Triton International Ltd has reported fourth-quarter net income attributable to common shareholders of $152.2 million and a full-year profit of $694.8 million.

Triton International Limited is a leasing company based in Bermuda, the world’s largest lessor of intermodal freight containers.

With a container fleet of more than seven million 20ft equivalent units, Triton’s global operations include acquisition, leasing, re-leasing and subsequent sale of multiple types of intermodal containers and chassis.

Brian Sondey, the chief executive of the company, said: "Triton's results in the fourth quarter of 2022 provided a strong finish to an outstanding year.“

He said: "Triton's outstanding performance reflects durable enhancements we have made to our business. In 2020 and 2021, Triton capitalised on very strong market conditions to drive rapid growth in our container fleet and to significantly extend the average duration of our lease portfolio.

“We were also able to take advantage of very low interest rates as well as our upgrade to an investment-grade debt rating to refinance most of our debt portfolio, locking in low-cost long-term financing."

"Global trade volumes decreased in 2022 due to a variety of global economic and geopolitical challenges and as consumers shifted spending back to services.

“Logistical bottlenecks also eased in 2022, leading to improved container turn times. As a result, most of our customers shifted from aggressive container fleet expansion to fleet reductions. While Triton's operating metrics faced pressure in 2022, our performance remained strong. Our utilisation averaged 99.1 per cent in 2022, and currently stands at 97.6 per cent."

"Triton continued to generate strong cashflow in 2022, reflecting the power and stability of our business model. We also demonstrated our ability to use our cashflow to drive shareholder value across a wide range of market environments as we shifted our investment focus from rapid fleet growth to aggressive share repurchases.

“We repurchased 9.1 million shares in 2022 for prices that we believe are compelling, leading to a 13.8 per cent reduction in our outstanding shares while also decreasing leverage."

Looking to the future, Mr Sondey said: "We expect our utilisation will continue to gradually trend down as long as market conditions remain challenging, but we expect our operating and financial performance will remain strong.

“The first quarter is typically the slow season for dry containers and has the fewest number of days. In addition, we expect used container sale prices and our disposal gains will begin to decrease more quickly.

“Our financial results will also not have the benefit of the transactions that added $0.13 to our adjusted net income per share in the fourth quarter. As a result, we expect our adjusted net income per share will decrease from the fourth quarter of 2022 to the first quarter of 2023."

"The trajectory of our performance after the first quarter will depend on how market conditions evolve. The outlook for global economic conditions is uncertain, but our fleet remains well protected by our lease portfolio, and container supply and demand usually rebalance quickly due to the short order cycle for containers and the steady disposal of older assets.

“We also expect to continue to use our strong cashflow to reduce our share count further, and we have historically been successful in putting equipment back on hire quickly when market conditions improve. As a result, we expect to maintain a high level of operating and financial performance throughout 2023, and expect our EPS trajectory will turn positive when market conditions stabilise and recover."