Helikopter - Bristow konsoliderer kreftene - Rotor&Wing

Bristow Group Sells Bristow Academy in ‘Aggressive Portfolio Management’ Effort

By S.L. Fuller | November 13, 2017

Bristow, Offshore, Search and Rescue

Bristow S-92A. Photo courtesy of Bristow

Bristow Group brought 4.2% more revenue during the second quarter of fiscal year 2018 than it did the same quarter last year. The company even raised is fiscal 2018 guidance in flight of its “better than expected financial performance” during the first half of the fiscal year. However, that didn’t stop the company from divesting a well-known part of its portfolio: Bristow Academy.

Bristow said it sold Bristow Academy Nov. 1 to a "private entity" as part of its “aggressive portfolio management efforts to improve returns, liquidity and credit quality." That sale included all Bristow Academy aircraft.

In September, Bristow noted a decrease in operating revenue. Compared to the same period last year, it was down 44.8%. Bristow attributed this primarily to a decrease in part sales and a decline in Bristow Academy revenue. The sale of the academy, Bristow continued, resulted in an impairment of assets of $6.5 million.

Bristow said the sales price would be a minimum of $1.5 million to be received over a maximum of four years with potential additional consideration based on Bristow Academy's financial performance. The sale includes Bristow Academy’s training facilities, helicopters and related personnel at Titusville, Florida, and Minden, Nevada. The sale does not impact recurrent training of Bristow flight crews for ongoing commercial operations, the company said. Initial type rating and recurrent pilot training for commercial operations is to continue at Bristow's flight-simulator training facilities located in Aberdeen, Scotland, and New Iberia, Louisiana, supplemented with the use of other globally located training centers.

“With the completion of this sale and similar dispositions of non-core assets in prior fiscal years, we have streamlined our business to focus on our core oil and gas, search and rescue, and fixed-wing businesses globally,” Bristow said. “No significant non-core assets outside of these key areas of concentration remain upon completion of this sale.”

In June, Bristow announced a massive reorganization of its structure and business operations. It dropped a global approach to air services and narrowed its pursuit into new business areas to focus on meeting offshore energy firms’ demands for greater efficiency in specific world regions amid a chronically severe downturn.

“The market has gone into a longer, more horrific downturn,” said Johnathan Baliff, Bristow president and CEO, June 9 in launching what the company labeled “our action plan for a competitive and profitable future.” He added, “We are shrinking to fit the current market demand. The objective of the actions today is to create a more competitive Bristow,” with a significantly strengthened capital structure and lower overhead.