Bristow’s supply chain woes ‘won’t stop 27% EBITDA lift’

Bristow's Q3 earnings call set out plans for adjusted EBITDA growth of about 27% in mid-2026,

Within the first two sentences. That’s the priority Chris Bradshaw chose to give to mentioning supply chain difficulties in his opening remarks on Bristow’s third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday (November 5th). But they would not be enough to tarnish the operator’s predicted adjusted EBITDA growth of about 27% in mid-2026, year over year, said the president and CEO.

Bradshaw thanked the team for their service during “persistent supply chain challenges that have plagued the aviation industry in general, and the civilian helicopter industry in particular, for the last four years”.

Significant supply chain challenges remain across the board. “This is impacting the aftermarket, with delays for parts and the components that we need to maintain the aircraft, keep them operational and in service,” he said. But the supply chain problems for the key Sikorsky S-92 had improved – a bit.

S-92 heavy helicopter

“Over the last few years, we had more of a concentration of that type of challenge in a particular model, namely the S-92 heavy helicopter. However, we’re seeing that situation has improved some, so it’s ameliorated. So not quite where we would want it to be,” said Bradshaw.

Supply chain difficulties are not confined to maintenance, repair and overhaul work. “It [supply chain delays] is also impacting the timing of new deliveries,” said Bradshaw. This affects aircraft now going through final modifications before delivery.

For example: “On the offshore configured AW189s, we expect there will be delays in aircraft coming off the production line,” he said. “A lot of that relates to … just the complexity of a modern aviation supply chain where the OEM itself over the last several decades has outsourced to an increasing number of subcontractors and vendors.”

‘Supply chain issues’

Manufacturers are having their own struggles in sourcing some of the components on time to meet the expected delivery schedules. “So, it’s really both aftermarket and new deliveries that are being impacted by these supply chain issues in the industry,” he added.

In addition to supply chain delays, the ability to bring in new capacity remains constrained, with production lines that must be shared with military aircraft orders and current manufacturing lead times of about 24 months. But that has upside too, said Bradshaw. “We believe the tight supply of offshore helicopters supports a more constructive outlook for our sector relative to some other offshore equipment sectors,” he said.

The company identified two categories of pending deliveries. The first covers aircraft received from manufacturers that are undergoing final modifications and the second category referred to helicopters still under construction.

Government Services business

Five Leonardo helicopters are undergoing final modifications ahead of their deployment in Bristow’s Government Services business. Two AW189s are destined for the Irish Coast Guard contract in Ireland. A further three AW139s are scheduled for the new SAR2G search and rescue contract in the UK.

Still under construction by the manufacturer are seven offshore AW189s configured for offshore energy services. These aircraft will be split between Brazil, Africa and the North Sea.

Bristow is the world’s largest operator of S-92, AW189 and AW139 models. (All three models are deployed on offshore crew transport and search and rescue missions).

Third-quarter revenues from Bristow’s Offshore Energy Services were $250m – $2.4m lower than in the previous quarter. Revenues in Europe were $6.6m lower and in Africa $1.5m lower; attributed mainly to lower utilisation. Revenues in the Americas were up $5.7m reflecting higher utilisation.

Offshore market in Brazil

The offshore market in Brazil showed the best potential, followed by Africa requiring additional aircraft in that market. Demand in the Caribbean was growing but North Sea activity was softening, according to the operator.

“Bristow continues to have a positive outlook for offshore energy services activity, as deepwater projects are favourably positioned, offering attractive relative returns within the asset portfolios of oil and gas companies,” said Bradshaw. The industry is probably experiencing a mid-cycle activity plateau, which may persist for much of the next 12 months, he added.

Bristow’s Government Services business achieved revenues that were $8.4m higher in the third quarter mainly due to continuing transition of the Irish Coast Guard contract, as a new base started operations in the third quarter. Adjusted operating income for the segment was $11m in the third quarter compared with $6m in the preceding three months.

Airline in Australia

Revenues from the company’s Other Services business – which includes Bristow’s fixed-wing regional airline in Australia and dry-leasing aircraft to third-party operators – were $3.8m higher. This was due to higher activity in Australia of $4.8m, partially offset by lower revenues of $1.1m due to the conclusion of a dry-lease contract.

Overall, Bristow posted third-quarter total revenues of $386.3m compared with $376.4m in the previous quarter. Net income was listed at $51.5m ($1.72 per diluted share) versus $31.7m ($1.07 per diluted share) in the second quarter of this year. Third-quarter adjusted EBITDA reached $67.1m up from $60.7m the previous quarter.

Moving on to Bristow’s financial outlook, the company has decided to tighten its 2025 adjusted EBITDA range to $240m to $250m total projected revenues of $1.46bn to $1.53bn, said Jennifer Whalen, senior vice president and chief financial officer.

This was due to a combination of factors including supply chain dynamics that impact aircraft availability, customer activity levels influenced by global energy demand, new contract transitions and the exchange rate of foreign currencies relative to the dollar – particularly sterling and to a lesser extent, the euro.

This represents about a 27% increase in adjusted EBITDA from the 2025 to 2026 midpoint.

The reasons for the rosier outlook – despite continuing supply chain difficulties – were summed up in the second to last sentence of Bradshaw’s closing remarks. “This outlook is supported by the growth and stability of our Government Services business, the heavy weighting of our offshore energy services business to more stable production support activities and the breadth and diversity of the geographic markets we serve,” he said.

PS: If you are visiting European Rotors in Cologne later this month, don’t miss Helicopter Investor’s two Finance Forums on the afternoon of Tuesday, November 18th. More details here.

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HI Uplift Dashboard: Helicopters for sale

Multi engine

• Total for sale/lease: 273 – four more than last week
• Percentage for sale/lease: 3.58%
• Absorption rate: 3.64 months
• Total fleet: 7,616 – three more than last week.

Single engine

• Total for sale/lease: 442 – five more than last week
• Percentage for sale/lease: 3.78%
• Absorption rate: 3.65 months
• Total fleet: 11,679 – two more than last week.

 Source: AMSTAT, November 7th, 2025.