPORATE INFORMATION

Officers and Directors

Michael G. Magnusson
President

Toni M. Perazzo
Director, Chief Financial Officer, Secretary, and
Senior Vice President — Finance

Christopher B. Tigno
General Counsel

Roy E. Hahn
Director, Audit Committee Chair
Managing Director of Marbridge Group, LLC

Karen M. Rogge
Director
President of RYN Group LLC

Evan M. Wallach
Chairman of the Board
President and Chief Executive Officer of
Global Airfinance Corporation

David P. Wilson
Director, Compensation Committee Chair
Retired Senior Vice President of
GE Capital Aviation Services

Transfer Agent and Registrar
Continental Stock Transfer and Trust Company
17 Battery Place, 8th Floor
New York, NY  10004

Legal Counsel
Morrison & Foerster LLP
755 Page Mill Road
Palo Alto, CA 94304

Registered Independent Public Accountants
BDO USA, LLP
One Bush Street, Suite 1800
San Francisco, CA 94104

Corporate Headquarters
AeroCentury Corp.
1440 Chapin Ave., Suite 310
Burlingame, CA  94010

Annual Meeting
The Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be held at: 
The Hiller Aviation Museum
601 Skyway Road
San Carlos, CA, on May 3, 2018 at 12:00 P.M.

Form 10-K
The Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K 
for 2017 may be obtained by writing:
AeroCentury Corp.
1440 Chapin Ave., Suite 310
Burlingame, CA  94010

Stock Price and Shareholder Data
The Company’s common stock is traded on
the NYSE American exchange under
the symbol ACY.

AeroCentury Corp.
1440 Chapin Avenue
Suite 310
Burlingame, CA 94010

Phone: 650.340.1888

www.AeroCentury.com