Gama Aviation Share Discussion Threads

[rivaldo] 18/6/2015 13:40

RNS - interims to 30/6 will be out by 30th September (fairly predictable since the deadline for interims is 3 months from memory!):



Given last month's trading update they'll hopefully be rather good.

Best of luck WC, perfectly reasonable. I prefer to minimise risk, so have a much larger spread of stocks, but I also don't mind holding good quality stocks until they eventually become much larger and more tradeable.

GMAA is now a £130m m/cap stock and one of the five largest global operators. I don't think it'll take too long before things become interesting.

[woodcutter] 17/6/2015 12:46

Thx Riv i did quite a bit of research and i think it's a sound business with great growth potential however i've sold this week but very reluctantly.

I've been trying to add to my stake and build a sizeable holding but everytime i've tried to buy recently i've been quoted outside the spread and on many ocassions couldn't even get an electronic quote for shares outside the normal market size so i've given up. I new it was illquid so perhaps i've only myself to blame. i made few quid but nothing to write home about.

I've had very good returns over the last five or so years and have pretty much concluded now that portfoilio size is limiting my enthusiasm for very illiquid stocks as i can't buy in sufficient quantity. I've recently sold all my ESR for similar reasons. I'm not inclined to hold a large number of stocks i've always focused on significant investment in a small number of stocks, usually no more than a dozen or so, i just find it easier to manage. Apart from the odd stocks I trade for a quick return.

sadly i've let it go, good luck with it, your a solid and well researched investor youself so i figure it will give quality return.

wc

[rivaldo] 12/6/2015 07:46

Encouraging to see you buying in here Woody, I know you only invest after a lot of careful research. GMAA is somewhat under the radar (ho ho...) methinks, but hopefully that will change.

[woodcutter] 11/6/2015 21:41

been picking a few of these up now and again recently, nice to see a positive move today.

woody

[goliard] 11/6/2015 16:23

Nice to be back above 300p again as that means all my buys from about 210p upwards are now in profit. Still hoping to see 400p+ by the end of the year if trading continues the be good.

[rivaldo] 11/6/2015 14:06

....and thar she blows.

[rivaldo] 11/6/2015 12:24

Keen buying - someone just bought £10,000's worth at 303.23p, well above the published 300p offer price.

[rivaldo] 05/6/2015 10:32

Another 5k buy at 300p just now. Someone's accumulating a sneaky stake.

[rivaldo] 04/6/2015 12:40

Nice 5k buy at the full 300p offer just reported. Perhaps looking good for a run-up now.

[rivaldo] 02/6/2015 22:39

Expansion in the USA:



"Gama Aviation moves US headquarters to Shelton
By Danielle Brody
June 2, 2015

An executive air charter company will spread its wings in Shelton.

Gama Aviation Inc. leased about 20,000 square feet of Shelton office space, according to an announcement from Angel Commercial LLC, a Southport-based real estate brokerage firm.

The company moved its U.S. headquarters to 2 Corporate Drive in Shelton from 480 Lordship Blvd. in Stratford. Gama Aviation was recently appointed as operator of Wheels Up, a membership-based private aviation company, which led to the need for a larger space, the announcement said.

“Gama Charters outgrew their premises in Stratford, and 2 Corporate Drive gives them the space for current needs and the potential to expand,” said Jon Angel, president of Angel Commercial and sole broker in the transaction."

[rivaldo] 28/5/2015 07:43

Good to see GMAA's Wheel Up private aviation membership programme, which has been very successful in the USA, planning to launch in Europe:



Extract:

"The company has been growing quickly since it’s operational launch in November 2013, and now has a fleet of 41 aircraft (31 King Airs and 10 Cessna Citation Excels and XLSs). The program now has 1,350 members, including just over 100 corporate members. Individual membership costs $17,500 (with annual dues of $8,500) and corporate membership is priced at $29,500 (plus $14,500 annual dues).

According to Dichter, more than 90 percent of its initial members renewed for a second year and he expects to add between 800 and 1,000 members by the end of 2015. The total number of revenue hours to be flown this year is projected at 25,000.

Wheels Up has introduced an app that allows members to arrange shared flights to reduce their costs. It currently operates around 6,000 to 7,000 positioning flights annually and the company intends to allow members to book some of these at discounted rates using the app. "

[rivaldo] 27/5/2015 14:09

Very good summary of the rationale for the merger:



In particular:

“Bringing them together into Gama Aviation Plc will create a business of significant scale and one with unparalleled breadth of geographical coverage and depth of capability and service.” Whereas Gama is strong in the UK, U.S. and the Middle East, Hangar8 is strongest in Africa and Europe.

At the time of its public listing on the London Stock Exchange AIM market the total combined managed fleet of the two companies was 144 aircraft worldwide. That has since grown to around 150 and more could be announced here at EBACE. The integration of the two companies is going well according to Duncan Daines, Gama’s chief marketing officer, and is on track to complete integration by the end of June “We’ve reviewed the organizational structure and made changes based on two goals. The company has become more client centric and can now accommodate any further changes and make them scaleable in anticipation of predicted growth,” he says."

[rivaldo] 27/5/2015 07:37

Interesting to see GMAA addressing the subject of consolidation in its markets - hopefully we'll see more acquisitions:



"Gama Seminar To Examine Consolidation
May 20, 2015

Gama Aviation will explore the subject of consolidation at EBACE with a seminar in association with business aviation intelligence agency WingX Advance.

The presentation, called “Insights into a consolidating European aviation market,” will be presented by Managing Director Richard Koe at Gama’s BoothV045 at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Koe will focus on why consolidation is a major topic in the current climate and present underlying data behind market changes.

“The global business aviation services market is undergoing a fundamental shift from the situation a decade ago when new entrants were able to carry out niche operations,” says Gama CEO Marwan Khalek. “Fleet and private owners now want their aircraft to be managed by a well-run, efficient and successful company [which], through economies of scale, can pass on huge cost savings.”

Khalek said he believes scale is becoming increasingly important in the global business aviation services market. Increasing costs as a result of additional regulation, training and maintenance requirements and the inability to negotiate large-scale fuel agreements are placing additional strain on smaller operators, he said.

Gama Aviation analysis reveals that there was a 9% decrease in business aircraft operators in the European Union between 2012-2013, with the largest drop in numbers occurring among companies operating fewer than 10 aircraft. The increasing cost burden on small operators played a major role in this decline, Gama believes. The number of operators with fleets of two to five aircraft fell from 347 to 343 in that period, while those with six to 10 aircraft fell from 90 to 58, and those with 11-15 aircraft from 22 to 17.

“Much of the European business aviation services market’s inadequacies stem from a highly fragmented supply side with no dominant providers, which leads to inefficiencies in operational logistics and service delivery,” Koe says. “In such a competitive and highly regulated marketplace, it is simply too inefficient for many smaller businesses to compete, so we expect to see a growing number of companies either merging or collaborating in an effort to reduce underlying costs to increase potential profit margins.”"

[rivaldo] 25/5/2015 19:28

Good news re the Euro business aviation market:



"Gama Aviation research reveals expansion of European business flight destinations

Average of 359,000 business flights in 2014 – up 6% from 2009

Increase driven by surge in business travel in Eastern Europe

New research from Gama Aviation, the global aviation services company, has revealed that the increase in business flights in Europe over the past five years has been driven by the fast growth of flights emanating from emerging European economies.
Last year there were 358,978 business flight departures across Europe; 5.6% more than in 2009, when there were 339,852. Gama Aviation believes that this increase is down to the recent growth in demand for business air travel in countries such as Turkey and Russia, as well as their major international trade partners such as Germany.

Marwan Khalek CEO of Gama Aviation Plc commented: “Over the past five years Europe has seen an increase in the number of business flights, with an average of 52 more departures every day in 2014 than in 2009. Whilst many of these flights are between established economic centres such as London, Geneva and Paris, we have noticed that there is significant growth taking place in growing economies.

European 10 fastest-growing business flight pairs, 2009-2014

etc"

[rivaldo] 21/5/2015 12:41

I like the sound of a "successful" April for GMAA:



"20th May 2015
Gama Aviation places focus of its new management team on client needs

Farnborough, Wednesday 20 May 2015 – Gama Aviation, the global aviation services company, has completed a series of changes in its senior management team following the completion of its merger with Hangar 8 and IJC earlier this year.

Marwan Khalek, CEO of Gama Aviation said: “We are in a fortunate position of having the opportunity to build on a very strong foundation. We are adding unique skills sets to create a world class team to manage an organisation that has scale, breadth and depth encompassing most - if not all - of our clients’ needs. However, this is just the beginning, as we seek to continually strengthen the wonderful array of talent we have in line with the demands of our forecasted growth.”

Already the new management team have seen a successful April with five new aircraft added to the global fleet and the completion of a 400 location fuel tender that will begin to pass savings on to clients from 1st May.

The most significant changes to the management team are:

In Europe:
Warren Gravell is promoted to Managing Director of Europe encompassing the company’s air and ground operations. He is supported by Clive Prentice who joins from JETS (UK) and Hawker-Beechcraftbecoming MD of European ground operations. Tom Wells is promoted internally to MD of the European air operations and Ian Spreadbury, joins from Jet Aviation and will lead the European sales team.

In the Middle East and Asia:
Martin Ringrose, joins from the UK’s Ministry of Defence becoming Managing Director of ME&A He is supported by Richard Lineveldt, General Manager of the Middle East and Asian air operations. Martin, also take responsibility for the ground operations role in both territories.

Gama Aviation is attending EBACE, Geneva from the 19-21st May, stand number V045. Journalists seeking an appointment with the new management team should contact: [e-mail] in the first instance.

Gama Aviation now holds management contracts for more than 145 business aircraft globally, making it one of the world’s leading aviation services companies, with operations in 45 operating bases across five continents.

Gama Aviation is exhibiting at EBACE for the first time since completing a reverse takeover of Hangar 8 plc and being listed on the London Stock Exchange. It is exhibiting at stand V045 at EBACE 2015, which runs from 19th – 21st May at Palexpo in Geneva International Airport, Switzerland."

[rivaldo] 17/5/2015 07:38

I was watching on catch-up the first of two Channel 4 programmes called The World's Most Expensive Food, when who should pop up but two GMAA employees trying out hugely expensive new desserts to be supplied to some of their planes/clients.....

The programme had long sections on how the UK is now the centre for billionaires/millionaires and how the private jet market is booming as a result.

All these new aircraft have to be housed, maintained, flown, repaired etc, and GMAA are now one of the top 5 global operators. I suspect good times will continue for some time yet for GMAA.

[rivaldo] 14/5/2015 10:06

Good coverage in Shares Magazine this morning:

"Gama Aviation raises game
Aircraft services group looks to organic growth post merger

A STRONG APRIL update from business aviation services specialist Gama Aviation
(GMAA:AIM) suggests the £125 million cap will meet management’s operational and financial targets for the full year.

A combination of additional new contract aircraft, a competitive global fuel deal and planning submitted for a new facility in Aberdeen to serve the Scottish east coast, point to continued organic growth going forward at Gama
which, following its reverse takeover of Hangar8 in December 2014, became one of the five largest operators globally in the privately-owned passenger jet aircraft space.

After a busy April which saw Gama adding five new aircraft under management, the group currently remains on schedule to run 164 aircraft by year end. Two of the five new aircraft – both Bombardier Global business jets – will be operated out of Hong Kong (as part of the Gama Hutchinson joint venture). A Challenger and a Gulfstream 550 will be UK-based and a Gulfstream V will be based in
Mumbai, India; a new market for Gama.

Robin Byde at Cantor Fitzgerald views ‘these multi-year high value-added contracts with the NHS and others as an important driver of earnings growth and stability for the group’. Byde reiterates a ‘buy’ recommendation and 400p target.

SHARES SAYS:
We share Byde’s bullish view at 290p."

[rivaldo] 08/5/2015 11:40

Nice - a £20,000 buy at 293p just reported, a full 5p above the published 288p offer price. Someone's keen.

[rivaldo] 08/5/2015 10:56

Bouncing back to 350p hopefully.

The election result may boost sentiment as non-doms are now safe to stay in the UK and continue to zoom around in and maintain their private jets.

[macarre] 06/5/2015 12:00

Very good update, but only 2 buys so far? Hopefully next week, after elections, some of the genral market uncertainty will go away and the share price can take off (no pun intended).

[gorilla36] 06/5/2015 08:24

Rivaldo - Agree, a very nice update and an overdue tick up. It would be good to see £3.00 again here. A lot of patience required here, but perhaps this is the turn we have been waiting for.

[rivaldo] 06/5/2015 08:20

Excellent trading update just out, with trading in line - and April being "strong" - with all sorts of reason for optimism:



The expansion into India is promising, and the mention of the preponderance of smaller operators emphasises the number of potential acquisitions which GMAA could be making.

[rivaldo] 01/5/2015 10:31

Cantor Fitzgerald today reiterate their 400p target and Buy for GMAA:



"Gama Aviation PLC Earns Buy Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald Europe (GMAA)

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Jamal Genner

Gama Aviation PLC logoGama Aviation PLC (LON:GMAA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald Europe in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday. They currently have a GBX 400 ($6.07) price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald Europe‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 48.15% from the stock’s previous close."

[macarre] 28/4/2015 19:57

Good news Rivaldo.

Number of trades yesterday and today was nothing short of depressing. Is it likely that MMs will resort to one of their dirty tricks to try and generate some action here?

[rivaldo] 28/4/2015 07:46

GMAA to build a new terminal at Aberdeen airport:



"Aberdeen Airport could get new terminal… After surge in demand for private jets
22 April 2015 by Caroline Brodie

A global aviation company plans to expand its operations in Aberdeen to meet a growing demand for private jets.

Gama Aviation wants to build a hangar, offices and aircraft handling terminal at Aberdeen International Airport.

The Farnborough-based company – which has bases in the USA, UAE, Geneva and Hong Kong – hopes the new facility will boost business aviation traffic in the region.

It would also provide support to the Beechcraft King Air 200 air ambulance which Gama is under contract to supply to the Scottish Ambulance Service until 2020.

If approved, the centre could be operational by 2016.

Gama Aviation opened a similar facility at Glasgow Airport in November 2013 ahead of last year’s Ryder Cup, Commonwealth Games and MTV Awards which saw millions of visitors flock to Scotland.

The £3.8million centre, which caters for private and business jets, serves the rich and famous as well as the business community.

Yesterday Aberdeen businessman Mike Wilson, owner of the Epic Group of pubs and hotels, welcomed the plans, saying the centre would be of great benefit to the region.

Mr Wilson, whose pubs in Aberdeen include the Monkey House in Union Terrace and the Priory in Belmont Street, said: “I think there has been an increase in demand for private jets in the north-east in recent years.

“It is convenient for business people who can get away quickly and get back quickly.

“The cost of hiring private jets has also become more cost effective.

“I absolutely think that Aberdeen would benefit from an improved private terminal.

“Without a doubt, this would be a great service for Aberdeen.”

Worldwide, Gama Aviation’s fleet comprises 96 aircraft located at 27 operating bases across three continents including Hawker, Cessna, Learjet, Falcon, Challenger, Global, Legacy and Gulfstream aircraft.

The proposed 18,363sq ft facility in Aberdeen would be located on the east side of the airport, off Foinavon Close.

A spokesman for Gama said the development underlined the company’s long-term commitment to Scotland."