Helicopter Operator Erickson Files for Bankruptcy
November 09 2016 - 3:10PM
Dow Jones News
Helicopter operator Erickson Inc. has put its flying fleet into
bankruptcy, blaming oil and gas companies that cut back on drilling
operations during a slump in energy prices.
Lawyers who put the Portland, Ore., company into bankruptcy on
Tuesday said that profitability has declined since 2013 and that it
couldn't overcome "sustained economic distress" in the oil-and-gas
industry, where it provides lift services for production rig
equipment. Erickson officials said they plan to negotiate with
lenders behind some of its roughly $561 million in debt.
The 700-worker company also struggled with the slower pace of
U.S. military activity in Afghanistan, cutting the need for moving
troops, delivering cargo to ships, airdropping supplies and
rescuing personnel. Its defense revenues fell about 32% throughout
last year to $105.2 million, said Chief Restructuring Officer David
W. Lancelot in documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas.
Workers have installed the HVAC unit on top of Dallas's Chase
Tower, removed the Statue of Freedom on top of the U.S. Capitol
Dome, recovered sailboat wreckage, rescued an endangered rhino and
delivered snow for the winter Olympics in Vancouver, according to
court papers.
Any debt-cutting plan that Erickson officials put forward will
need approval from Judge Barbara J. Houser.
The company, founded in 1971, has 69 aircraft, including its
Aircrane model. It expanded in 2013 with the $26 million purchases
of Brazil's Air Amazonia Servicos Aeronauticos Ltda and the $298
million purchase of Evergreen Helicopters Inc., which expanded its
military work.
Aside from its work in the defense and oil-drilling sectors,
Erickson officials work on transmission lines for utility
companies, wind turbine construction, timber harvesting and
humanitarian relief efforts.
The company's helicopters designed to fight forest fires can
drop more than 25,000 gallons of water. It recently lost its "small
business" designation because of an ownership change, causing it to
lose $5.9 million in revenue from contracts with the U.S. Forest
Service, according to court papers.
The company's shares trade publicly on Nasdaq under the "EAC"
symbol but face delisting after a period of low trading prices. As
of Wednesday afternoon, its stock traded at about 21 cents per
share.
Write to Katy Stech at katherine.stech@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 09, 2016 14:55 ET (19:55 GMT)
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