Gama Aviation Share Discussion Threads

[rivaldo] 22/5/2016 08:03

Cheers igoe. It's encouraging that the article also states:

"London Oxford Airport (LOA) reports that its traffic has risen 8.3 percent in the last quarter, an encouraging sign following the European business aviation peak in 2012 and a figure that places it in the top 10 of recent growth across European airports over the same period."

All the developments at the airport listed in the article should bring in further business for GMAA.

[igoe104] 20/5/2016 17:11

GAMA gets a mention here.



Among Oxford’s other major tenants is Gama Aviation, which merged with Oxford-based Hangar 8, adding significant large-jet maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) capability. The business blending process began at the start of last year, and is now complete. The enlarged Gama continues on both organic and acquisitive growth strategies, seeking to add more aircraft types to its authorized MRO portfolio and to expand its AOG (aircraft on ground) response capability. The Oxford base figures prominently in these plans

[rivaldo] 20/5/2016 06:42

GMAA initiate helicopter training venture:



"Helicopter service from Fairoaks, Surrey

We agree a joint venture with Cotswold Helicopter Centre to commence helicopter operations at Fairoaks, UK.

We have entered into an agreement with Cotswold Helicopter Centre (“Cotswold”) to offer training courses to new helicopter pilots at our rotary base in Fairoaks, Surrey.

The joint venture will start operating with one helicopter, the innovative Guimbal Cabri G2, with access to the rest of Cotswold’s fleet, further Cabris G2’s, an R44, an Airbus AS350 and an Airbus AS355 as required. We will be responsible for all aspects of safety management, compliance monitoring systems and will provide the facility, while Cotswold will focus on training, sales and marketing.

Steve Wright, Director, Gama Aviation Plc comments: “Fairoaks has always been a favourably positioned, helicopter friendly base and I’m pleased that we are able to bring Cotswold to our historical home. This announcement follows an increase in our helicopter capability at Fairoaks as we aim to build it into a centre of excellence for the Group; the addition of training perfectly complements our existing maintenance, avionics and hangarage services.”

Oliver Heynes, Director, Cotswold Helicopter Centre comments: ”We are very excited to form this venture with Gama Aviation, their great facilities at Fairoaks give us great access to the prime London catchment area. We have experienced a period of very rapid growth recently, and Gama Aviation’s great expertise in the areas of safety management will help us develop our existing systems as the business grows. In return our involvement gives Gama Aviation a turn-key solution to operate helicopters that may be owned by their business jet management clients.”"

[rivaldo] 13/5/2016 07:22

Indeed chasbas - seems to me that buyers are mopping up the available shares nice and quietly.

News which isn't particularly big in itself, but a couple of nice snippets:



Extracts:

"Gama secures Jersey HondaJet premiere
Posted 12 May 2016

Gama Aviation plc - which earlier this year acquired Jersey-based Aviation Beauport Ltd - has secured the inaugural visit to the channel island of the new HA-420 HondaJet today."

"The HA-420 HondaJet seats up to six passengers and the first one was recently delivered in Europe last month. It incorporates many technological innovations in aviation design, including having its engines above the wing (its unique Over the Wing Engine Mount configuration), which reduces aerodynamic drag.

Marwan Khalek, CEO of Gama Aviation Plc commented: “We were delighted to complete our acquisition of Aviation Beauport Ltd earlier this year and are thrilled that during our first client event we can welcome the HA-420 HondaJet to Jersey, on its maiden visit.”

“Jersey is an attractive business aviation market with a number of high net worth local residents, offshore and aircraft owning businesses; leading to 3,368 business aircraft departures from Jersey in 2015, an 8.3% increase on 2014(1). With new types such as the HondaJet, the advent of single engine commercial operations and new membership models such as Wheels Up, we see exciting times ahead for our FBO as demand continues to rise.”

“Furthermore, the launch last November of the Jersey Aircraft Registry (a new proposition for the registration of high-value private and corporate aircraft on the island) will provide an additional boost.”"

"“The appointment of Marshall Aircraft Sales Limited (MASL) as Northern European dealer last year has meant that we are able to strengthen the aircraft’s presence across the UK and Scandinavia".

[chasbas] 11/5/2016 16:26

A couple of big sales today: 100K and 84.8K at 260p. Price hasn't moved.

[chasbas] 09/5/2016 16:41

Thanks Rivaldo, reassuring! Maybe we'll be given an update at the AGM on 2nd June.

[chasbas] 09/5/2016 11:02

Can anyone provide Cantor's actual research update post results? What do they say/how do they describe their forecasts? Frankly, I am frustrated how little info I can see from the company or Cantor. There are no post results slides on the website.

[rivaldo] 09/5/2016 10:17

Cantor's latest forecasts are:

this year : 30.3p EPS, 2.8p divi
next year : 32.82p EPS, 3.1p divi

Enough of a reason to buy or at least hold methinks.

Plus there's the likelihood of further earning-enhancing acquisitions.

As I said, Europe Air only contribute 10% of profits. So if Europe were to fall by a massive 20%, that would represent just 2% of overall profits! Hardly worth talking about, especially when compared to the growth in the USA and elsewhere..

[corrientes] 09/5/2016 08:29

Isn't the Kentucky Derby thing the annual norm ? What makes this news item so special, apart from the usual bit of PR from the company

I don't think you can just shrug off a Europe that goes from bad to worse. Profit can translate into loss so easily and that would have a significant effect on the overall bottom line.

We're told the world economy is contracting at the moment, not expanding, which is a major worry.

I'm looking for tangible reasons to hold on here.

[rivaldo] 06/5/2016 10:43

Decent numbers today from BBA's Signature flight support business, which augurs well for GMAA.

Nice mention here:



Extract:

"Gama Aviation Gears Up for Surge in Flights Around Kentucky Derby
Source: Gama Aviation May 4, 2016

Shelton, CT, USA, 4 May 2016 – Gama Aviation, the global aviation services company, has increased its AOG peak period support in preparation for the large wave of private jets and spectators expected to travel into Louisville this coming weekend for the Kentucky Derby. As one of the biggest sporting events of the year, drawing crowds of over 150,000, the race weekend is expected to see around 300 private aircraft fly in racegoers from across the globe."

"This weekend is the second major sporting event Gama Aviation has responded to in the last month. At the beginning of April, Gama Aviation supported in excess of 150 callouts with its customers at the Masters Tournament. In addition to the upcoming Kentucky Derby, preparations have already begun for the Players Championship and the U.S Open to follow.

Gama Aviation has operations in 45 different locations in 17 countries across five continents, making it one of the world’s leading aviation services companies. Its services include: line and base maintenance; FBO services; engineering design; aircraft management; charter operations; training; and aviation and ground management systems."

[chasbas] 05/5/2016 12:07

Thanks Rivaldo, I agree with your comments. I have read the new Annual Report which is quite informative. IAG also warned about weakness in premium paying passengers, so Gama's warning about European Air being "challenging" is an industry issue and should produce acquisition opportunities. Gama certainly appears strongly-placed to tough it out. Gama's best division is the US - through a 49% owned Associate. Any thoughts? Who owns the other 51%? Should/could Gama increase its shareholding? Finally, the Jan 2015 placing raising £17m was priced at 280p. Suggests to me the shares are cheap at 265p.

[rivaldo] 05/5/2016 10:41

Quite happy for this period of consolidation to continue, as I can pick up more cheap stock at times of weakness.

Europe Air only contribute 10% of profits, so any relatively small percentage downturn there should easily be outweighed by the strong growth being experienced in the core US operations and elsewhere.

There's obviously a seller out there, but it's generally being nicely mopped up, and the share price is nicely stable. This is in contrast to many other stocks which have warned and gone into freefall.

GMAA also have the capacity for further earnings-enhancing acquisitions, which may bring upgrades to forecasts and would drive the share price.

[corrientes] 03/5/2016 11:07

Europe going from bad to worse, doesn't help the company. Virtually no interest here.

[rivaldo] 03/5/2016 11:00

Cantor today reiterate their Buy and 400p target:

[rivaldo] 27/4/2016 13:53

Forecasts here are now:

this year : 30.03p EPS, 2.8p divi
next year : 32.82p EPS, 3.1p divi

This stock is now absurdly cheap assuming GMAA merely trade in line with expectations.

Especially with more acquisitions likely from a solid Balance Sheet.

[rivaldo] 27/4/2016 09:02

News:



"Gama Aviation Achieves IS-BAO Approval for Sharjah Fixed Base Operations
Sharjah, 25 April 2016 –

Gama Aviation Plc, the global aviation services company, has received the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) accreditation at its Middle Eastern regional headquarters in Sharjah, UAE.

IS-BAO is a global standard established by the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) to develop consistent safety procedures around the world and establish high quality flight operations. This accreditation follows on from Gama Aviation being awarded certification from IBAC for its aircraft handling, the first FBO in the Middle East to receive this, and places Gama Aviation Middle East in the unique position of having dual approvals within their Air and Ground Businesses.

etc"

[rivaldo] 26/4/2016 08:29

GMAA's partner Wheels Up continue to expand:



"Wheels Up Expands Offerings, Taps Eyerly for Shuttle
by Curt Epstein
April 25, 2016, 8:56 AM

Membership-based flight solution provider Wheels Up has enhanced its program with the addition of several new features, including a summer weekend shuttle service from New York and Boston to Nantucket that is expected to launch at the end of next month. The shuttle will be flown using the company’s King Air 350i turboprops, which are operated by Gama Aviation, with a cost of approximately $795 per seat.

According to Wheels Up CEO Kenny Dichter, additional routes such as Boston-N.Y., N.Y.-D.C., L.A.- San Francisco and L.A.-Las Vegas will be rolled out through the summer. Bookings for the shuttles will be set up via the company's app.

Wade Eyerly, the former CEO and co-founder of subscription air travel firms Surf Air and now-defunct Beacon, recently joined Wheels Up as managing director for new ventures. He is involved in the development of the new shuttle program.

etc"

[corrientes] 22/4/2016 16:56

i wouldn't worry about Europe. Everything there is wonderful,so we're told.

[chasbas] 22/4/2016 16:05

Can anyone help with 2016 and 2017 forecasts?

How worried is anyone over CEO's warning that "the backdrop in our European air operations remains very challenging in a slow and and flat market". Despite better than expected 2015 results, the shares are discounting a lot of bad news!

Or is it just lack of market interest? I can see only one trade today.

[rivaldo] 21/4/2016 12:25

RNS - good to see Killik (and their clients) buying. They've gone above 3% with 1.32m shares:

[rivaldo] 21/4/2016 09:48

Cantor Fitzgerald retain their Buy and 400p valuation today:

[rivaldo] 21/4/2016 08:10

Agreed they should have mentioned the borrowings, although it's possible these ares secured against the $14.8m of property, plant and equipment, in which case they can be happily netted off. More digging required I think.

GMAA certainly emphasise the likelihood of acquisitions, so the net cash is likely to be utilised soon.

Operating cash inflows were $12.2m, and there do appear to be significant one-offs which affected the overall outflow, like the $14.6m decrease in deferred revenue which may be due to the Hangar 8 transition. More digging again.

Overall, I see GMAA as a global market leader and a consolidator which will at some point be re-rated. Whether that will happen sooner or later is another matter.

[wjccghcc] 21/4/2016 07:55

I want to like them but cashflow is pretty appalling with an outflow of $16.6mm.

Depends if the working capital outflow is a oneoff result of the merger or is part of the ongoing nature of the business. It's also a bit disingenious for them to not mention that they actually have net debt of $9mm.

Not one for me until it gets more transparent.

[rivaldo] 21/4/2016 07:36

Results are out - the adjusted PBT and EPS look nicely ahead of forecasts.

The dividend at 2.5c, i.e 1.78p, is ahead of forecasts too (forecast was 1.62p).

Adjusted EPS is 27.8p per Note 5 at 39.19c - this compares to the 23.88p forecast.

Pretty complicated set of results to look through. The summary is that the US and Asia are doing really well, the Middle East is also doing fine, and Europe is challenging.

In particular, GMAA have $8.5m cash, with $3m more to come from airplane sales, and are definitively looking to make already identified acquisitions.