NYSE:VTOL Bristow Group Q3 2023 Earnings Report $29.56 -0.61 (-2.01%) Closing price 03:59 PM EasternExtended Trading$29.54 -0.02 (-0.07%) As of 04:05 PM Eastern Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more. Earnings HistoryForecast Bristow Group EPS ResultsActual EPS$0.15Consensus EPS N/ABeat/MissN/AOne Year Ago EPSN/ABristow Group Revenue ResultsActual Revenue$338.09 millionExpected RevenueN/ABeat/MissN/AYoY Revenue GrowthN/ABristow Group Announcement DetailsQuarterQ3 2023Date11/1/2023TimeN/AConference Call DateThursday, November 2, 2023Conference Call Time10:00AM ETUpcoming EarningsBristow Group's Q1 2025 earnings is scheduled for Tuesday, May 6, 2025, with a conference call scheduled on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 at 10:00 AM ET. Check back for transcripts, audio, and key financial metrics as they become available.Conference Call ResourcesConference Call AudioConference Call TranscriptSlide DeckPress Release (8-K)Quarterly Report (10-Q)Earnings HistoryCompany ProfileSlide DeckFull Screen Slide DeckPowered by Bristow Group Q3 2023 Earnings Call TranscriptProvided by QuartrNovember 2, 2023 ShareLink copied to clipboard.There are 9 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Good day, everyone, and welcome to today's Bristow Group Reports Third Quarter of 2023 Earnings Call. Today's call is being recorded. At this time, all participants are in listen only mode. Later, you will have the opportunity to ask questions during the question and answer session. At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Red Tillivan, Senior Manager of Investor Relations and Financial Reporting. Operator00:00:35Red? Speaker 100:00:36Thank you, dad. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Bristol Group's Q3 of 2023 earnings call. I am joined on the call today with our President and Chief Executive Officer, Chris Bradshaw and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Jennifer Whelan. Before we begin, I'd like to take this opportunity To remind everyone that during the course of this call, management may make forward looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that are described in more detail on Slide 3 of our investor presentation. You may access our investor presentation on our website. Speaker 100:01:09We will also reference certain non GAAP financial measures such as EBITDA and free cash flow. A reconciliation of such measures to GAAP is included in the earnings release And our investor presentation, I will now turn the call over to our President and CEO. Chris? Speaker 200:01:24Thank you, Red, and welcome to the call, everyone. As always, I will begin our prepared remarks with a note on safety, which is Bristow's number one core value and our highest operational priority. The company has achieved our target of 0 air accidents through the 1st 10 months of 2023. With respect to workplace safety, we are pleased that our total recordable incident rate has declined and we have experienced Fewer incidents resulting in loss of time. While this represents excellent safety performance year to date, We of course understand that our safety record must be earned anew each and every day. Speaker 200:02:04I want to thank and commend all our team members around the world for their continued dedication to Bristow's Target 0 safety culture. Turning to operational and financial highlights, we are very pleased to announce a significant earnings beat this quarter and guidance raised for full year 2023. Consistent with our outlook that the second half of twenty twenty three would mark the positive inflection point for Bristow's financial results. Q3 adjusted EBITDA of $57,000,000 excluding asset dispositions and foreign exchange losses Represent a 45% sequential quarter improvement and supports our expectations for stronger financial results in 2024 and beyond. We will have more to share on our future outlook later in this call. Speaker 200:02:56For now, I will hand it over to our CFO for a review of the quarter's financial results. Jennifer? Speaker 300:03:01Thank you, Chris. Today, I will begin with an analysis of the sequential quarter comparison of Bristow's financial results. EBITDA adjusted to exclude special items, asset dispositions and foreign exchange was 56 base call is being recorded. $6,000,000 for the Q3 of 2023 compared to $39,000,000 in the 2nd quarter or an increase of approximately $17,600,000 Operating revenues increased $18,700,000 primarily due to higher utilization in offshore energy and higher lease payments received from Cougar. Operating expenses were consistent with the prior quarter. Speaker 300:03:40Higher personnel and fuel costs were offset by lower insurance costs, repairs and maintenance And other operating expenses. General and administrative expenses were $1,600,000 higher primarily due to higher professional service fees. Earnings from unconsolidated affiliates were $2,400,000 higher due to improved earnings at Cougar. As noted in previous earnings calls, the other income line item is primarily comprised of non cash foreign currency gains and losses, which we have excluded from our adjusted EBITDA calculation. As a result of the 3rd quarter's earnings, We have raised our 2023 adjusted EBITDA guidance to $175,000,000 to 175,000,000 As we move into Q4 2023, we anticipate the 4th quarter adjusted EBITDA to be somewhat lower than the 3rd quarter, primarily due to seasonality, particularly from Cougar in Canada and our airline in Australia. Speaker 300:04:49Financial outlook that we announced in June of this year. The midpoint for adjusted EBITDA for 2024 is 20% higher than midpoint 2023. This strong balance sheet and liquidity position. As of September 30, our available liquidity was 274,000,000 As we have noted in our earnings presentation, we have a capital investment of approximately $300,000,000 related to successful award of contracts with the U. K. Speaker 300:05:51And Irish Coast Guard. Much of this capital investment is expected to happen in 2024 as we will be adding 11 new helicopters to our fleet. Our search and rescue contracts are long term in nature, typically 10 years with attractive returns. So once we were through with the investment period, we have a long term cash yield as noted on Slide next question comes from the line of John Franzrebrenco. We plan to fund this investment with cash on hand, operating cash flows, New debt financing of a similar structure to what we currently have with NatWest and or aircraft leasing. Speaker 300:06:28Due to the nature of these long term cash generative contracts, we have access to competitive financing and sufficient flexibility in how we structure it. As we've stated before, we believe this business model will continue to generate strong cash flows. At this time, I'll turn the call back to Chris for further remarks. Chris? Operator00:06:49Thank you. Speaker 200:06:50As Jennifer noted, the midpoint of Bristow's 2024 adjusted EBITDA guidance range of $190,000,000 to $220,000,000 represents a growth rate of 20% over the upwardly revised 2023 midpoint. This demonstrates our very optimistic outlook for the future of Bristow's business. Before expanding upon our positive forecast, I would like to note that there are some headwinds, including the adverse impact of a strong U. S. Dollar on Bristow's financial results. Speaker 200:07:21In addition, we continue to experience supply chain challenges, particularly related to significant parts delays for S-ninety two Helicopters, which is a challenge impacting the entire offshore helicopter industry. With that said, the fundamentals for Bristow's business continue to improve and our conviction about a multiyear growth cycle has strengthened commensurately. In our fixed wing business, Activity levels have recovered from pandemic impacts and we are seeing benefits from an ongoing fleet enhancement. In In our Government Services business, we have grown from the foundational U. K. Speaker 200:07:58SAR contract to a larger and more diverse portfolio of government search and rescue contracts in multiple countries, including the recent addition of an important mandate with the Irish Coast Guard scheduled to commence in late In our Offshore Energy business, Q3 results demonstrate that the positive inflection point has occurred and we continue to believe the offshore market is in the early stages of a multi year growth cycle. We expect aircraft utilization and rates to continue to increase, which will drive significant improvements in cash flow generation. With the largest and most diverse aircraft fleet in the industry and the largest operational footprint, Bristow is well positioned to benefit from current and future opportunities in this upcycle. With that, let's open the line for questions. Dan? Operator00:09:08Thank you, Chris. The floor is now open for questions. Thank you. The first question comes from Josh Sullivan from The Benchmark Company. Your line is now open. Speaker 400:09:35Hey, good morning. Congratulations on the strong quarter here. Operator00:09:39Next question is from the line of Josh. Good morning, Josh. Speaker 400:09:41Thank you. For the first question, I guess I'll just get right to it. But for the remainder of the year, What are the factors to get to the higher end of the 'twenty three outlook versus the lower end? Speaker 200:09:53Yes, we've provided a range for the full year in terms of what could move that to one end or the other. Some of the key variables would be Foreign exchange, namely the relative exchange rate between the U. S. Dollar and the Great British pound. Another factor would be the supply chain challenges that we referenced. Speaker 200:10:14If either one of those situations would deteriorate, that would bias results to the lower end of the range. If we get some help, whether it's from foreign exchange or easing in the supply chain challenges, that would bias us more to the higher end of the range or higher. Speaker 400:10:31And just on those supply chain issues for the F92, how have you been mitigating those and have those efforts been effective or? Speaker 200:10:41They've been effective in the sense that we've continued to provide safe and reliable service to our customer, meeting their needs. For the S-ninety two helicopters, we've mitigated these by in sourcing parts leveraging the large global fleet we have to take parts from certain aircraft and move them to others to keep contracted aircraft working and flying for We've also gone out into the secondary market and purchased certain components, brought them into our inventory, which we really should not have to do under the terms of our full Tiptoele power by the hour or PBH support agreement with course key for the S92, but we've done that nevertheless again to make sure that we're delivering reliable service. We along with the rest of the industry have also in some This is sought extensions on life components to keep the helicopters in service. So it's been a multifaceted approach. I think we have benefited at Bristow because we do have the largest fleet of S92s operating globally. Speaker 200:11:57So we've been We have more resources to self help through this challenge, but it has been a challenging time and certainly a dynamic one with changes. And I want to really thank our and commend our team around the world for continuing to deliver reliable service despite these challenges on the Speaker 400:12:18And then I guess a similar question on the OEM side. What about delivery timelines for the new aircraft on order? Speaker 200:12:26Delivery timelines and lead times are significant. On average, it would be about 18 months, Could be a little less than that, could be more like 24, but we are still looking at about on average a 24 month lead time for New aircraft for the ones that we are bringing in to support our successful wins on the government services side, we have to secure those delivery slots and are moving forward on time to deliver those new contracts for Speaker 400:12:53the schedule. Got it. And then just On the overall duration of your oil and gas contracting base, is there a way to think about what year is the center point? And then is there a way to think about how much pricing has generally increased since then? Speaker 200:13:11There's a pretty wide spectrum in terms of duration of contracts, but to use a rule of thumb, a typical contract may be 5 years in length. At any given point in time, there may be roughly 2.5 years of maturity left across the portfolio. As contracts are expiring, We are renewing them at significantly higher rates. To your question, those rate increases could be in the mid-twenty or higher depending upon the situation in terms of geography, aircraft type, etcetera. So these are meaningful increases. Speaker 200:13:45We have captured some of those during 2023. 2024 will have a full year impact of those. Also the opportunity to Reset new contracts elsewhere in the portfolio. So we see the benefit of this really being a step change that will compound as we progress through the next couple of years. Speaker 400:14:07And then just one last one on the higher lease payments in the quarter from Cougar. Can you just provide some color Speaker 200:14:21at Cougar over the last few years during a difficult period of time, but the good news is that their business has improved and trending in a positive direction, which is Why we are collecting more cash from them this quarter. Jennifer, do you want to talk about the accounting? Speaker 300:14:34Sure. Just as a reminder, we did place them on a cash basis of See from them is how we recognize revenues, so it can be quite lumpy. But yes, as Chris noted, their business has improved, which is Showing up both as those cash payments as well as in our equity earnings, that's related to Cougar. Speaker 400:15:05Got it. Thank you for the time. Speaker 200:15:07Thank you, Josh. Operator00:15:10The next question comes from Eddie Kim from Barclays. Your line is now open. Speaker 500:15:17Hi, good morning. Just wanted to ask what your outlook is On the offshore energy market in the Gulf of Mexico, just based on commentary we've been hearing from the offshore drillers, it seems like The incremental demand that they're seeing is coming out of Brazil and Africa mostly. So just curious what your outlook is based on your conversations Speaker 200:15:56Some new contracts in the last couple of quarters. And also West Africa, we do see a good growth rate there, A strong recovery from some of the lows during the pandemic and the oil downturn. We've benefited from that. We've also benefited from and increasing share in Nigeria. So that market has really improved significantly for us and we continue to have a positive outlook Going forward, specific to your question about the Gulf of Mexico, we are seeing growth in the Gulf of Mexico. Speaker 200:16:25It's obviously a very large market. So from a growth Rate standpoint, the rate won't be as high as some others, whether that's West Africa or the Caribbean. But in terms of the addition of the number of units, We have started some new contracts recently in the Gulf of Mexico, one being an AW139, another being an S92 that started during Q3 for us. I would say aircraft availability is a challenge For us in the Gulf of Mexico, if we had, for example, more serviceable S-92s today, we'd be able to put them on contract and we'd be generating more revenue and So while certainly the rates aren't as high as other regions, we are seeing a growth in demand for helicopters to support OpExCo activity. Speaker 500:17:23And higher pricing on renewals with pricing up in the mid-twenty percent range or even higher in some cases. Are you Seeing this incentivize Speaker 200:17:33new aircraft to enter the market or if you're not, is it something you expect to take place in the next 12 to 18 months? The order book right now for offshore Tigard helicopters is quite small. There are not many on order from the various participants in the industry. In terms of where we see that trending, I would expect it to increase. Pricing levels are have increased in in certain areas, an increasing number of areas to levels that would support new build economics. Speaker 200:18:07And I think importantly, because of the tight supply chain sorry, supply and demand balance in the industry for particularly heavy and medium helicopters. There's going to need to be more aircraft that come in to meet the existing demand. You will have some attrition of some S-92s that will naturally age out. It's likely that supermediums, otherwise known as lighthepies, will be a big part of the solution to both replace 92s that are currently working, but also to meet the future growth that we're seeing in the market. Speaker 500:18:44Got it. Great. Thank you very much. I'll turn it back. Operator00:18:48Thank you. The next question comes from Savi Syth from Raymond James, please your line is now open. Speaker 600:18:58Hey, good morning. I just had a Slightly longer term question. In regard to the advanced neuro mobility, I was curious what your expectation was on like the timelines of taking delivery and launching operations Depending on kind of when certification time certification happens at your partners? Speaker 200:19:17Thank you for the question, because we are we remain very excited about the potential for Advanced Thermobility and we think that Fabristo has been a global leader in vertical flight for the last 75 years. There's a big opportunity for us to remain a leader in the adoption of new technologies like Advanced Air Mobility and we see a number of opportunities where they can be complementary and really additive to what we do with our business. So we don't see them substituting existing missions with current aircraft, but really it's additive to our business. In terms of time line specific to your question, We would expect to take the 1st delivery in 2025 is what we anticipate from both a certification and production standpoint. So that 2025, late 2025 Time frame would be the first time that we're probably operating them in the real world in Bristol Suite generating revenues. Speaker 600:20:09That's super helpful. And just a follow-up to that, do you have any thoughts on geographically Where you might be deploying those first and then what the considerations are in thinking through where you will deploy those? Speaker 200:20:34From a regulatory and certification standpoint in the different jurisdictions. Our current view is that we see Europe will likely We approve these aircraft types and certify them prior to the U. S. Market. So we think that Europe may be the 1st place that we at Bristow are deploying them in real world missions. Speaker 600:20:59And just from a regulation standpoint and infrastructure, is that where you see kind of the most progress as well? Obviously, regulation, but maybe on the Speaker 200:21:09Yes. I mean, infrastructure still has a long way to go, I think, in really all jurisdictions, to be fair, but Europe is taking some prudent steps to think about how they'll actually be introduced and operated in the real world. We think you're going to see EBITDAL aircraft flying in Paris at the Olympics next year. So this is coming. Preparations are being made, but still in terms of infrastructure, broadly speaking, a lot of work and capital and time to still be invested for the infrastructure. Speaker 600:21:45That's all helpful. Thank you very much. Operator00:21:50The next question comes from David Smith from Pickering Energy Partners. Your line is now open. Speaker 700:21:57Hey, good morning. I'll echo the congratulations on the strong quarter and thank you for having me on the call. Speaker 200:22:04Good morning, David, and thank you. Speaker 700:22:08Yes. With something to start, just considering the strong Q3 results And the better 'twenty three outlook, I'm curious why your 'twenty four guidance wasn't biased higher, if this was more about some positive second half twenty twenty three surprise or if maybe we should talk this up to a little bit of conservatism. Speaker 200:22:30Yes. Thank you for the question, David. We did affirm our guidance range for 2024 including adjusted EBITDA of $190,000,000 to 220,000,000 Some of the factors that would drive results in 2024 to one end of the spectrum or the other would include foreign exchange. Since we initially published the guidance range when the Pound to dollar exchange rate was about 1.27. The dollars strengthened considerably versus the pound, And so that's probably eroded about $10,000,000 or so of EBITDA just mark to mark on the FX side. Speaker 200:23:09So depending on what happens with The pound to dollar exchange rate in 2024 that could buy us to the lower end of the range or if there is some recovery in the pound that would push us more Supply chain is another consideration that we're dealing with in the business. As I noted earlier, there are markets, for example, in the Gulf of Mexico, U. K, North Sea with the others where if we had more serviceable S-92s, we would be able to put them to work today on revenue generating contract. So depending on what happens with some of those supply chain challenges, again, could bias us more to one end of the range versus the other. But if we could get some help on the foreign exchange side, some help in easing on some of these supply chain challenges, again, that This surprises us more to the higher end of the range as we look into 2024. Speaker 700:24:03Yes, it makes a lot of sense. I appreciate the color. And a follow-up, if I may. I think there's a lot of investor focus around the increasing deepwater rig count on the offshore energy side. I wanted to ask about the production support side of the business and maybe specifically, how has production related demand Yes, look for you over the past year or so. Speaker 700:24:26And maybe any color on how that demand factors into the 2024 outlook? Speaker 200:24:33Yes, it's been quite stable for us, the production support over the last 12 months. We tend to on the production side have more visibility and what's going to be required once the platforms are producing and online, they tend to produce for a very long period of time. There can be variations in the number of people that are working on that particular platform. That will drive some variations in flight hours. But for the most part, our production related support is quite stable, provides some visibility. Speaker 200:25:02And the second part of your question, what that means looking into 2024s, we expect a similar level of production related support as what we're doing here in the later part of 20 23. So that provides some nice stability to the business, growth really coming more from the exploration and development activity, which as you referenced, We have seen an increase in the rig count and expect to see a further increase in the rig count over the next year 2 year period. Speaker 700:25:37Investor presentation showing the long lead times for reactivations of the cold stacked deepwater rigs. I wanted to ask, as operators Signing contracts for rigs with longer and longer lead times, stretching out to 2526 start date. When does Bristow get brought into Planning or maybe said differently, are you seeing your contract lead times extend as well? Speaker 200:26:03Yes, that's a great question, David. Typically, we are contracted well after the rig is lined up. The offshore drilling rig It tends to be a much higher percentage of spend for the end customers. So they typically line that up first before looking to other services, whether that be boats, helicopters, other services. I would say, that The industry as a whole, the customers maybe got a little too comfortable during the downturn that the aircraft would be available when they needed it. Speaker 200:26:38That's changed. And I think a much higher percentage of the customer base now understands it's fundamentally changed. We have a supply Very tight supply demand balance for the aircraft now and people I think are pushing out their planning Now realizing that the helicopter is not just going to be there, they need to line it up in advance to make sure that they have the support, because You're not going to be very effective or productive on the rig if you can't get your people to and from the rig. So we are seeing an increase in the lead times for the planning and contracting activity. Speaker 700:27:17Great to hear. Thank you very much, Chris. That's all for me. Operator00:27:21Thank you. The next question is from Chris Lee from Evercore ISI. Your line is now open. Speaker 400:27:29Good morning, team. Hey, good morning. Just curious if you could provide more details on the newly initiated offshore energy contracts in Brazil and Norway And how are things going with the operations? Speaker 200:27:46Yes. Thank you for the question, We were very pleased to start up a significant new contract in Norway supporting Ecuador's search and rescue needs in the southern part of Norway. That started at the beginning of September. The team there through a lot of work was able to start on time safely and reliably and we've gotten a lot of Positive feedback from the customer there in Norway for that. In Brazil, significant increase in scale in our operations there in Q3. Speaker 200:28:16We opened up 2 new bases. We launched 6 new contracts for AW139 Helicopters. And Have an increase in activity and demand for aircraft over the next few years. Speaker 400:28:40Got you. My follow-up question is, with regards to your agreement with Airbus to purchase 5 new H-one hundred and thirty five Helicopters, can you provide us some color and contract economics for H-one hundred and thirty five And potentially incremental EBITDA per fleet basis? Speaker 200:29:00Yes. Thank you for the question. So those H-one hundred and thirty five Light Twin Helicopters to be delivered from Airbus are for one of our largest oil and gas customers for an identified need that they have. They are increasing the scope and demand that they have for the services that are needed to support their levels of activity. In terms of directionally, again, significant increase in rates relative to historicals, and that is providing The returns that make it attractive for us to bring in these aircrafts. Speaker 200:29:36So it will be a positive improvement The EBITDA on a high returning contract with a very large and important customer for us. The need for light twins really being driven by the size of the platform that they're going to serve. So can't support the weight of a heavy or medium. So the 135 that we're bringing in, which is really a category leader globally in the light twin category in the helicopter industry is the right aircraft for this mission. Speaker 400:30:06Great. Thank you. Thank you for taking my questions. Thank you. Operator00:30:14The next question is from Silversteve from Argus Research. Your line is now open. Speaker 800:30:21Good morning, everybody. It's actually Steve Silverberg. I'd just like to offer my congratulations on the quarter as well and on the team finalizing the Irish Coast Guard contract. While 2024 is primarily going to be a period of capital investment towards this project as well as in the UK, Could you remind us if the 2024 EBITDA outlook includes any impact from the implementation of these contracts in the second half of the year Speaker 200:31:03It's going to be the 2nd largest contract that we have at the company globally behind only UK SAR. So it's certainly a significant win for Bristow. In terms of timing, the contract does not commence until late 2024. So it's really a de minimis impact on 2024. That small impact is contemplated in the guidance range we provided. Speaker 200:31:27But again, really de minimis And next year, it's really 2025 and beyond the next 10 to 13 years that we'll see the benefit from addition of the Irish Coast Guard contract. Speaker 800:31:40Great. That's helpful. And one more if I may. The prepared remarks mentioned the potential Speaker 200:31:48call is being recorded. For additional financing over time, Speaker 800:31:48just curious as to whether there are any target levels for net debt to EBITDA that we should be thinking about as you contemplate these kind of options? Speaker 300:31:57Sure. Thank you, Steve. As noted, high credit quality customers and so with Attractive long term contracts, so it gives us a lot of flexibility in financing. We've been advancing discussions With the banks and we do expect something in place in the next few quarters, something similar to what we have with NatWest. Our Net debt to EBITDA ratio today are in the 2.6 ish range. Speaker 300:32:26I mean, We like where we're at today. We will always continue to protect our balance sheet and we'll be conservative in what we what our target net debt to EBITDA numbers Speaker 800:32:40Great. Thank you very much and congratulations again. Operator00:32:43Thank you, Steve. The next question comes from Edison Yu from Deutsche Bank. Your line is now open. Speaker 200:32:53Hey, thank you for taking our questions. I want to ask a bit on the AM strategy. You've obviously Interact with many of the upcoming players and curious if you could elaborate on why you chose Volacopter And what kind of potential routes in the future or use cases you may use that to AerCap for? Yes. Good morning and thank you for the question. Speaker 200:33:19As you noted, over the last several years, we have spent a lot of time analyzing the various The team, the management team, their track record, experience and capabilities, their access to financing, because it does take a lot of money as you know to certify and bring it to production, a new aircraft type. So We have evaluated those factors. That's all informed the different companies that we have decided to partner with. There is a spectrum of companies that we have decided to partner with. Much like in our fleet today, there's different aircraft types that perform certain missions well. Speaker 200:34:01We see that being the case for these new type of aircraft as well and that's why these partnership ranges can range from a piloted fully electric EBITDA to an unmanned autonomous hybrid powered aircraft just depends on the mission that we are looking to perform, Which brings me specifically to your question on Vollacopter. Vollacopter really has been and remains one of the leaders in the advancement of the Design, development and certification of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. Early on, their thought was that they would be Vertically integrated, so they would both develop, manufacture, but then also operate these aircraft. But over the course of our discussions with them over the last few years, I think that they've seen the value of partnering with an operator Like Bristow and what we bring to the table in our 75 years of operating vertical aircraft safely, efficiently and reliably, and that's really led to this partnership. So the type of mission for Volocopter and the current aircraft Specifically would be that the movement of people over short distances, which can be done more efficiently, certainly faster than a lot of ground transportation options and with the low carbon or 0 operating emission a profile that an electric aircraft operates. Speaker 200:35:31We see potential to launch with them in Europe, but we're also discussing partnerships In certain regions of the U. S, so a really strong, capable Aircraft developer there, and one where we think that it could be a nice partnership between Volocopter and Bristow as these aircraft are certified and to the market. Appreciate the color. One follow-up on that. In terms of The cargo market, and I know you have a very good relation with Elroy. Speaker 200:36:06How do you sort of see the size of the opportunity? I think from our end, we have difficulty sometimes kind of quantifying that. Do you think this is a potentially as big of opportunity? Is it going to be smaller naturally or how do you think about that? Yes. Speaker 200:36:25Directionally, we think it could be as big of an Aircraft that has a high payload for this type of aircraft platform, which could really be effective in moving cargo in a number of instances. So we think it's a potentially huge market for disaster relief and response, Huge market for servicing military and government customers as well as commercial customers, whether that be Middle mile logistics, any companies whether retail operations etcetera that have big logistics needs and particularly middle mile ones. For us at Bristow, we actually think the first application of these aircraft It will be for our existing large oil and gas customer base. The large oil companies that we service around the world have massive logistical needs. Currently, we're servicing the need to transport their people from onshore bases to offshore Platforms and back, but they also have huge logistical needs onshore, whether that's regional movement of people, For example, to get them from say a major international airport to the heliport in which we operate for the movement of cargo. Speaker 200:37:55Today, they relied mostly upon 18 wheelers or lorries to move this cargo from, again, major points of Access and distribution out to ports that will eventually make it to the offshore platform. In our discussions with them, They're very keen to have a more efficient solution that these type of aircraft could provide. And they also have very ambitious ESG targets that they've announced in terms of when they want to get to net 0 on their carbon emissions. So anything that we can do as a service provider to help them meet those initiatives, they have a lot of time to talk about and are really keen to hear what these new aircraft can do for their logistical needs. So we do see Great amount of potential for products like the Elroy. Operator00:38:45Perfect. Thank you. Thank you. There are no further questions in the queue. I will now turn the call back over to Christopher Bradshaw for closing remarks. Speaker 200:38:57Thank you, Dan and thanks for everyone for taking the time on the call today. We appreciate the questions. Look forward to speaking again next quarter. InRead morePowered by Conference Call Audio Live Call not available Earnings Conference CallBristow Group Q3 202300:00 / 00:00Speed:1x1.25x1.5x2x Earnings DocumentsSlide DeckPress Release(8-K)Quarterly report(10-Q) Bristow Group Earnings HeadlinesBristow Group (VTOL) Projected to Post Earnings on TuesdayMay 5 at 2:23 AM | americanbankingnews.comBristow Group Announces First Quarter 2025 Earnings CallApril 29, 2025 | prnewswire.comWatch This Robotics Demo Before July 23rdJeff Brown, the tech legend who picked shares of Nvidia in 2016 before they jumped by more than 22,000%... Just did a demo of what Nvidia’s CEO said will be "the first multitrillion-dollar robotics industry."May 5, 2025 | Brownstone Research (Ad)Sikorsky Taps Lockheed Martin To Bolster S-92 Helicopter SupportApril 25, 2025 | finance.yahoo.comBristow Group selects Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky for S-92 helicopter fleetApril 25, 2025 | markets.businessinsider.comSikorsky, Bristow Group Reach Long-Term Agreement to Support S-92 Helicopter FleetApril 24, 2025 | marketwatch.comSee More Bristow Group Headlines Get Earnings Announcements in your inboxWant to stay updated on the latest earnings announcements and upcoming reports for companies like Bristow Group? Sign up for Earnings360's daily newsletter to receive timely earnings updates on Bristow Group and other key companies, straight to your email. Email Address About Bristow GroupBristow Group (NYSE:VTOL) provides vertical flight solutions. The company primarily offers aviation services to integrated, national, and independent offshore energy companies and government agencies. It also provides personnel transportation, search and rescue, medevac, ad hoc helicopter, fixed wing transportation, unmanned systems, and ad-hoc helicopter services, as well as logistical and maintenance support, training services, and flight and maintenance crews. The company has a fleet of aircrafts. It has customers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the Dutch Caribbean, the Falkland Islands, India, Ireland, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Spain, Suriname, Trinidad, the United Kingdom, and United States. 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There are 9 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Good day, everyone, and welcome to today's Bristow Group Reports Third Quarter of 2023 Earnings Call. Today's call is being recorded. At this time, all participants are in listen only mode. Later, you will have the opportunity to ask questions during the question and answer session. At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Red Tillivan, Senior Manager of Investor Relations and Financial Reporting. Operator00:00:35Red? Speaker 100:00:36Thank you, dad. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Bristol Group's Q3 of 2023 earnings call. I am joined on the call today with our President and Chief Executive Officer, Chris Bradshaw and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Jennifer Whelan. Before we begin, I'd like to take this opportunity To remind everyone that during the course of this call, management may make forward looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that are described in more detail on Slide 3 of our investor presentation. You may access our investor presentation on our website. Speaker 100:01:09We will also reference certain non GAAP financial measures such as EBITDA and free cash flow. A reconciliation of such measures to GAAP is included in the earnings release And our investor presentation, I will now turn the call over to our President and CEO. Chris? Speaker 200:01:24Thank you, Red, and welcome to the call, everyone. As always, I will begin our prepared remarks with a note on safety, which is Bristow's number one core value and our highest operational priority. The company has achieved our target of 0 air accidents through the 1st 10 months of 2023. With respect to workplace safety, we are pleased that our total recordable incident rate has declined and we have experienced Fewer incidents resulting in loss of time. While this represents excellent safety performance year to date, We of course understand that our safety record must be earned anew each and every day. Speaker 200:02:04I want to thank and commend all our team members around the world for their continued dedication to Bristow's Target 0 safety culture. Turning to operational and financial highlights, we are very pleased to announce a significant earnings beat this quarter and guidance raised for full year 2023. Consistent with our outlook that the second half of twenty twenty three would mark the positive inflection point for Bristow's financial results. Q3 adjusted EBITDA of $57,000,000 excluding asset dispositions and foreign exchange losses Represent a 45% sequential quarter improvement and supports our expectations for stronger financial results in 2024 and beyond. We will have more to share on our future outlook later in this call. Speaker 200:02:56For now, I will hand it over to our CFO for a review of the quarter's financial results. Jennifer? Speaker 300:03:01Thank you, Chris. Today, I will begin with an analysis of the sequential quarter comparison of Bristow's financial results. EBITDA adjusted to exclude special items, asset dispositions and foreign exchange was 56 base call is being recorded. $6,000,000 for the Q3 of 2023 compared to $39,000,000 in the 2nd quarter or an increase of approximately $17,600,000 Operating revenues increased $18,700,000 primarily due to higher utilization in offshore energy and higher lease payments received from Cougar. Operating expenses were consistent with the prior quarter. Speaker 300:03:40Higher personnel and fuel costs were offset by lower insurance costs, repairs and maintenance And other operating expenses. General and administrative expenses were $1,600,000 higher primarily due to higher professional service fees. Earnings from unconsolidated affiliates were $2,400,000 higher due to improved earnings at Cougar. As noted in previous earnings calls, the other income line item is primarily comprised of non cash foreign currency gains and losses, which we have excluded from our adjusted EBITDA calculation. As a result of the 3rd quarter's earnings, We have raised our 2023 adjusted EBITDA guidance to $175,000,000 to 175,000,000 As we move into Q4 2023, we anticipate the 4th quarter adjusted EBITDA to be somewhat lower than the 3rd quarter, primarily due to seasonality, particularly from Cougar in Canada and our airline in Australia. Speaker 300:04:49Financial outlook that we announced in June of this year. The midpoint for adjusted EBITDA for 2024 is 20% higher than midpoint 2023. This strong balance sheet and liquidity position. As of September 30, our available liquidity was 274,000,000 As we have noted in our earnings presentation, we have a capital investment of approximately $300,000,000 related to successful award of contracts with the U. K. Speaker 300:05:51And Irish Coast Guard. Much of this capital investment is expected to happen in 2024 as we will be adding 11 new helicopters to our fleet. Our search and rescue contracts are long term in nature, typically 10 years with attractive returns. So once we were through with the investment period, we have a long term cash yield as noted on Slide next question comes from the line of John Franzrebrenco. We plan to fund this investment with cash on hand, operating cash flows, New debt financing of a similar structure to what we currently have with NatWest and or aircraft leasing. Speaker 300:06:28Due to the nature of these long term cash generative contracts, we have access to competitive financing and sufficient flexibility in how we structure it. As we've stated before, we believe this business model will continue to generate strong cash flows. At this time, I'll turn the call back to Chris for further remarks. Chris? Operator00:06:49Thank you. Speaker 200:06:50As Jennifer noted, the midpoint of Bristow's 2024 adjusted EBITDA guidance range of $190,000,000 to $220,000,000 represents a growth rate of 20% over the upwardly revised 2023 midpoint. This demonstrates our very optimistic outlook for the future of Bristow's business. Before expanding upon our positive forecast, I would like to note that there are some headwinds, including the adverse impact of a strong U. S. Dollar on Bristow's financial results. Speaker 200:07:21In addition, we continue to experience supply chain challenges, particularly related to significant parts delays for S-ninety two Helicopters, which is a challenge impacting the entire offshore helicopter industry. With that said, the fundamentals for Bristow's business continue to improve and our conviction about a multiyear growth cycle has strengthened commensurately. In our fixed wing business, Activity levels have recovered from pandemic impacts and we are seeing benefits from an ongoing fleet enhancement. In In our Government Services business, we have grown from the foundational U. K. Speaker 200:07:58SAR contract to a larger and more diverse portfolio of government search and rescue contracts in multiple countries, including the recent addition of an important mandate with the Irish Coast Guard scheduled to commence in late In our Offshore Energy business, Q3 results demonstrate that the positive inflection point has occurred and we continue to believe the offshore market is in the early stages of a multi year growth cycle. We expect aircraft utilization and rates to continue to increase, which will drive significant improvements in cash flow generation. With the largest and most diverse aircraft fleet in the industry and the largest operational footprint, Bristow is well positioned to benefit from current and future opportunities in this upcycle. With that, let's open the line for questions. Dan? Operator00:09:08Thank you, Chris. The floor is now open for questions. Thank you. The first question comes from Josh Sullivan from The Benchmark Company. Your line is now open. Speaker 400:09:35Hey, good morning. Congratulations on the strong quarter here. Operator00:09:39Next question is from the line of Josh. Good morning, Josh. Speaker 400:09:41Thank you. For the first question, I guess I'll just get right to it. But for the remainder of the year, What are the factors to get to the higher end of the 'twenty three outlook versus the lower end? Speaker 200:09:53Yes, we've provided a range for the full year in terms of what could move that to one end or the other. Some of the key variables would be Foreign exchange, namely the relative exchange rate between the U. S. Dollar and the Great British pound. Another factor would be the supply chain challenges that we referenced. Speaker 200:10:14If either one of those situations would deteriorate, that would bias results to the lower end of the range. If we get some help, whether it's from foreign exchange or easing in the supply chain challenges, that would bias us more to the higher end of the range or higher. Speaker 400:10:31And just on those supply chain issues for the F92, how have you been mitigating those and have those efforts been effective or? Speaker 200:10:41They've been effective in the sense that we've continued to provide safe and reliable service to our customer, meeting their needs. For the S-ninety two helicopters, we've mitigated these by in sourcing parts leveraging the large global fleet we have to take parts from certain aircraft and move them to others to keep contracted aircraft working and flying for We've also gone out into the secondary market and purchased certain components, brought them into our inventory, which we really should not have to do under the terms of our full Tiptoele power by the hour or PBH support agreement with course key for the S92, but we've done that nevertheless again to make sure that we're delivering reliable service. We along with the rest of the industry have also in some This is sought extensions on life components to keep the helicopters in service. So it's been a multifaceted approach. I think we have benefited at Bristow because we do have the largest fleet of S92s operating globally. Speaker 200:11:57So we've been We have more resources to self help through this challenge, but it has been a challenging time and certainly a dynamic one with changes. And I want to really thank our and commend our team around the world for continuing to deliver reliable service despite these challenges on the Speaker 400:12:18And then I guess a similar question on the OEM side. What about delivery timelines for the new aircraft on order? Speaker 200:12:26Delivery timelines and lead times are significant. On average, it would be about 18 months, Could be a little less than that, could be more like 24, but we are still looking at about on average a 24 month lead time for New aircraft for the ones that we are bringing in to support our successful wins on the government services side, we have to secure those delivery slots and are moving forward on time to deliver those new contracts for Speaker 400:12:53the schedule. Got it. And then just On the overall duration of your oil and gas contracting base, is there a way to think about what year is the center point? And then is there a way to think about how much pricing has generally increased since then? Speaker 200:13:11There's a pretty wide spectrum in terms of duration of contracts, but to use a rule of thumb, a typical contract may be 5 years in length. At any given point in time, there may be roughly 2.5 years of maturity left across the portfolio. As contracts are expiring, We are renewing them at significantly higher rates. To your question, those rate increases could be in the mid-twenty or higher depending upon the situation in terms of geography, aircraft type, etcetera. So these are meaningful increases. Speaker 200:13:45We have captured some of those during 2023. 2024 will have a full year impact of those. Also the opportunity to Reset new contracts elsewhere in the portfolio. So we see the benefit of this really being a step change that will compound as we progress through the next couple of years. Speaker 400:14:07And then just one last one on the higher lease payments in the quarter from Cougar. Can you just provide some color Speaker 200:14:21at Cougar over the last few years during a difficult period of time, but the good news is that their business has improved and trending in a positive direction, which is Why we are collecting more cash from them this quarter. Jennifer, do you want to talk about the accounting? Speaker 300:14:34Sure. Just as a reminder, we did place them on a cash basis of See from them is how we recognize revenues, so it can be quite lumpy. But yes, as Chris noted, their business has improved, which is Showing up both as those cash payments as well as in our equity earnings, that's related to Cougar. Speaker 400:15:05Got it. Thank you for the time. Speaker 200:15:07Thank you, Josh. Operator00:15:10The next question comes from Eddie Kim from Barclays. Your line is now open. Speaker 500:15:17Hi, good morning. Just wanted to ask what your outlook is On the offshore energy market in the Gulf of Mexico, just based on commentary we've been hearing from the offshore drillers, it seems like The incremental demand that they're seeing is coming out of Brazil and Africa mostly. So just curious what your outlook is based on your conversations Speaker 200:15:56Some new contracts in the last couple of quarters. And also West Africa, we do see a good growth rate there, A strong recovery from some of the lows during the pandemic and the oil downturn. We've benefited from that. We've also benefited from and increasing share in Nigeria. So that market has really improved significantly for us and we continue to have a positive outlook Going forward, specific to your question about the Gulf of Mexico, we are seeing growth in the Gulf of Mexico. Speaker 200:16:25It's obviously a very large market. So from a growth Rate standpoint, the rate won't be as high as some others, whether that's West Africa or the Caribbean. But in terms of the addition of the number of units, We have started some new contracts recently in the Gulf of Mexico, one being an AW139, another being an S92 that started during Q3 for us. I would say aircraft availability is a challenge For us in the Gulf of Mexico, if we had, for example, more serviceable S-92s today, we'd be able to put them on contract and we'd be generating more revenue and So while certainly the rates aren't as high as other regions, we are seeing a growth in demand for helicopters to support OpExCo activity. Speaker 500:17:23And higher pricing on renewals with pricing up in the mid-twenty percent range or even higher in some cases. Are you Seeing this incentivize Speaker 200:17:33new aircraft to enter the market or if you're not, is it something you expect to take place in the next 12 to 18 months? The order book right now for offshore Tigard helicopters is quite small. There are not many on order from the various participants in the industry. In terms of where we see that trending, I would expect it to increase. Pricing levels are have increased in in certain areas, an increasing number of areas to levels that would support new build economics. Speaker 200:18:07And I think importantly, because of the tight supply chain sorry, supply and demand balance in the industry for particularly heavy and medium helicopters. There's going to need to be more aircraft that come in to meet the existing demand. You will have some attrition of some S-92s that will naturally age out. It's likely that supermediums, otherwise known as lighthepies, will be a big part of the solution to both replace 92s that are currently working, but also to meet the future growth that we're seeing in the market. Speaker 500:18:44Got it. Great. Thank you very much. I'll turn it back. Operator00:18:48Thank you. The next question comes from Savi Syth from Raymond James, please your line is now open. Speaker 600:18:58Hey, good morning. I just had a Slightly longer term question. In regard to the advanced neuro mobility, I was curious what your expectation was on like the timelines of taking delivery and launching operations Depending on kind of when certification time certification happens at your partners? Speaker 200:19:17Thank you for the question, because we are we remain very excited about the potential for Advanced Thermobility and we think that Fabristo has been a global leader in vertical flight for the last 75 years. There's a big opportunity for us to remain a leader in the adoption of new technologies like Advanced Air Mobility and we see a number of opportunities where they can be complementary and really additive to what we do with our business. So we don't see them substituting existing missions with current aircraft, but really it's additive to our business. In terms of time line specific to your question, We would expect to take the 1st delivery in 2025 is what we anticipate from both a certification and production standpoint. So that 2025, late 2025 Time frame would be the first time that we're probably operating them in the real world in Bristol Suite generating revenues. Speaker 600:20:09That's super helpful. And just a follow-up to that, do you have any thoughts on geographically Where you might be deploying those first and then what the considerations are in thinking through where you will deploy those? Speaker 200:20:34From a regulatory and certification standpoint in the different jurisdictions. Our current view is that we see Europe will likely We approve these aircraft types and certify them prior to the U. S. Market. So we think that Europe may be the 1st place that we at Bristow are deploying them in real world missions. Speaker 600:20:59And just from a regulation standpoint and infrastructure, is that where you see kind of the most progress as well? Obviously, regulation, but maybe on the Speaker 200:21:09Yes. I mean, infrastructure still has a long way to go, I think, in really all jurisdictions, to be fair, but Europe is taking some prudent steps to think about how they'll actually be introduced and operated in the real world. We think you're going to see EBITDAL aircraft flying in Paris at the Olympics next year. So this is coming. Preparations are being made, but still in terms of infrastructure, broadly speaking, a lot of work and capital and time to still be invested for the infrastructure. Speaker 600:21:45That's all helpful. Thank you very much. Operator00:21:50The next question comes from David Smith from Pickering Energy Partners. Your line is now open. Speaker 700:21:57Hey, good morning. I'll echo the congratulations on the strong quarter and thank you for having me on the call. Speaker 200:22:04Good morning, David, and thank you. Speaker 700:22:08Yes. With something to start, just considering the strong Q3 results And the better 'twenty three outlook, I'm curious why your 'twenty four guidance wasn't biased higher, if this was more about some positive second half twenty twenty three surprise or if maybe we should talk this up to a little bit of conservatism. Speaker 200:22:30Yes. Thank you for the question, David. We did affirm our guidance range for 2024 including adjusted EBITDA of $190,000,000 to 220,000,000 Some of the factors that would drive results in 2024 to one end of the spectrum or the other would include foreign exchange. Since we initially published the guidance range when the Pound to dollar exchange rate was about 1.27. The dollars strengthened considerably versus the pound, And so that's probably eroded about $10,000,000 or so of EBITDA just mark to mark on the FX side. Speaker 200:23:09So depending on what happens with The pound to dollar exchange rate in 2024 that could buy us to the lower end of the range or if there is some recovery in the pound that would push us more Supply chain is another consideration that we're dealing with in the business. As I noted earlier, there are markets, for example, in the Gulf of Mexico, U. K, North Sea with the others where if we had more serviceable S-92s, we would be able to put them to work today on revenue generating contract. So depending on what happens with some of those supply chain challenges, again, could bias us more to one end of the range versus the other. But if we could get some help on the foreign exchange side, some help in easing on some of these supply chain challenges, again, that This surprises us more to the higher end of the range as we look into 2024. Speaker 700:24:03Yes, it makes a lot of sense. I appreciate the color. And a follow-up, if I may. I think there's a lot of investor focus around the increasing deepwater rig count on the offshore energy side. I wanted to ask about the production support side of the business and maybe specifically, how has production related demand Yes, look for you over the past year or so. Speaker 700:24:26And maybe any color on how that demand factors into the 2024 outlook? Speaker 200:24:33Yes, it's been quite stable for us, the production support over the last 12 months. We tend to on the production side have more visibility and what's going to be required once the platforms are producing and online, they tend to produce for a very long period of time. There can be variations in the number of people that are working on that particular platform. That will drive some variations in flight hours. But for the most part, our production related support is quite stable, provides some visibility. Speaker 200:25:02And the second part of your question, what that means looking into 2024s, we expect a similar level of production related support as what we're doing here in the later part of 20 23. So that provides some nice stability to the business, growth really coming more from the exploration and development activity, which as you referenced, We have seen an increase in the rig count and expect to see a further increase in the rig count over the next year 2 year period. Speaker 700:25:37Investor presentation showing the long lead times for reactivations of the cold stacked deepwater rigs. I wanted to ask, as operators Signing contracts for rigs with longer and longer lead times, stretching out to 2526 start date. When does Bristow get brought into Planning or maybe said differently, are you seeing your contract lead times extend as well? Speaker 200:26:03Yes, that's a great question, David. Typically, we are contracted well after the rig is lined up. The offshore drilling rig It tends to be a much higher percentage of spend for the end customers. So they typically line that up first before looking to other services, whether that be boats, helicopters, other services. I would say, that The industry as a whole, the customers maybe got a little too comfortable during the downturn that the aircraft would be available when they needed it. Speaker 200:26:38That's changed. And I think a much higher percentage of the customer base now understands it's fundamentally changed. We have a supply Very tight supply demand balance for the aircraft now and people I think are pushing out their planning Now realizing that the helicopter is not just going to be there, they need to line it up in advance to make sure that they have the support, because You're not going to be very effective or productive on the rig if you can't get your people to and from the rig. So we are seeing an increase in the lead times for the planning and contracting activity. Speaker 700:27:17Great to hear. Thank you very much, Chris. That's all for me. Operator00:27:21Thank you. The next question is from Chris Lee from Evercore ISI. Your line is now open. Speaker 400:27:29Good morning, team. Hey, good morning. Just curious if you could provide more details on the newly initiated offshore energy contracts in Brazil and Norway And how are things going with the operations? Speaker 200:27:46Yes. Thank you for the question, We were very pleased to start up a significant new contract in Norway supporting Ecuador's search and rescue needs in the southern part of Norway. That started at the beginning of September. The team there through a lot of work was able to start on time safely and reliably and we've gotten a lot of Positive feedback from the customer there in Norway for that. In Brazil, significant increase in scale in our operations there in Q3. Speaker 200:28:16We opened up 2 new bases. We launched 6 new contracts for AW139 Helicopters. And Have an increase in activity and demand for aircraft over the next few years. Speaker 400:28:40Got you. My follow-up question is, with regards to your agreement with Airbus to purchase 5 new H-one hundred and thirty five Helicopters, can you provide us some color and contract economics for H-one hundred and thirty five And potentially incremental EBITDA per fleet basis? Speaker 200:29:00Yes. Thank you for the question. So those H-one hundred and thirty five Light Twin Helicopters to be delivered from Airbus are for one of our largest oil and gas customers for an identified need that they have. They are increasing the scope and demand that they have for the services that are needed to support their levels of activity. In terms of directionally, again, significant increase in rates relative to historicals, and that is providing The returns that make it attractive for us to bring in these aircrafts. Speaker 200:29:36So it will be a positive improvement The EBITDA on a high returning contract with a very large and important customer for us. The need for light twins really being driven by the size of the platform that they're going to serve. So can't support the weight of a heavy or medium. So the 135 that we're bringing in, which is really a category leader globally in the light twin category in the helicopter industry is the right aircraft for this mission. Speaker 400:30:06Great. Thank you. Thank you for taking my questions. Thank you. Operator00:30:14The next question is from Silversteve from Argus Research. Your line is now open. Speaker 800:30:21Good morning, everybody. It's actually Steve Silverberg. I'd just like to offer my congratulations on the quarter as well and on the team finalizing the Irish Coast Guard contract. While 2024 is primarily going to be a period of capital investment towards this project as well as in the UK, Could you remind us if the 2024 EBITDA outlook includes any impact from the implementation of these contracts in the second half of the year Speaker 200:31:03It's going to be the 2nd largest contract that we have at the company globally behind only UK SAR. So it's certainly a significant win for Bristow. In terms of timing, the contract does not commence until late 2024. So it's really a de minimis impact on 2024. That small impact is contemplated in the guidance range we provided. Speaker 200:31:27But again, really de minimis And next year, it's really 2025 and beyond the next 10 to 13 years that we'll see the benefit from addition of the Irish Coast Guard contract. Speaker 800:31:40Great. That's helpful. And one more if I may. The prepared remarks mentioned the potential Speaker 200:31:48call is being recorded. For additional financing over time, Speaker 800:31:48just curious as to whether there are any target levels for net debt to EBITDA that we should be thinking about as you contemplate these kind of options? Speaker 300:31:57Sure. Thank you, Steve. As noted, high credit quality customers and so with Attractive long term contracts, so it gives us a lot of flexibility in financing. We've been advancing discussions With the banks and we do expect something in place in the next few quarters, something similar to what we have with NatWest. Our Net debt to EBITDA ratio today are in the 2.6 ish range. Speaker 300:32:26I mean, We like where we're at today. We will always continue to protect our balance sheet and we'll be conservative in what we what our target net debt to EBITDA numbers Speaker 800:32:40Great. Thank you very much and congratulations again. Operator00:32:43Thank you, Steve. The next question comes from Edison Yu from Deutsche Bank. Your line is now open. Speaker 200:32:53Hey, thank you for taking our questions. I want to ask a bit on the AM strategy. You've obviously Interact with many of the upcoming players and curious if you could elaborate on why you chose Volacopter And what kind of potential routes in the future or use cases you may use that to AerCap for? Yes. Good morning and thank you for the question. Speaker 200:33:19As you noted, over the last several years, we have spent a lot of time analyzing the various The team, the management team, their track record, experience and capabilities, their access to financing, because it does take a lot of money as you know to certify and bring it to production, a new aircraft type. So We have evaluated those factors. That's all informed the different companies that we have decided to partner with. There is a spectrum of companies that we have decided to partner with. Much like in our fleet today, there's different aircraft types that perform certain missions well. Speaker 200:34:01We see that being the case for these new type of aircraft as well and that's why these partnership ranges can range from a piloted fully electric EBITDA to an unmanned autonomous hybrid powered aircraft just depends on the mission that we are looking to perform, Which brings me specifically to your question on Vollacopter. Vollacopter really has been and remains one of the leaders in the advancement of the Design, development and certification of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. Early on, their thought was that they would be Vertically integrated, so they would both develop, manufacture, but then also operate these aircraft. But over the course of our discussions with them over the last few years, I think that they've seen the value of partnering with an operator Like Bristow and what we bring to the table in our 75 years of operating vertical aircraft safely, efficiently and reliably, and that's really led to this partnership. So the type of mission for Volocopter and the current aircraft Specifically would be that the movement of people over short distances, which can be done more efficiently, certainly faster than a lot of ground transportation options and with the low carbon or 0 operating emission a profile that an electric aircraft operates. Speaker 200:35:31We see potential to launch with them in Europe, but we're also discussing partnerships In certain regions of the U. S, so a really strong, capable Aircraft developer there, and one where we think that it could be a nice partnership between Volocopter and Bristow as these aircraft are certified and to the market. Appreciate the color. One follow-up on that. In terms of The cargo market, and I know you have a very good relation with Elroy. Speaker 200:36:06How do you sort of see the size of the opportunity? I think from our end, we have difficulty sometimes kind of quantifying that. Do you think this is a potentially as big of opportunity? Is it going to be smaller naturally or how do you think about that? Yes. Speaker 200:36:25Directionally, we think it could be as big of an Aircraft that has a high payload for this type of aircraft platform, which could really be effective in moving cargo in a number of instances. So we think it's a potentially huge market for disaster relief and response, Huge market for servicing military and government customers as well as commercial customers, whether that be Middle mile logistics, any companies whether retail operations etcetera that have big logistics needs and particularly middle mile ones. For us at Bristow, we actually think the first application of these aircraft It will be for our existing large oil and gas customer base. The large oil companies that we service around the world have massive logistical needs. Currently, we're servicing the need to transport their people from onshore bases to offshore Platforms and back, but they also have huge logistical needs onshore, whether that's regional movement of people, For example, to get them from say a major international airport to the heliport in which we operate for the movement of cargo. Speaker 200:37:55Today, they relied mostly upon 18 wheelers or lorries to move this cargo from, again, major points of Access and distribution out to ports that will eventually make it to the offshore platform. In our discussions with them, They're very keen to have a more efficient solution that these type of aircraft could provide. And they also have very ambitious ESG targets that they've announced in terms of when they want to get to net 0 on their carbon emissions. So anything that we can do as a service provider to help them meet those initiatives, they have a lot of time to talk about and are really keen to hear what these new aircraft can do for their logistical needs. So we do see Great amount of potential for products like the Elroy. Operator00:38:45Perfect. Thank you. Thank you. There are no further questions in the queue. I will now turn the call back over to Christopher Bradshaw for closing remarks. Speaker 200:38:57Thank you, Dan and thanks for everyone for taking the time on the call today. We appreciate the questions. Look forward to speaking again next quarter. InRead morePowered by