HI Town Hall: Milestone Aviation’s long-term outlook remains the same
Despite changes in the market as a result of Covid-19, Pat Sheedy, President and CEO, Milestone Aviation told Helicopter Investor Town Hall delegates that his company’s medium to long-term outlook remains unchanged as it celebrates its tenth birthday.
“We were pretty bullish I think at the start of this year around what last six months of 2020 and into 2021 would look like, particularly in offshore.. We had line of sight on a lot of tender activity that was going to soak up some of excess capacity, the 92s in particular, that were still floating around the market. There is no question that the absorption rate has slowed and that demand has pushed to the right given what happened with oil in the first half of 2020. However, many of the fundamentals remain the same and certainly our medium to long-term outlook remains the same.”
With the offshore fleet ever ageing, no new heavy deliveries due, very limited super medium deliveries, dry lessor and operator order books, even with flat to medium demand, Sheedy predicts that the Milestone will eat into its oversupply in the offshore fleet in the coming years and that’s not a news, it’s just been delayed.
Celebrating Milestone’s anniversary with a freshly baked and excellently decorated birthday cake, with a little help from his daughter, was Olivier Piot, Founder and CEO, Nova Capital group, an onshore helicopter specific capital market company.
Piot told delegates, referring to the offshore downturn and Covid-19: “Currently we are also affected by this on the funding side mainly. Most of the banks we are dealing with are also exposed to offshore business so they are more reluctant to for new helicopter deals. So it has pushed down the advance amount we can raise from the bank or the residual value the banks would be keen to support in the transaction. Having said that, the combined affect of the Covid-19 crisis has a positive impact on onshore creating new opportunities, particularly in sell-and-lease back.”
This week’s edition Helicopter Investor Town Hall, Helicopter Leasing Special, was sponsored by Nova Capital and included presentations from Stephen Cook, Executive Director, Macquarie Bank and Dan Roberts, COO, Lobo Leasing. Replay the action and sign up for next month’s Town Hall here.
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