HI Uplift: GDHF’s NHV bid blocked and Bristow’s Q2

GD Helicopter Finance (GDHF) has ditched plans to buy NHV Group – the rotary operator, maintenance and training business – following the Belgian government’s decision to block the proposed deal.

The lessor’s CEO Michael York said: “GDHF confirms that the contemplated acquisition of NHV Group will not be proceeding, following the decision of the Belgian Interfederal Screening Committee.”

But the leasing company’s focus remains unchanged, he added. “GDHF continues to execute on our long-term strategy as a global lessor, driving portfolio growth and serving our global customer base.” 

NHV confirmed there would be no change in the ownership or control of NHV Group after the ruling . “NHV remains a strong and independent company and it is business as usual across our operations,” said the Ostend-based operator in a statement. Read the full story here.

Bristow buys, sells and confirms 25% growth plan

Purchase complete (Berry Aviation). Business for sale (Bristow’s Norway Offshore Energy Services operation). Growth guidance of 25% confirmed. These were key elements in the group’s second-quarter earnings call this week. Plus, an update on the problem that never seems to end: supply chain challenges and reflections on the impact of rising oil prices.

Purchase complete: Bristow confirmed it had closed the acquisition of Berry Aviation on July 13th for $105m in an all-cash transaction. Headquartered in San Marcos, central Texas, Berry Aviation operates a fleet of more than 20 fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft providing military and defence aviation services across a range of countries. It’s government services include: special missions, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations, MRO services, training and mission support.

Other businesses include: unmanned aerial systems (UAS) design and development capabilities together with on-demand cargo logistics for blue-chip end customers and aftermarket supply chain aviation solutions.

Berry’s portfolio complements and extends Bristow’s existing government business, according to Christopher Bradshaw, the group’s president, CEO and director. After the acquisition, Bristow now has a presence on six continents across 20 different countries. Customers will benefit from Bristow’s scale, operational expertise and global platform, he said.

“Berry’s specialised capabilities across a range of mission-critical operations and strong customer relationships are complementary to our existing government services operations, better positioning Bristow to compete for long-duration government programmes,” explained Bradshaw.

The acquisition is predicted to improve the quality of Bristow’s earnings through winning more contracted government services and multi-mission aviation contracts. It will support a more durable and balanced business profile, he said. The acquisition is also expected to be immediately accretive to Bristow’s earnings and free cash flow while bolstering the company’s EBITDA margin profile.

Jennifer Whalen, senior vice president and chief financial officer confirmed how the new business will be reported. “As we begin consolidating Berry Aviation’s financials, we plan to include their special missions, MRO, CRO and UAS business as part of our Government Services segment and their on-demand cargo and remaining services as part of our Other segment,” she said.

From purchases to sales: In a separate initiative, Bristow confirmed it is looking to sell its Norway Offshore Energy Services (OES) business as part of its plan to optimise its portfolio.

“Bristow remains focused on growing our global offshore energy services business in markets that meet our financial return parameters,” said Bradshaw. The company expects to continue pursuing other opportunities in Norway, such as those in the advanced air mobility space. Any sale of the Norway OES business and the addition of Berry Aviation would have been neutral to Bristow’s 2025 EBITDA on a pro forma basis, he added.

Total revenues for Q2 reached $411.8m, up from $388.7m in the first quarter. Net income improved by 61% quarter-over-quarter to $21.2m. Q2 adjusted EBITDA was $79.8m compared with $59.3m in the previous quarter.

Growth guidance confirmed. Based on these results, Bristow affirmed its adjusted EBITDA guidance range for this year of $295m-$325m – reflecting year-over-year growth of about 25%. “Bristow’s second quarter financial results keep us on track for what is expected to be a transformational year for the company,” said Bradshaw.

The operator was able to confirm this outlook despite continuing supply chain challenges that are impacting its government search and rescue contract business. This confidence “is a testament to the complementary nature of Bristow’s business segments and the benefits provided by the significant geographic and customer diversity in our business model”, he added.

Whalen highlighted penalties related to aircraft availability incurred during Q2, which she linked to continuing supply chain challenges. “The penalties … remained elevated in the current quarter but were consistent with the preceding quarter. Fuel revenues were consistent with the preceding quarter despite increases in global fuel prices due to contractual lags in the rebilling fuel costs under UKSAR2G [UK search and rescue contract].”

Supply chain challenges

Picking up the theme of supply chain challenges, Bradshaw noted significant improvement in the availability of Sikorsky products. “A few years ago, we, as an industry, were having a very acute supply chain challenge around the S-92, which is a Sikorsky manufactured helicopter,” he said. “A lot of improvements have been made there, and there’s been a strong recovery, not always exactly where we want it to be, of course, but a very strong recovery on that side of things.”

More recently, supply chain challenges are affecting the availability of new Leonardo AW189, said Bradshaw. This stems from the fact that going into the downturn in the offshore oil and gas industry, few new deliveries were being made. “But as activity has picked up and deliveries have been placed from that end market, but also importantly, around search and rescue aircraft – which has mainly been Bristow as well as military customers. As a reminder, that production line is shared across all global military and civilian customers. It’s been a challenge as they’ve ramped up [production]. That’s impacted the scheduled for new aircraft deliveries.”

It also means Bristow has been late to modify new deliveries, which further delays new aircraft’s entry into service. Configuring helicopters for SAR mission is highly bespoke to the needs of individual countries. “It takes some time after initial delivery to complete all the aircraft modifications, including the mission management system,” explained Bradshaw.

‘KPI penalties’

“It’s just pushed all of that timeline to the right for us, which has resulted in some KPI penalties. It’s resulted in us keeping personnel, transition personnel on longer than contemplated. So higher compensation, but also all the other expenses that come along with a transition to the new aircraft model and at a new base in some cases.”

But Bradshaw was reassured by his recent visit to the manufacturer in Italy. “We are their largest customer globally and it continues to be a very strong relationship with Leonardo. I was there last month in Italy, and we’ve gone through a timeline where they plan to get some of these key components back to a recovery status by either Q4 of ’26 or in some cases, Q1 of ’27,” he said.

Leonardo plans to make 40 AW189s a year, Bradshaw added. Last year, they delivered about 15.

Meanwhile, both Bradshaw and Whalen are looking forward to the second half of Bristow’s “transformational year”.

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