Story ID: 
Erickson Posts Huge Loss
By: Mark Huber
Caption: The company attributed the $75 million loss to a one-time impairment-of-goodwill charge of $49.8 million.
Word Count: 236
Helicopter services company Erickson posted a net loss of $75 million for the first quarter of the year. The company attributed the unusually hefty loss in large part to a one-time impairment-of-goodwill charge of $49.8 million and an additional $7.1 million charge on fleet aircraft available for sale. In the same period a year ago the company posted a loss of $7.6 million. While the first-quarter results exceeded company guidance, new president Jeff Roberts said Erickson “cannot be satisfied” with it.
“We continue to focus on the need to increase our revenue, improve our cost structure and drive significant, sustainable free cash flow. We are taking strategic actions and making investments in our business to improve results,” Roberts said.
Quarterly revenue was $66.2 million, a decline of $8 million, or 10.8 percent, from the prior year. While the company’s manufacturing and MRO businesses continued to grow, with revenue climbing to $7 million from $2.7 million during the prior-year period, revenue from government and commercial helicopter contracts continued to fall, to $62.8 million from $67.8 million a year ago. Erickson ascribed the reduction in government revenue in large part to a scaleback in the company’s operations in Afghanistan.
Erickson reduced capital spending to $5.7 million compared with $17.5 million in the prior-year period. As of March 31 this year, it had $103.9 million drawn on its revolving credit facility (excluding the letters of credit) and $2.9 million in cash on its balance sheet.