TORONTO: Element Financial Corporation is providing US$100 million in financing to enable Canadian express carrier Cargojet acquire three more B767-300ER freighter aircraft.

For Q1 2014 ending in March, the airline reported revenues of $43.7 million, an increase of $3.0 million or 7.4 percent year-on-year. EBITDA was $1.4 million, a decrease of $1.3 million or 48.1 percent compared to 2013.

"Strong revenue growth in the quarter was offset by one-time start-up costs related to a new contract and to the introduction of two B757-200ER freighter aircraft that began revenue service April 01," noted Ajay Virmani, president and CEO.

Cargojet links 14 North American cities with overnight air cargo services with a fleet of B767, B757, and B727 freighters from its Hamilton, Ontario base. This month the company successfully renewed its ISO 9001:2008 quality standard accreditation for the fourteenth consecutive year.

Commenting on the new aircraft financing, Element Aviation president Tony Bergeron said: "Cargojet has established a dominant market position in Canada servicing long-term contracts for high quality clients. This transaction fits perfectly within Element's aviation portfolio providing exceptional credit quality as well as additional diversification both by region and by customer type."

With assets of over $4.2 billion, Element operates in four verticals of the equipment finance market - Commercial & Vendor Finance, Aviation Finance, Railcar Finance and Fleet Management.