Dubai – Mubasher: Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) on Tuesday reported a 277% year-on-year profit hike in the first nine months of 2018, registering $290.5 million, from $77.1 million.

Revenues jumped 124% to $1.069 billion during the nine-month period ended September, compared to $477.5 million in the same period a year earlier, the government-controlled firm said in a statement.

In May, DAE, which was one of the world's largest aircraft lessors, inked three agreements to sell 16 planes at a combined value of $900 million.

Proceeds of the sale would be used to pay down debt and to support growth plans, DAE chief executive Firoz Tarapore previously said in a statement.

The sale, which included Boeing 737 and Airbus A320, A330, and A350 aircraft, would not impact DAE’s total number of customers, Tarapore said.

The chief executive told Reuters that the company was in talks to buy a near-record total of 400 jetliners from Airbus and Boeing in a $40 billion that would match the order pipeline of rivals.