Bristow Group – arguably the biggest offshore helicopter operator in the world – will from 1 August have a new chief executive in place.
Appointed at the beginning of February, Jonathan Baliff – currently the firm’s chief financial officer – will take over the reins from the Bristow’s long-standing boss Bill Chiles.
Those expecting a dramatic change in direction, however, look set to be disappointed. Speaking to Flightglobal, Baliff stresses a continued commitment to Bristow’s core values of “quality, integrity, excellence, fulfilment and profitability”, although arguably trumping that list is its ongoing initiative to enhance rotary-wing safety. It would clearly be both perverse and a PR disaster to suggest any lessening in its drive for safer helicopter operations, but Baliff is nevertheless keen to continue banging that drum.
To that end, Chiles will remain with the business following the chief executive changeover to spearhead Bristow’s participation in a multi-operator safety push initially centred in the North Sea region, commenced in the wake of the fatal August crash off Shetland involving an Airbus Helicopters AS332L2.
Launched in conjunction with Avincis – parent of Bond Offshore Helicopters and NHS – and Canada’s CHC Helicopter, the initiative is effectively the creation of a new body to ensure better sharing of operational and safety practice. "It's not something that can be done overnight, but there's a real intent and sense of urgency to get it in place very quickly," says Baliff.
Bristow Group
In addition to the three founder operators, the key helicopter manufacturers will also be involved in order to standardise training manuals, for example. “There's a big difference between getting a standard and having a standard training manual,” notes Baliff, pointing out that although offshore operations are covered by Oil and Gas Producers standards, there is a great deal of latitude between jurisdictions as to how those rules are applied.
The three firms have long exchanged information he says, but this has not always been done in a systematic way due to a variety of factors – not least of which a lack of suitable systems. Even to create a “pipeline” to exchange information internally “takes a lot of resources”, he says, with a project aimed at drilling down to the “molecular” level of safety across the broader industry even more resource-intensive.
In the background to this are Bristow’s preparations for the 2015 start of its 10-year contract with the UK government to take over responsibilities from the military for conducting search and rescue operations. This will see it acquire a fleet of 22 new rescue helicopters – 11 AgustaWestland AW189s and 11 Sikorsky S-92s – to be operated from 10 bases across the country.
Already two sites at Sumburgh and Stornoway are up and running as an interim solution – so called Gap SAR – with a pair of S-92s at each base. This operation is “going very well”, Baliff says, with aircraft availability and utilisation both higher than anticipated. “For us that gives us a lot of confidence that the other 18 aircraft will come in on time and on budget for the UK government.”
Construction of the new bases – for instance at Inverness and Humberside airports – is proceeding, and the financing for the SAR fleet has been secured, predominantly through lessors Milestone Aviation and LCI, with five of the AW189 fleet to be purchased by Bristow itself. Training of the pilots, rear crew and engineers is also under way, says Baliff.
Bristow Group
Search and rescue could turn out to be a growth area for the business. Alongside the contracts it has in place to provide SAR cover for specific oil and gas operations, it has received a number of unsolicited inquiries from governments interested in similar outsourcing arrangements to those in the UK. Perfect execution of that contract will be key, however. “The way we see it is that the best way of securing more of this work is to do a really good job on UK SAR,” says Baliff.
Prior to 1 August – and potentially even after that date – Baliff will continue in his CFO role. This means continued emphasis on profitability and the maintenance of a “prudent balance sheet with lots of liquidity”, enabling Bristow to remain unaffected by boom-and-bust cyclical trends.
In addition, the company will continue to look for further partnership opportunities, such as those it has in place with fellow operators Cougar Helicopters in Atlantic Canada and Líder Aviação in Brazil. In fact, shortly after this interview was conducted, Bristow announced the acquisition of 60% of UK-based Eastern Airways – a fixed-wing operator supporting the oil and gas sector – for £27 million ($44 million). These partnerships work for both entities, says Baliff, with Bristow providing the financial muscle and the operator the local knowledge. “It enhances the competitive advantage of both,” he adds.
In its third quarter ended 31 December, Bristow reported net income of $18.9 million, down from $36.4 million for the same period a year earlier. Adjusted net income, excluding one-offs, declined by 27% to $31.3 million, from $42.6 million a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDAR stood at $101 million – down from $109 million in the same period in 2012.
The firm attributes the declines to the late starting of certain contracts and a slight increase in overall costs.
Gross revenue for the nine-month period was $1.22 billion, up slightly on the £1.11 billion recorded a year earlier.
Net nine-month income stood at $156 million, up from $89 million a year earlier.
Its accounts list a total of 47 helicopters on order, with a further 57 covered by options.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
