Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

Helicopter operator PHI Group filed an amended S-1 prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on December 18 for an initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange. Its first IPO filing was on October 4. When the stock begins trading, it will be under the ticker symbol ROTR with 24,267,599 shares outstanding.
Because it qualifies as an “emerging growth company” due to recent annual revenues being less than $1.235 billion, PHI is taking advantage of some JOBS Act exemptions from reporting requirements that normally apply to companies going public. These include reduced disclosure on executive compensation; having to provide only two years of audited consolidated financial statements; exemption from having to hold a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and any golden parachute payments; and exemption from the auditor attestation requirement for assessment of its internal control over financial reporting.
PHI operates helicopters that serve global oil and gas exploration and air-medical transportation, and it also provides MRO services at its Lafayette, Louisiana headquarters. Its fleet includes 213 aircraft, 189 of which PHI owns, 20 that are leased, and four that PHI manages on behalf of owners and are used for air-medical services. Five of the PHI-owned aircraft are fixed-wing (four Bombardier Learjet 31As and one Beechcraft King Air), and the remainder are light, medium, and heavy helicopters.
Although there is strong demand for heavy helicopters by oil and gas customers, PHI plans to replace “a significant part” of its Sikorsky S-92 fleet, which numbers 32 helicopters, due to supply chain challenges “that have delayed parts and repairs…thereby limiting the number of such aircraft that are serviceable today.” PHI plans to add more super-medium Airbus H175s and has options for an additional 18, on top of the 20 that it ordered in September, as well as eight medium H160s.
“We believe that the Airbus H175 aircraft offers us an option to replace a significant part of our S-92 fleet, positioning us well for the expected growth and expansion in the oil and gas industry,” the company said in the prospectus. Airbus and Shell have selected PHI to help launch the route-proving program for the H160. Discussions are underway with Leonardo on a possible order for the super-medium AW189, which would join PHI’s fleet of 17 AW139s and three AW109s.
The “limited supply of aircraft and recent increase in offshore oil and gas exploration and production activity” has led to a dramatic increase in demand, according to PHI, and subsequently higher lease rates and higher rates charged to PHI customers. About 82 percent of PHI’s medium and heavy helicopters are under contract. “We believe we are well positioned to benefit from these industry dynamics, as well as our long-established relationships with our clients, to strategically enter into longer-term contracts with our customers as lease rates increase.”
PHI’s revenue breakdown during 2022 was 40.2 percent PHI Americas, 19.9 percent PHI International, and 39.9 PHI Health. For 2021, PHI’s net operating revenues were $690,655,000, and through the end of 2022 that climbed to $760,286,000. For the first nine months of 2023, revenues reached $659,612,000, up from $558,028,000 during the same period of 2022. Net income through Sept. 30, 2023, was $74,588,000, up from $42,273,000 in the first nine months of 2022.
Although it went through Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019, PHI has recovered and achieved a 10.9 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2020 to 2022 “despite the challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic…” During that period, net income saw CAGRs of 91.4 percent and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of 10.1 percent.
To continue growing, PHI intends to add to its rotorcraft fleet in high-demand areas, including Latin America, the Mediterranean, and West Africa, and add new customers in Western Australia. “In our PHI Health segment, we are planning to expand in the United States regions we believe are most affected by rural hospital closures and demographic trends that increase demand for rapid and potentially long-distance medical transport. We intend to capitalize on base closures by our competitors, gain market share by partnering with more hospitals and other healthcare organizations, and leverage our relative financial strength to grow our market presence in multiple geographies.”
Although the No Surprises Act (NSA) enacted on Jan. 1, 2022—which prohibits surprise billing and out-of-network cost-sharing—is affecting air-medical services, the company explained, “We believe the NSA will allow providers to focus more directly on the patients’ needs instead of the patients’ financial liability.” PHI has been successful in out-of-network payment settlements through the independent dispute resolution (IDR) arbitration process. “We believe these results have been driven in part by, and our positions taken in the IDR proceedings are based on, our history of charging fair prices, our superior quality of care provided to patients, and what we believe is the outstanding quality and outcomes of our services.”

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