PHI quietly emerged from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy last week, after a quite amazing journey through the process, resulting in the creditors owning 100% of the restructured organisation. It will be interesting to see how the future develops in a market still struggling with reduced demand, low pricing, overcapacity and surplus modern helicopters, coupled to a competitive marketplace filled with Operators with reduced debt loads and new management, operating and business strategies. It will be interesting to see how the Operators move forward individually, or whether additional consolidation or further reduction in Operators will actually occur in the near future.
It's a quite remarkable evolution from the environment of five years ago.
https://www.houmatoday.com/news/2019...-11-bankruptcyPHI emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy
By Adam Daigle / The Advocate (Baton Rouge)Posted Sep 10, 2019 at 7:19 PM
Lafayette-based helicopter transport company PHI Inc. has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and reduced its debt by $500 million.
The company, which locally operates bases at the Houma-Terrebonne Airport and at Port Fourchon, completed its debt restructuring process after first filing March 14 in a Texas court and implementing a reorganization plan. PHI got federal approval of its reorganization last month, which included CEO and board chairman Al Gonsoulin retiring from the company and being replaced with COO Lance Bospflug and PHI’s unsecured creditors owning 100% of the company’s equity.
PHI had reported a $11.5 million loss in the third quarter of 2018 following months of a slumping oil and gas industry.
“Our ability to successfully emerge from bankruptcy less than six months after our Chapter 11 filings and strengthen our balance sheet while maintaining and continuing to expand our safety and service commitments is a testament to the hard work of our talented employees and the strength of our relationships with our customers and partners,” Bospflug said. “We have now reached all of the key goals that we set for ourselves at the beginning of this process, including a more sustainable debt structure and a stronger balance sheet.
“However, this milestone is just the beginning of what we plan to achieve moving forward. We have ambitious plans for our company to support not only our customers and the industries we serve but also to support our workforce, one of the most highly skilled and committed workforces in the aviation services industry.”
PHI’s equity is subject to the issuance of warrants to current equity holders and future dilution. It also closed a $225 million new five-year term loan and received new equity capital from former unsecured creditors.
“I am honored with the responsibility to lead this storied company forward,” Bospflug said. “On behalf of the board of directors and the entire PHI team, I want to thank Al Gonsoulin for his many years of dedicated service and important contributions to so many in our business. PHI has been a leader in aviation and continues to be recognized as being at the forefront of safety and operations globally.”
Its headquarters, 2001 SE Evangeline Thruway, is used to shuttle people and equipment to and from offshore drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and foreign countries. Customers include Shell, BP, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, among others, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
PHI employs 2,207 companywide.