Attached files

file filename
8-K - 8-K - Triton International Ltdtriton8-k10qq42019proj.htm
TRITON INTERNATIONAL REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR 2019 RESULTS
AND DECLARES QUARTERLY DIVIDENDS

Hamilton, Bermuda – February 14, 2020 – Triton International Limited (NYSE: TRTN) ("Triton")

Highlights
Net income attributable to common shareholders was $77.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, or $1.07 per diluted share.
Adjusted net income was $77.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, or $1.07 per diluted share, a decrease of 14.4% per diluted share from the fourth quarter of 2018.
Net income attributable to shareholders was $339.0 million for the full year of 2019, or $4.54 per diluted share.
Adjusted net income was $341.7 million for the full year of 2019, or $4.57 per diluted share, an increase of 1.1% per diluted share from 2018.
Utilization averaged 95.8% for the fourth quarter of 2019 and averaged 96.9% for the full year 2019.
Triton repurchased 0.3 million common shares during the fourth quarter of 2019. Triton purchased 6.9 million common shares during the full year of 2019 and approximately 8.9 million shares have been repurchased since the inception of the program in August 2018.
Triton's Board of Directors announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per common share payable on March 27, 2020 to shareholders of record as of March 13, 2020.

Financial Results
The following table summarizes Triton's selected key financial information for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018.
 
(in millions, except per share data)
 
 
Three Months Ended
 
Twelve Months Ended
 
December 31, 2019
 
December 31, 2018
 
December 31, 2019
 
December 31, 2018
Total leasing revenues
$
331.2

 
 
$
355.4

 
 
$
1,347.3

 
 
$
1,350.3

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GAAP
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net income attributable to common shareholders
$
77.2

(3) 
 
$
69.6

(5) 
 
$
339.0

(3) 
 
$
349.6

(4)(5) 
Net income per share - Diluted
$
1.07

 
 
$
0.87

 
 
$
4.54

 
 
$
4.35

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Non-GAAP (1)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Adjusted net income
$
77.5

 
 
$
99.4

 
 
$
341.7

 
 
$
363.0

 
Adjusted net income per share - Diluted
$
1.07

 
 
$
1.25

 
 
$
4.57

 
 
$
4.52

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Return on equity (1)(2)
14.6

%
 
17.7

%
 
16.0

%
 
16.7

%
(1)
Refer to the "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Items" and "Non-GAAP Reconciliations of Adjusted Net Income" set forth below.
(2)
Refer to the "Calculation of Return on Equity" set forth below.
(3)
Net of dividends on preferred shares of $6.6 million for the three months ended December 31, 2019 and $13.6 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019.
(4)
Net income attributable to shareholders was increased by a one-time gain of $21.0 million on the sale of a building.
(5)
Net income attributable to shareholders was reduced by a $24.7 million tax expense related to the intra-entity transfer of assets.




1


Operating Performance
"Triton continued to generate solid results in the fourth quarter of 2019," commented Brian M. Sondey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Triton. "We generated $77.5 million of Adjusted net income in the fourth quarter, or $1.07 per share, and we achieved an annualized return on equity of 14.6%. For the full year of 2019, we generated Adjusted net income of $341.7 million, or $4.57 per share, and achieved a return on equity of 16.0%."

"Triton achieved solid performance in 2019 despite facing increasingly challenging market conditions. Containerized trade growth was weaker than expected in 2019, reflecting soft global economic conditions and disruptions caused by the trade dispute between the United States and China. Low trade growth led to limited demand for new containers, lower prices for new containers and a reduction in market leasing rates. However, container supply remained generally well balanced due to reduced new container production, and our strong lease portfolio and unique operating capabilities helped us further mitigate the impacts of the challenging conditions. Our key operating metrics such as utilization, average lease rates and average used container sale prices held up well during the year, decreasing gradually, but remaining at generally high levels and supporting solid financial performance."

"Our investment in new containers was limited in 2019. We invested $242.5 million in new containers for delivery in 2019, well below our replacement level, leading to a 5.8% decrease in the net book value of revenue earning assets. However, we were able to redirect our strong cash flow to other high return investments. We repurchased 6.9 million shares of our common stock, representing 8.8% of the amount outstanding at the beginning of the year, and we repurchased all the third-party investor interests in a portfolio of our containers for values we believe are compelling. We also paid $2.08 per share in common dividends."

Outlook
Mr. Sondey continued, "The first quarter typically represents our weakest quarter of the year since it represents the depth of the slow season for dry containers, has the fewest number of days and is impacted by extra SG&A expenses. The first quarter of 2020 will also be negatively impacted by the decrease in our operating metrics during the fourth quarter of 2019, reduced lease rates relating to a lease extension transaction with a large customer, and extra costs of preferred dividends as we took advantage of attractive capital market conditions to issue preferred shares ahead of opportunities to deploy the additional equity capital. As a result, we expect our Adjusted net income per share will decrease from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the first quarter of 2020.”

"During December and January we started to see signs that market conditions were improving. Our customers have been hopeful that trade volumes will benefit from the agreement to ease the U.S. / China trade dispute, and we experienced more balanced pick-up and drop-off activity and a stabilization to our utilization. New container prices also increased in response to expectations for better trade growth and efforts by container manufacturers to better align shift capacity with lower production volumes, causing new 20' dry container prices to increase into the range of $2,000. It is too early to tell whether these positive trends will continue, but we remain very well positioned to take advantage of any improvement in supply / demand dynamics, especially as we move toward the traditional summer peak season."

"Like many others, we are paying close attention to developments relating to the novel coronavirus. First and foremost, we are focused on the health and safety of our employees. Despite the challenges presented by the current situation, we remain fully operational. At the same time, we expect the current slowdown in shipping activity in Asia to extend for at least the next month. Beyond then, the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on our business is unclear. Previous trade disruptions have had a mix of positive and negative impacts on container supply and demand. The balance of these effects will likely be driven by how long the disruptions last and whether economic disruptions spread to other countries."

Dividends
Triton's Board of Directors has approved and declared a $0.52 per share quarterly cash dividend on its issued and outstanding common shares, payable on March 27, 2020 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 13, 2020.


2


Triton's Board of Directors has also approved a cash dividend of $0.53125 per share on its 8.50% Series A Preferred Shares (NYSE:TRTN PRA), a cash dividend of $0.50 per share on its 8.00% Series B Preferred Shares (NYSE:TRTN PRB), a cash dividend of $0.46 per share on its 7.375% Series C Preferred Shares (NYSE:TRTN PRC), and an initial cash dividend of $0.24349 per share on its 6.875% Series D Preferred Shares (NYSE: TRTN PRD), each payable on March 16, 2020 to holders of record at the close of business on March 9, 2020.

Share Repurchase Update
As of February 7, 2020, we have repurchased approximately 8.9 million common shares since the initial Board of Director authorization of share repurchases in August 2018 for a total of $281.6 million at an average price per-share of $31.78. As of February 7, 2020, the Company had a total of $80.2 million remaining under the current authorization.

Investors' Webcast
Triton will hold a Webcast at 8:30 a.m. (New York time) on Friday, February 14, 2020 to discuss its fourth quarter results. To listen by phone, please dial 1-877-418-5277 (domestic) or 1-412-717-9592 (international) approximately 15 minutes prior to the start time and reference the Triton International Limited conference call. To access the live Webcast please visit Triton's website at http://www.trtn.com. An archive of the Webcast will be available one hour after the live call.

About Triton International Limited
Triton International Limited is the world's largest lessor of intermodal freight containers. With a container fleet of 6.1 million twenty-foot equivalent units ("TEU"), Triton's global operations include acquisition, leasing, re-leasing and subsequent sale of multiple types of intermodal containers and chassis.

Contact
Andrew Greenberg
Senior Vice President
Finance & Investor Relations
(914) 697-2900


3


Utilization and Fleet Information

Effective December 31, 2019, we revised our cost equivalent units ("CEU") factor to be more in line with the cost of new containers over the last several years. These new CEU factors are generally consistent with those published by the International Institute for Container Lessors ("IICL"). We use the CEU factors to measure the size and performance of our container fleet.

The change in CEU factors reduced the size of our fleet on a CEU basis by roughly 8% as of December 31, 2019 and the majority of this change was due to a reduction in the CEU factor for 40ft high cube refrigerated containers from 10.0 to 7.5. The utilization of our fleet on a CEU basis remained largely unchanged as the utilization of our refrigerated containers was in line with other container types. Fleet size and utilization information have been updated with these revised factors for all periods presented.

The following table summarizes the equipment fleet utilization for the periods indicated:
 
Quarter Ended
 
December 31, 2019
 
September 30, 2019
 
June 30, 2019
 
March 31, 2019
Average Utilization (1)
95.8
%
 
96.7
%
 
97.2
%
 
97.7
%
Ending Utilization (1)
95.4
%
 
96.4
%
 
97.1
%
 
97.4
%
(1)
Utilization is computed by dividing total units on lease (in CEU) by the total units in our fleet (in CEU), excluding new units not yet leased and off-hire units designated for sale.

The following table summarizes the equipment fleet as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 (in units, TEUs and CEUs):
 
Equipment Fleet in Units
 
Equipment Fleet in TEU
 
December 31, 2019
 
December 31, 2018
 
December 31, 2019
 
December 31, 2018
Dry
3,267,624

 
3,340,946

 
5,369,377

 
5,476,406

Refrigerated
225,520

 
228,778

 
435,148

 
440,781

Special
94,453

 
93,900

 
171,437

 
169,614

Tank
12,485

 
12,509

 
12,485

 
12,509

Chassis
24,515

 
24,832

 
45,154

 
45,787

Equipment leasing fleet
3,624,597

 
3,700,965

 
6,033,601

 
6,145,097

Equipment trading fleet
17,906

 
13,138

 
27,121

 
21,361

Total
3,642,503

 
3,714,103

 
6,060,722

 
6,166,458


 
Equipment Fleet in CEU
 
December 31, 2019
 
December 31, 2018
Operating Leases
6,434,434

 
6,532,172

Finance Leases
423,638

 
442,585

Equipment trading fleet
37,232

 
39,008

Total
6,895,304

 
7,013,765









4


Important Cautionary Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this release, other than purely historical information, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements that include the words "expect," "intend," "plan," "believe," "project," "anticipate," "will," "may," "would" and similar statements of a future or forward-looking nature may be used to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements address matters that involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Triton's control. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such statements and, therefore, you should not place undue reliance on any such statements.

These factors include, without limitation, economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory conditions and the following: decreases in the demand for leased containers; decreases in market leasing rates for containers; difficulties in re-leasing containers after their initial fixed-term leases; our customers' decisions to buy rather than lease containers; our dependence on a limited number of customers for a substantial portion of our revenues; customer defaults; decreases in the selling prices of used containers; extensive competition in the container leasing industry; difficulties stemming from the international nature of our business; decreases in the demand for international trade; disruption to our operations resulting from the political and economic policies of the United States and other countries, particularly China, including but not limited to the impact of trade wars and tariffs; disruption to our operations from failures of, or attacks on, our information technology systems; disruption to our operations as a result of natural disasters; our compliance or failure to comply with laws and regulations related to economic and trade sanctions, security, anti-terrorism, environmental protection and corruption; our ability to obtain sufficient capital to support our growth; restrictions imposed by the terms of our debt agreements; changes in tax laws in, Bermuda, the United States and other countries and other risks and uncertainties, including those risk factors set forth in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in our Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), on February 19, 2019, in any Form 10-Q filed or to be filed by Triton, and in other documents we file with the SEC from time to time.

The foregoing list of important factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included herein and elsewhere. Any forward-looking statements made herein are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments anticipated by us will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on Triton or its business or operations. Except to the extent required by applicable law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.


















-Financial Tables Follow-

5


TRITON INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands, except share data)
 
December 31, 2019
 
December 31, 2018
ASSETS:
 
 
 
Leasing equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $2,933,886 and $2,533,446
$
8,392,547

 
$
8,923,451

Net investment in finance leases
413,342

 
478,065

Equipment held for sale
114,504

 
66,453

Revenue earning assets
8,920,393

 
9,467,969

Cash and cash equivalents
62,295

 
48,950

Restricted cash
106,677

 
110,589

Accounts receivable, net of allowances of $1,276 and $1,240
210,697

 
264,382

Goodwill
236,665

 
236,665

Lease intangibles, net of accumulated amortization of $242,301 and $205,532
56,156

 
92,925

Other assets
38,902

 
34,610

Fair value of derivative instruments
10,848

 
13,923

Total assets
$
9,642,633

 
$
10,270,013

 
 
 
 
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY:
 
 
 
Equipment purchases payable
$
24,685

 
$
22,392

Fair value of derivative instruments
36,087

 
10,966

Accounts payable and other accrued expenses
116,782

 
99,885

Net deferred income tax liability
301,317

 
282,129

Debt, net of unamortized costs of $39,781 and $44,889
6,631,525

 
7,529,432

Total liabilities
7,110,396

 
7,944,804

Shareholders' equity:
 
 
 
Preferred shares, $0.01 par value, at liquidation preference
405,000

 

Common shares, $0.01 par value, 270,000,000 shares authorized, 80,979,833 and 80,843,472 shares issued, respectively
810

 
809

Undesignated shares, $0.01 par value, 13,800,000 and 30,000,000 shares authorized, respectively, no shares issued and outstanding

 

Treasury shares, at cost, 8,771,345 and 1,853,148 shares, respectively
(278,510
)
 
(58,114
)
Additional paid-in capital
902,725

 
896,811

Accumulated earnings
1,533,845

 
1,349,627

Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)
(31,633
)
 
14,563

Total shareholders' equity
2,532,237

 
2,203,696

Noncontrolling interests

 
121,513

Total equity
$
2,532,237

 
$
2,325,209

Total liabilities and equity
$
9,642,633

 
$
10,270,013

   

6



TRITON INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(In thousands, except per share data)
 
Three Months Ended December 31,
 
Twelve Months Ended December 31,
 
2019
 
2018
 
2019
 
2018
Leasing revenues:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Operating leases
$
321,626

 
$
347,110

 
$
1,307,218

 
$
1,328,756

Finance leases
9,550

 
8,247

 
40,051

 
21,547

Total leasing revenues
331,176

 
355,357

 
1,347,269

 
1,350,303

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Equipment trading revenues
17,160

 
26,273

 
83,993

 
83,039

Equipment trading expenses
(14,885
)
 
(20,147
)
 
(69,485
)
 
(64,118
)
Trading margin
2,275

 
6,126

 
14,508

 
18,921

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net gain on sale of leasing equipment
4,857

 
7,999

 
27,041

 
35,377

Net gain on sale of building

 

 

 
20,953

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Operating expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Depreciation and amortization
132,807

 
139,474

 
536,131

 
545,138

Direct operating expenses
23,718

 
15,594

 
79,074

 
48,326

Administrative expenses
19,196

 
19,712

 
75,867

 
80,033

Transaction and other costs (income)

 
116

 

 
88

Provision (reversal) for doubtful accounts
85

 
(782
)
 
590

 
(231
)
Total operating expenses
175,806

 
174,114

 
691,662

 
673,354

Operating income
162,502

 
195,368

 
697,156

 
752,200

Other expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Interest and debt expense
72,989

 
86,104

 
316,170

 
322,731

Realized (gain) loss on derivative instruments, net
(325
)
 
(724
)
 
(2,237
)
 
(2,072
)
Unrealized (gain) loss on derivative instruments, net
350

 
1,405

 
3,107

 
430

Debt termination expense
115

 
4,239

 
2,543

 
6,090

Other (income) expense, net
(1,210
)
 
(1,540
)
 
(3,257
)
 
(2,292
)
Total other expenses
71,919

 
89,484

 
316,326

 
324,887

Income (loss) before income taxes
90,583

 
105,884

 
380,830

 
427,313

Income tax expense (benefit)
6,814

 
34,459

 
27,551

 
70,641

Net income (loss)
$
83,769

 
$
71,425

 
$
353,279

 
$
356,672

Less: income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest

 
1,868

 
592

 
7,117

Less: dividend on preferred shares
6,608

 

 
13,646

 

Net income (loss) attributable to common shareholders
$
77,161

 
$
69,557

 
$
339,041

 
$
349,555

Net income per common share—Basic
$
1.07

 
$
0.88

 
$
4.57

 
$
4.38

Net income per common share—Diluted
$
1.07

 
$
0.87

 
$
4.54

 
$
4.35

Cash dividends paid per common share
$
0.52

 
$
0.52

 
$
2.08

 
$
2.01

Weighted average number of common shares outstanding—Basic
71,834

 
79,056

 
74,190

 
79,782

Dilutive restricted shares
362

 
685

 
510

 
582

Weighted average number of common shares outstanding—Diluted
72,196

 
79,741

 
74,700

 
80,364


7



TRITON INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(In thousands)
 
Year Ended December 31, 2019
 
Year Ended December 31, 2018
Cash flows from operating activities:
 
 
 
Net income (loss)
$
353,279

 
$
356,672

Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating activities:
 
 
 
Depreciation and amortization
536,131

 
545,138

Amortization of deferred debt cost and other debt related amortization
12,806

 
15,005

Lease related amortization
41,926

 
70,275

Share-based compensation expense
8,963

 
9,030

Net (gain) loss on sale of leasing equipment
(27,041
)
 
(35,377
)
Net (gain) loss on sale of building

 
(20,953
)
Unrealized (gain) loss on derivative instruments
3,107

 
430

Debt termination expense
2,543

 
6,090

Deferred income taxes
27,181

 
66,467

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
 
 
 
Accounts receivable
54,171

 
(65,385
)
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
3,963

 
(13,829
)
Net equipment sold for resale activity
(3,837
)
 
(2,341
)
Cash received (paid) for settlement of interest rate swaps
(22,330
)
 
187

Cash collections on finance lease receivables, net of income earned
73,429

 
64,372

Other assets
(2,385
)
 
(1,559
)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities
1,061,906

 
994,222

Cash flows from investing activities:
 
 
 
Purchases of leasing equipment and investments in finance leases
(240,170
)
 
(1,603,507
)
Proceeds from sale of equipment, net of selling costs
217,296

 
163,256

Proceeds from the sale of building

 
27,630

Investment in joint venture
(760
)
 

Other
(86
)
 
(160
)
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities
(23,720
)
 
(1,412,781
)
Cash flows from financing activities:
 
 
 
Issuance of preferred shares, net of underwriting discount
392,242

 

Issuance of common shares, net of underwriting discount

 

Purchases of treasury shares
(222,236
)
 
(56,274
)
Redemption of common shares for withholding taxes
(5,666
)
 
(1,385
)
Debt issuance costs
(8,751
)
 
(19,575
)
Borrowings under debt facilities
1,697,200

 
4,043,637

Payments under debt facilities and finance lease obligations
(2,608,960
)
 
(3,435,041
)
Dividends paid on preferred shares
(12,323
)
 

Dividends paid on common shares
(153,861
)
 
(160,289
)
Distributions to noncontrolling interests
(2,078
)
 
(19,146
)
Purchase of noncontrolling interests
(103,039
)
 

Other
(1,281
)
 

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities
(1,028,753
)
 
351,927

Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash
$
9,433

 
$
(66,632
)
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period
159,539

 
226,171

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period
$
168,972

 
$
159,539

Supplemental disclosures:
 
 
 
Interest paid
$
306,827

 
$
308,827

Income taxes paid (refunded)
$
(895
)
 
$
4,484

Right-of-use asset for leased property
$
7,616

 
$

Supplemental non-cash investing activities:
 
 
 
Equipment purchases payable
$
24,685

 
$
22,392



8


Use of Non-GAAP Financial Items

We use the terms "Adjusted net income" and return on equity throughout this press release.

Adjusted net income and return on equity are not items presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP and should not be considered as alternatives to, or more meaningful than, amounts determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, including net income.

Adjusted net income is adjusted for certain items management believes are not representative of our operating performance. Adjusted net income is defined as net income attributable to common shareholders excluding debt termination expenses net of tax, unrealized gains and losses on derivative instruments net of tax, transaction and other costs net of tax, gain on sale of building net of tax, tax benefit from vesting of restricted shares, foreign income tax adjustments, and tax adjustments related to the intra-entity transfer.

We believe that Adjusted net income is useful to an investor in evaluating our operating performance because this item:

is widely used by securities analysts and investors to measure a company's operating performance;

helps investors to more meaningfully evaluate and compare the results of our operations from period to period by removing the impact of our capital structure, our asset base and certain non-routine events which we do not expect to occur in the future; and

is used by our management for various purposes, including as measures of operating performance and liquidity, to assist in comparing performance from period to period on a consistent basis, in presentations to our board of directors concerning our financial performance and as a basis for strategic planning and forecasting.

We have provided a reconciliation of net income attributable to common shareholders, the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure, to Adjusted net income in the table below for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018.

Additionally, the calculation for return on equity is adjusted annualized earnings divided by average shareholders' equity. Management utilizes return on equity in evaluating how much profit the Company generates on the shareholders' equity in the Company and believes it is useful for comparing the profitability of companies in the same industry.





9


TRITON INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
Non-GAAP Reconciliations of Adjusted Net Income
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
 
 
 
 
 
Three Months Ended,
 
Twelve Months Ended,
 
December 31, 2019
 
December 31, 2018
 
December 31, 2019
 
December 31, 2018
Net income (loss) attributable to common shareholders
$
77,161

 
$
69,557

 
$
339,041

 
$
349,555

Add (subtract):
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unrealized (gain) loss on derivative instruments, net
342

 
1,250

 
3,063

 
384

Debt termination expense
93

 
3,800

 
2,105

 
5,444

Transaction and other costs (income)

 
104

 

 
79

Foreign income tax adjustment

 

 
(517
)
 
(881
)
Gain on Sale of Building

 

 

 
(16,316
)
Tax benefit from vesting of restricted shares
(65
)
 

 
(2,037
)
 

Tax adjustments related to intra-entity asset transfer

 
24,728

 

 
24,728

Adjusted net income
$
77,531

 
$
99,439

 
$
341,655

 
$
362,993

Adjusted net income per share - Diluted
$
1.07

 
$
1.25

 
$
4.57

 
$
4.52

Weighted average number of common shares outstanding—Diluted
72,196

 
79,741

 
74,700

 
80,364


Tax adjustments related to intra-entity asset transfer
The primary driver leading to the difference between net income (loss) attributable to shareholders and Adjusted net income in the fourth quarter of 2018 was a one-time increase in GAAP taxes resulting from internal transfers of approximately $600.0 million of containers. These transfers were structured as taxable sales between Triton entities, and led to an increase in taxable income for Triton's U.S. entities. Triton was able to utilize a portion of its accumulated net operating losses to offset the taxable income generated by the sales, and Triton's U.S. cash taxes remained minimal in the fourth quarter of 2018. However, Triton was required to accrue taxes on the sales for GAAP purposes because the containers were sold for a value in excess of their net book value when adjusted for purchase accounting. These taxes were excluded from the calculation of Adjusted net income in the fourth quarter of 2018, and we expect the transfer to result in reduced GAAP tax accruals in future periods.

10


TRITON INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
Calculation of Return on Equity
(In thousands)
 
 
 
 
 
Three Months Ended,
 
Twelve Months Ended,
 
December 31, 2019
 
December 31, 2018
 
December 31, 2019
 
December 31, 2018
Adjusted net income
$
77,531

 
$
99,439

 
$
341,655

 
$
362,993

Annualized Adjusted net income (1)
307,596

 
394,513

 
341,655

 
362,993

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Average Shareholders' equity (2)
$
2,102,608

 
$
2,230,590

 
$
2,136,109

 
$
2,174,714

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Return on equity
14.6
%
 
17.7
%
 
16.0
%
 
16.7
%
(1)
Annualized Adjusted net income was calculated based on calendar days per quarter.
(2)
Average Shareholders' equity was calculated using the quarter's beginning and ending Shareholder's equity for the three-month ended periods, and the ending Shareholder's equity from each quarter in the current year and December 31 of the previous year for the twelve-month ended periods.

11