The Bristow Group has announced it will undergo a major restructure to make its business leaner and more regionally focused. The US-based group has stakes in various helicopter and search and rescue companies across the globe, including Bristow Helicopters, Airnorth (Australia), Bristow Helicopters Nigeria, Bristow US, Eastern Airways, Cougar Helicopters (Canada), Petroleum Air Services, Pan African Airlines (Nigeria), Aviashelf, Turkmenistan Helicopters, and Líder Aviação. Under its restructuring plan, it will focus on two regional hubs, Europe and the Americas, rather than on operational divisions.
The restructuring has also seen the shake-up of leadership, with a number of key management positions 'eliminated'.
The news of the restructure comes after a disappointing 4Q that saw a net loss of USD78 million. The Group blamed the poor performance on a downturn in the oil and gas sector, which it predominantly serves, and the effect of Brexit on its British currency contracts. Another factor has been the global grounding of the Airbus Helicopters H225 (it has twenty-seven of the type), following the crash of a CHC Helikopter Service aircraft in Norway last year.
"Our fourth quarter results reflect the ongoing difficult conditions in the offshore oil and gas industry with reduced demand for helicopter transportation that will continue into fiscal 2018," said CEO Jonathan Baliff.
The Bristow Group also announced it is in the process of selling a Sikorsky Aircraft S-92 for USD40 million, to close next week. According to its website, the Group has forty-three small helicopters, 154 medium helicopters, 136 large helicopters (such as the Sikorsky S-92), forty-seven training helicopters, and seventy-nine fixed wing aircraft.
