Global offshore, gas and petroleum helicopter services company CHC and its Heli-One maintenance subsidiary filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization this morning in the Northern District of Texas. The move comes days after the fatal crash of a company Airbus Helicopters EC225 that killed 13 in Norway on April 29 and weeks after CHC said it could not make a payment of $46 million in interest on $1 billion worth of bonds. The payment is due later this month.
Over the past year CHC has seen its stock price tumble from a high of $57 per share to just 11 cents, all but erasing the market value of the company. The New York Stock Exchange delisted the company in February.
In its bankruptcy court filing, CHC listed debts of $2.19 billion against assets of $2.17 billion as of January 31. Since then the company's financial position has further deteriorated.
CHC operates 231 helicopters, 157 of them leased. It also has $500 million worth of outstanding orders and options for new helicopters. The company released a statement today saying that it “expects day-to-day operations to continue without interruption” and has “sufficient liquidity” to “maintain its continuing business operations” as it proceeds through bankruptcy.