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8-K - FORM 8-K - CHC Helicopter S.A.d379096d8k.htm

Exhibit 99.1

CHC HELICOPTER’S TRANSFORMATION

HELPS DRIVE STRONG Q4, FULL-YEAR PERFORMANCE

 

Company Ends Fiscal 2012 With the Year’s Highest Quarterly Revenue

 

Revenue Increases at High Double-Digit Rates for Quarter, Year

 

Profitability Growth Runs Significantly Ahead of Revenue Increase

July 10, 2012—Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada—Continued progress against an ambitious plan to both raise the bar on customer value and improve its own operating efficiency contributed to strong financial results during CHC’s fiscal fourth-quarter 2012.

CHC’s revenue for the period ended April 30 increased 18 percent to $453 million—the highest quarterly level for fiscal 2012. The company reported a net loss of $48 million for the period. EBITDAR, CHC’s primary measure of operating profitability, was $111 million and EBITDA was $64 million, up 31 and 42 percent, respectively.

EBITDAR and EBITDA also grew faster than revenue for the full fiscal year. EBITDAR rose 25 percent and EBITDA increased 43 percent, compared with revenue that was up 17 percent, to $1.69 billion.

 

     Fourth Quarter     Fiscal Year  
(in millions)    FY12      FY11      Change(ii)     FY12      FY11      Change(ii)  

Revenue

   $ 453       $ 384         18   $ 1,693       $ 1,445         17

EBITDAR(i)

   $ 111       $ 85         31   $ 421       $ 335         25

EBITDA(i)

   $ 64       $ 45         42   $ 244       $ 171         43

 

(i) See reconciliation to GAAP measures below.
(ii) All growth rates in this release are year-over-year unless otherwise noted.

CHC President and Chief Executive Officer William Amelio said the strong fourth-quarter and full-year results only begin to illustrate what’s possible as CHC streamlines and sharpens its execution in the midst of broad, fast-growing demand for flying and maintenance/repair/overhaul (MRO) services.

“Over the years, helicopter operators like CHC grew rapidly through acquisition, establishing big geographic footprints,” said Mr. Amelio. “When you do that, driving consistent tools, systems and processes sometimes takes a back seat, resulting in inefficiency.

“What our people are doing now is dramatically changing CHC—finding the best practices and transformative technologies, creating new ones where we need to, and applying them around the world. We believe that’s starting to set us apart from competitors.”

 

-1-


Mr. Amelio said that transformation is expected to produce even higher levels of safety and value for customers, along with rapid and profitable growth for CHC.

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

Helicopter Services (flying):

 

 

Double-digit Q4 growth in flying-services revenue was led by Australasia, Americas, Western North Sea and Africa Euro Asia. EBITDAR for the quarter rose faster than revenue.

 

 

Two weeks ago CHC introduced Peter Bartolotta as chief operating officer and president of the Helicopter Services segment, succeeding John Graber. According to Mr. Amelio, Mr. Bartolotta brings with him strong operating expertise and a record of accomplishment in executive roles with leading companies such as Lenovo Corp., AlliedSignal/Honeywell and IBM.

 

 

The company is among Stage 2 bidders for a large-scale contract to provide search-and-rescue flight services to the United Kingdom government. Expectations are that the contract will be formally tendered in August and awarded in early 2013. In the fourth quarter, CHC received a four-year contract for certain interim U.K. SAR services.

 

 

CHC believes its new partner in Nigeria could obtain its air operating certificate, or AOC, in August. The business there has plans in place for an initial base in Snake Island and one to follow at Port Harcourt.

 

 

The company recently contracted to acquire several new twin-engine aircraft: 10 AgustaWestland 139s over the next several years, plus four Sikorsky 92s between now and the end of 2014, with options for additional volumes of both models. Those new aircraft are in addition to more than 20 Eurocopter EC225 heavy helicopters CHC is procuring over several years into 2016. The acquisitions are being driven by strong demand, and will increase the company’s global fleet coverage and flexibility.

Heli-One (MRO):

 

 

Q4 revenue from MRO services was up more than one-third from last year. While that included a healthy increase for work on CHC aircraft, revenue from contracts with other operators—a major part of Heli-One’s growth plan—jumped more than 80 percent in the quarter.

 

-2-


 

Heli-One-led initiatives to improve management of key components, including better collaboration with helicopter manufacturers, are contributing to rising availability of CHC aircraft.

 

 

Recent MRO contract wins included a 10-year agreement with the German Border Police, and for significant power-by-the-hour services with Pelita Air Service and Era Helicopters, covering a total of 12 aircraft deployed in Europe, Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico and the South China Sea.

 

 

Last week Heli-One confirmed that it is opening a new operation in Rzeszow, Poland. The operation—which is in addition to existing facilities in Boundary Bay, British Columbia, Canada; Stavanger, Norway; and Fort Collins, Colo., in the United States—will extend the company’s reach, putting it closer to existing and future customers across Europe.

CHC Helicopter is a leader in enabling customers to go further, do more and come home safely, including oil and gas companies, government search-and-rescue agencies and organizations requiring helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul services through the Heli-One division. The company is headquartered in Vancouver and operates more than 250 aircraft in about 30 countries around the world.

#####

Segment Performance

(Expressed in thousands of United States dollars)

 

Segment Third Party Revenue              
     For the quarter ended April 30,      For the year ended April 30,  
     2012      2011      2012      2011  

Helicopter Services

   $ 388,344       $ 347,922       $ 1,520,223       $ 1,311,983   

MRO

     62,772         34,250         166,479         129,222   

Corporate and Other

     1,841         1,952         5,837         4,255   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Consolidated totals

   $ 452,957       $ 384,124       $ 1,692,539       $ 1,445,460   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

EBITDAR and EBITDA Summary

 

XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX
     For the quarter ended April 30,     For the year ended April 30,  
     2012     2011     2012     2011  

Helicopter Services

   $ 102,219      $ 87,870      $ 413,401      $ 370,382   

MRO

     34,440        16,629        88,914        43,562   

Corporate and Other

     (25,434     (19,534     (81,737     (78,568
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Consolidated EBITDAR (i)

     111,225        84,965        420,578        335,376   

Less: aircraft lease and associated costs

     (47,717     (40,059     (176,685     (164,828
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Consolidated EBITDA (i)

   $ 63,508      $ 44,906      $ 243,893      $ 170,548   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(i) See reconciliations to GAAP measures below.

 

-3-


Consolidated Statement of Earnings

(Expressed in thousands of United States dollars)

 

     For the quarter ended     For the year ended  
     April 30 2012     April 30 2011     April 30 2012     April 30 2011  

Revenue

     $452,957        $384,124        $1,692,539        $1,445,460   

Operating Expenses

        

Direct costs

     (368,544     (318,206     (1,381,900     (1,211,680

Earnings from equity accounted investees

     1,202        1,066        2,844        2,159   

General and administration costs

     (22,107     (22,078     (69,590     (65,391

Amortization

     (32,076     (26,577     (112,967     (99,625

Restructuring costs

     (6,899     (1,478     (22,511     (4,751

Gain on disposal of assets

     5,223        4,912        8,169        7,193   

Recovery (impairment) of receivables and funded residual value guarantees

     433        (2,824     272        (1,919

Impairment of intangible assets

     (1,506     (20,143     (4,218     (20,608

Impairment of assets held for sale

     (915     (42     (13,469     (5,239
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
     (425,189     (385,370     (1,593,370     (1,399,861

Operating income

     27,768        (1,246     99,169        45,599   

Interest on long-term debt

     (27,322     (27,192     (116,578     (91,462

Foreign exchange gain

     9,598        17,203        1,795        17,916   

Other financing charges

     (1,050     (7,814     (15,062     (67,036
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income (loss) from continuing operations before tax

     8,994        (19,049     (30,676     (94,983

Income tax recovery (provision)

     (50,099     25,210        (48,217     32,916   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income (loss) from continuing operations

     (41,105     6,161        (78,893     (62,067

Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax

     (6,579     (802     (16,107     (3,202
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net earnings (loss)

     ($47,684     $5,359        ($95,000     ($65,269
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net (loss) earnings attributable to:

        

Controlling interest

     ($49,304     $5,766        ($107,422     ($70,338

Non-controlling interest

     1,620        (407     12,422        5,069   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net earnings

     ($47,684     $5,359        ($95,000     ($65,269
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

-4-


Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

(Expressed in thousands of United States dollars)

 

     For the quarter ended     For the year ended  
     April 30 2012     April 30 2011     April 30 2012     April 30
2011
 

Cash provided by (used in):

        

Operating activities:

        

Net earnings (loss)

     ($47,684     $5,359        ($95,000     ($65,269

Less: loss from discontinued operations, net of tax

     (6,579     (802     (16,107     (3,202
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net earnings (loss) from continuing operations

     (41,105     6,161        (78,893     (62,067

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to cash flows provided by (used in) operating activities:

        

Amortization

     32,076        26,577        112,967        99,625   

Gain on disposal of assets

     (5,223     (4,912     (8,169     (7,193

Impairment (recovery) of receivables and funded residual value guarantees

     (433     2,824        (272     1,919   

Impairment of intangible assets

     1,506        20,143        4,218        20,608   

Impairment of assets held for sale

     915        42        13,469        5,239   

Earnings from equity accounted investees

     (1,202     (1,066     (2,844     (2,159

Deferred income taxes

     41,280        (13,874     32,172        (37,142

Non-cash stock based compensation expense

     (36     (121     735        1,655   

Amortization of unfavourable contract credits

     (2,865     (14,371     (11,548     (22,868

Amortization of lease related fixed interest rate obligations

     (763     (861     (3,265     (3,920

Amortization of long-term debt and lease deferred financing costs

     2,549        (428     8,813        7,795   

Write-off of unamortized transaction costs on the senior facility agreement

     —          —          —          47,140   

Non-cash accrued interest income on funded residual value guarantees

     (1,721     (1,726     (7,358     (6,923

Mark to market loss (gain) on derivative instruments

     (5,759     16,075        5,380        9,350   

Non-cash defined benefit pension expense

     2,257        4,778        15,573        21,966   

Defined benefit contributions and benefits paid

     (4,394     (6,522     (44,480     (30,117

Increase to deferred lease financing costs

     1,699        (519     (6,981     (2,621

Unrealized loss (gain) on foreign currency exchange translation

     (176     4,873        (1,965     8,529   

Other

     6,110        5,966        10,675        6,168   

Decrease in cash resulting from changes in operating assets and liabilities

     (8,864     (22,237     (22,626     (12,694
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash provided by operating activities

     15,851        20,802        15,601        42,290   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Financing activities:

        

Sold interest in accounts receivable, net of collections

     (15,454     (19,364     27,203        (25,309

Proceeds from the senior secured notes

     —          —          —          1,082,389   

Repayment of the senior credit facility debt

     —          —          —          (1,020,550

Redemption of senior subordinated notes

     —          —          —          (129

Settlement of interest rate swap and other breakage fees

     —          —          —          (45,711

Proceeds from issuance of share capital

     20,000        146        100,000        146   

Long-term debt proceeds

     267,853        125,000        867,853        262,800   

Long-term debt and capital lease obligation repayments

     (221,065     (94,924     (786,808     (213,920

Increase in senior secured notes, senior credit facility, and revolver deferred financing costs

     (1,033     (985     (1,033     (42,721
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash provided by (used in) financing activities

     50,301        9,873        207,215        (3,005
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Investing activities:

        

Property and equipment additions

     (123,576     (48,431     (376,624     (228,804

Proceeds from disposal of property and equipment

     53,021        1,386        218,259        61,768   

Proceeds from the sale of the flight training operations to CAE

     —          29,779        —          29,779   

Aircraft deposits, net of lease inception refunds

     12,053        (12,319     (47,307     (28,253

Restricted cash

     (157     12,540        (13,135     4,755   

Distribution from equity investments

     198        —          1,134        —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash used in investing activities

     (58,461     (17,045     (217,673     (160,755
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash provided by (used in) continuing operations

     7,691        13,630        5,143        (121,470

Cash flows provided by (used in) discontinued operations:

        

Cash flows provided by (used in) operating activities

     3,935        (877     2,240        (1,032

Cash flows provided by (used in) financing activities

     (3,935     877        (2,240     1,032   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash provided by (used in) discontinued operations

     —          —          —          —     

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

     1,182        11,054        (18,517     15,431   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents during the period

     8,873        24,684        (13,374     (106,039

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period

     46,674        44,237        68,921        174,960   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents, end of period

     $55,547        $68,921        $55,547        $68,921   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

-5-


Consolidated Balance Sheets

(Expressed in thousands of United States dollars)

 

      For the year ended  
     April 30 2012     April 30 2011  

Assets

    

Current Assets:

    

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 55,547      $ 68,921   

Receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $2.6 million and $0.5 million, respectively

     266,115        222,565   

Income taxes receivable

     20,747        11,457   

Deferred income tax assets

     8,542        7,596   

Inventories

     90,013        102,224   

Prepaid expenses

     21,183        17,853   

Other assets

     33,195        36,234   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
     495,342        466,850   

Property and equipment, net

     1,026,860        1,133,499   

Investments

     24,226        23,548   

Intangible assets

     217,890        243,184   

Goodwill

     433,811        448,121   

Restricted cash

     25,994        13,219   

Other assets

     363,103        319,053   

Deferred income tax assets

     48,943        90,882   

Assets held for sale

     79,813        49,799   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
   $ 2,715,982      $ 2,788,155   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Liabilities and Shareholder’s Equity

    

Current Liabilities:

    

Payables and accruals

   $ 363,064      $ 364,848   

Deferred revenue

     23,737        24,183   

Income taxes payable

     43,581        29,132   

Deferred income tax liabilities

     11,729        13,035   

Current facility secured by accounts receivable

     45,566        21,571   

Other liabilities

     23,648        32,306   

Current portion of long-term debt

     17,701        106,642   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
     529,026        591,717   

Long-term debt

     1,269,379        1,184,844   

Liabilities held for sale

     —          1,608   

Deferred revenue

     43,517        37,799   

Other liabilities

     191,521        188,654   

Deferred income tax liabilities

     20,072        36,170   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     2,053,515        2,040,792   

Redeemable non-controlling interests

     1,675        3,087   

Capital stock: Par value 1 Euro;

    

Authorized and issued:

    

1,228,377,770 and 1,184,793,767, respectively

     1,607,101        1,547,101   

Contributed surplus

     55,318        14,583   

Deficit

     (940,031     (832,609

Accumulated other comprehensive earnings (loss)

     (61,596     15,201   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
   $ 2,715,982      $ 2,788,155   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

-6-


Non-GAAP Financial Measures:

This earnings release includes non-GAAP financial measures, segment earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and aircraft lease rent and associated costs (“segment EBITDAR (adjusted)”) referred to above as EBITDAR and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) that are not required by, or presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These non-GAAP measures are not performance measures under U.S. GAAP and should not be considered as alternatives to net earnings (loss) or any other performance or liquidity measures derived in accordance with GAAP. In addition, these measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. CHC has provided a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measure. CHC has chosen to include segment EBITDAR (adjusted) as we consider this to be a significant indicator of our financial performance and use this measure to assist us in allocating available capital resources. We have also included EBITDA as this measure may be useful to our debt holders as it correlates with Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure. Adjusted EBITDA may provide useful information to investors as it is a measure used to calculate certain financial covenants related to our revolving credit facility and certain covenants in the indenture. CHC has provided a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure in the Annual Report on Form 10-K or below. We have also presented a detailed discussion of the reasons for including non-GAAP financial measures and the limitations associated with those measures as part of the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” contained in the Annual Report on Form 10-K. CHC encourages investors to review these reconciliations and the non-GAAP discussion in conjunction with our presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures.

EBITDA—Non-GAAP Reconciliation

(Expressed in thousands of United States dollars)

 

      For the quarter ended April 30,     For the year ended April 30,  
     2012     2011     2012     2011  

Helicopter Services

   $ 102,219      $ 87,870      $ 413,401      $ 370,382   

MRO

     34,440        16,629        88,914        43,562   

Corporate and Other

     (25,434     (19,534     (81,737     (78,568
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Consolidated EBITDAR

     111,225        84,965        420,578        335,376   

Less: aircraft lease and associated costs

     (47,717     (40,059     (176,685     (164,828
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Consolidated EBITDA

     63,508        44,906        243,893        170,548   

Amortization

     (32,076     (26,577     (112,967     (99,625

Restructuring costs

     (6,899     (1,478     (22,511     (4,751

Gain on disposal of assets

     5,223        4,912        8,169        7,193   

Recovery (impairment) of receivables and funded residual value guarantees

     433        (2,824     272        (1,919

Impairment of intangible assets

     (1,506     (20,143     (4,218     (20,608

Impairment of assets held for sale

     (915     (42     (13,469     (5,239
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating income

     27,768        (1,246     99,169        45,599   

Interest on long-term debt

     (27,322     (27,192     (116,578     (91,462

Foreign exchange gain

     9,598        17,203        1,795        17,916   

Other financing charges

     (1,050     (7,814     (15,062     (67,036
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income (loss) from continuing operations before tax

     8,994        (19,049     (30,676     (94,983

Income tax recovery (provision)

     (50,099     25,210        (48,217     32,916   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income (loss) from continuing operations

     (41,105     6,161        (78,893     (62,067

Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax

     (6,579     (802     (16,107     (3,202
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net earnings (loss)

   ($ 47,684   $ 5,359      ($ 95,000   ($ 65,269
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

-7-


Forward Looking Statements:

This press release contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of certain securities laws, including the “safe harbor” provision of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and any applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this presentation, regarding our strategy, future operations, projections, conclusions, forecasts and other statements are “forward-looking statements”. While these forward-looking statements represent our best current judgment, the actual results could differ materially from the conclusions, forecasts or projections contained in the forward-looking information. Certain material factors or assumptions were applied in drawing a conclusion or making a forecast or projection in the forward-looking information contained herein. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the following: exchange rate fluctuations, trade credit risk, industry exposure, inflation, contract loss, inability to maintain government issued licenses, inability to obtain necessary aircraft or insurance, competition, political, economic and regulatory uncertainty, loss of key personnel, work stoppages due to labor disputes, and future material acquisitions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially from those indicated. The Company disclaims any intentions or obligations to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Please refer to our annual report on Form 10-K and other filings, in particular any discussion of risk factors or forward-looking statements, which are filed with the SEC and available at the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov), for a full discussion of the risks and other factors that may impact any estimates or forward-looking statements made herein.

 

-8-