Bristow Group, Inc

Bristow Group Inc. (BRS - Snapshot Report) just set a new 52-week high following the recent earnings report, which topped expectations.

Company Description

Bristow Group provides helicopter services to the offshore energy industry, worldwide. The company provides transportation, maintenance, search and rescue, and related services to companies with offshore drilling platforms.

Income Up 21%

Bristow reported second-quarter results for fiscal 2010 on Nov 4 that included essentially flat revenue. However, net income rose 21% to $33.2 million. This translated to earnings per share of 92 cents, up 15 cents on a year-over-year basis.

Comments from the CEO, William Chiles, were cautious, but optimistic. He said, "We continue to operate in a challenging economic and industry environment with significant volatility in energy prices. However, our business model, with greater reliance on our customers' operating expenditures rather than capital expenditures, should continue to translate into better performance by our business. In addition, we believe we are well positioned with adequate liquidity and the financial flexibility to weather this uncertain market and benefit from a turnaround that we expect to see next year."

Easily Beat the Street

The Zacks Consensus Estimate heading into the report was just 66 cents, marking the company's third consecutive earnings surprise.

All 8 analysts providing full-year estimates have raised projections for this year. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate is now $2.91, up 27 cents since the earnings release.

Forecasts for next year are also on the rise, now averaging $3.10, up from $2.91.

Valuation

The stock remains a solid value, trading at just over 12 times forward earnings.

The Chart

Shares of BRS have set a new 52-week high thanks to the earnings announcement. The stock initially staled at the previous high, but convincingly broke through shortly after the report. Take a look at the chart below.

Bill Wilton is the Growth Stock Strategist for Zacks.com. He is also the Editor in charge of the market-beating Zacks Growth Trader service

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