After months of delays in filing its final 10-Q and 10-K reports due to suspicions of impropriety, helicopter operator Bristow has finally published its delayed and updated reports claiming nothing was misreported in the preliminary filings.
The 10-Q report for the quarter ended 30 June 2018 was originally delayed due to the company’s being accused of misreporting figures related to secured financing and helicopter-engine lease agreements – sparking an internal review and audit from KPGM.
However, according to findings from the company and auditing by KPMG, the material weakness in its original reporting did not result in any misreporting or impropriety.
Following the original delay, Bristow’s share price fell from $10 in November last year to approximately $2 the next month — continuing the company’s downward price trajectory set in motion by an ailing oil-and-gas helicopter-transport market.
The operator eventually filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2019. Due to the uncertain future of the company, Bristow was required by KPMG to reclassify approximately $1.4 billion of long-term debt to short-term. This is reflected in the 10-Q report.
Bristow is the latest oil-and-gas helicopter company to enter Chapter 11. CHC was the first — in 2016, emerging from Chapter 11 in March 2017. One of the biggest lessors in the market Waypoint Leasing filed in November last year and within the past few months, Bristow and PHI have filed.
