Gama Aviation Ltd was established in 1983 by Marwan Khalek and Stephen Wright at Fairoaks Airport, initially providing aircraft charter services with one Beech Baron aircraft.

In 1984 GAL obtained its first AOC and commenced offering business aircraft management services with one aircraft under management in 1988. In 1991 the company commenced working with the Scottish Ambulance Service through Bond Aviation Limited to provide fixed and rotary aircraft. In 1997, GAL acquired Bond Aviation Limited business from Bond Helicopters Group as well as Heathrow Jet Charter, a charter brokerage business. Having established a core platform during the 1990s, GAL focused on expanding its UK aircraft maintenance and service business with the acquisition of Plymouth Executive Aviation in 2001, which provided maintenance capabilities. This was further enhanced by the acquisition of Lees Avionics in 2008, which enabled Gama Group to provide a range of design and installation capabilities.

In 2008 Gama Group acquired Airops Software, a software consultancy and developer of aviation productivity software and PrivatAir Inc (now Gama Aviation LLC), based in Connecticut, USA, which provided Gama Group with a meaningful presence in the United States, the largest business aircraft market in the world. Full FAA maintenance approval was granted in the USA in 2011. The Group opened a number of other bases as part of its international expansion, including in the UAE which offers aircraft management, charter, maintenance and FBO services. Gama Aviation FZ-LLC was awarded an AOC in the UAE in 2010.

Further acquisitions were undertaken in 2011 (trade and assets of Mann Aviation Group Engineering) and 2012 (Ronaldson Airmotive Limited) which expanded Gama Aviation’s engineering and support capabilities. New bases were opened at Sharjah Airport, UAE, and Hong Kong.

On the 8th December 2014, Gama Aviation announced a merger (technically a reverse takeover) with Hangar 8 Plc, creating a company with an estimated market capitalization of £130 million. The deal is due to complete on 6th January 2015, with Gama Aviation Plc becoming the new listed stock.


http://www.gamaaviation.com/


Previous Hangar8 thread

http://www.moneyam.com/InvestorsRoom/posts.php?tid=17094#lastread

Trading Update
RNS
RNS Number : 3082M
Gama Aviation PLC
06 May 2015



Gama Aviation Plc (AIM: GMAA)
("Gama Aviation" or the "Company")

Gama Aviation adds five contract aircraft, submits plans for a new hangar in Aberdeen and
completes a global procurement deal for aviation fuel.

Gama Aviation, one of the world's largest business aviation service providers, today announces trading continues to be in-line with Management expectations after a strong period of activity in April.

· The aircraft management contracts have seen Gama Aviation's organic growth in 2015 continue
in-line with Management expectations. Two 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.

· The signing of the contract for the Gulfstream V marks a significant step for Gama Aviation as it represents the company's first managed aircraft in the Indian sub-continent; a target market for organic growth within the existing business plan.

· Gama Aviation's global fuel deal, (based on previous Group wide consumption figures of 40+ million litres1) will lead to much improved fuel rates at over 400 global locations The announcement comes at a time when global jet A1 fuel prices reached US$76.02/bbl2 - 8.6% higher than a month previously.

· The fuel deal is a tangible demonstration of Gama Aviation's strategy to grow market share using scale to create quantitative competitive advantage in the highly fragmented aircraft management market (80% of fleet operators in Europe manage 2-5 aircraft, with only 9 managing 20 or more3)

· Planning has been submitted for a new facility in Aberdeen to serve the Scottish east coast and Gama Aviation's multi-year contract with NHS Scotland. If planning is approved, and subject to Management approval, the new hangar will open in 2016. The completed hangar will be Gama Aviation's third facility in Scotland, the other two being located at Glasgow International Airport.





Marwan Khalek, CEO of Gama Aviation Plc commented:

"As per our 31st March announcement, current trading, including a strong period of activity in April, remains in-line with the Management's expectations of our full year performance. The new aircraft management contracts and the planned development at Aberdeen, demonstrate the success of our organic growth strategy that runs in parallel to our acquisition interests. Our fuel deal represents the cost efficiencies we bring as a scale operator. With fuel representing a large percentage of an aircraft owners operational cost, the savings we bring translate directly into quantifiable, competitive advantage in the negotiation of new and existing contracts."

1 Internal company data

2 Data correct as of 23rd April 2015, courtesy of IATA/Platts fuel price analysis

3 Gama Aviation analysis of EBAA data, October 2014



Ends

H1/2015 Trading Update
RNS
RNS Number : 2956S
Gama Aviation PLC
07 July 2015

7th July 2015

Gama Aviation plc (AIM: GMAA)

("Gama Aviation", the "Company" or the "Group")



H1/2015 Trading Update

Gama Aviation Plc - "On-Track"

Gama Aviation Plc, one of the world's largest business aviation service providers, is pleased to provide an update on trading for the six months to 30 June 2015, ahead of its interim results which will be announced in full by the end of September 2015.

The Board is pleased to report that the six month period has seen the business delivering on the strategic objectives that were set out at the time of the reverse takeover of Hangar8 plc in early January 2015.

· Overall trading performance across the Group was in line with management expectations;

· The Gama Aviation and Hangar8 businesses have been successfully integrated within the first half, delivering synergies at least in line with expectations;

· Organic growth continues with the addition of further new aircraft across its global operations and a strong order book for its European Ground business;

· Geographical expansion continues with:

o the launch of a Hong Kong Joint Venture with Hutchinson Whampoa and the introduction into service of its first two managed aircraft in the region; and

o strong growth within the US operations, particularly in ground operations where the rollout of new bases is ahead of schedule.

One of the primary drivers of the reverse merger was to create a global aviation service business, and in so doing offering Gama Aviation's customers a premium service anywhere in the world whilst also economically insulating the Company's revenues and profitability from the different geographical economic cycles.

This strategy has worked well during the six month period enabling the group to benefit from a faster than expected growth in the US market which has helped to offset the recent and continuing Eurozone stagnation, as well as the Oil and Gas sector which has had a negative effect within the former Hangar8 business depressing overall European Air operations.

The Board believes that it is testament to the global strength of Gama Aviation's business model both geographically and in terms of service offerings that such regional dips in performance, which management believe to be temporary, can be absorbed without any adverse impact on the Company's ability to meet overall trading expectations. With many parts of the Group's global operations performing ahead of expectations, including those within Gama Aviation's European Ground operations, overall trading for the period remains firmly in line with management expectations and the full year outlook remains positive.

Marwan Khalek, CEO of Gama Aviation Plc commented:

"I am, of course, very pleased with our positive trading update and that our performance remains in line with expectations. However, for me the most pleasing aspect of the last six months has been our ability to deliver against all the key objectives that we set ourselves in January. Chief amongst these has been the integration and re-organisation of the business post-merger, and to be able to report that it has been successfully completed is of course a great achievement for the management team and is a significant milestone.

We are now a single entity that operates with a class-leading platform of infrastructure and management around which we can now drive our scale, breadth and depth and aggressively build our growth both organically and acquisitively. In the meantime, we will of course continue to fine-tune and strengthen the platform and our attention has already turned to the 'optimisation' phase during which we will seek to further streamline our business processes and our corporate structure so as to make our operations more efficient, more productive and to extract further cost and revenue synergies.

With a solid trading performance for the first half of the year, with integration and other key objectives delivered, and with the excellent platform that we now have, I am confident that the full year outlook remains positive and in line with market expectations. The underlying strategic rationale for the merger was to create the platform to take advantage of some unique opportunities in a highly fragmented and growing market - six months into our journey I am very pleased that both our current performance and our strategy are firmly on-track."

7 Jul Cantor... 400.00 Buy

Interim results

Operational highlights:

· Integration completed on schedule

· Synergies flowing through into second half of 2015 in line with management expectations

· Executed on Asia joint venture and growth in line with management expectations

· Strong organic revenue and margin growth in the US, particularly in ground operations

· Strong, scalable, client experience centric and safety first operational delivery platform in place

· Focus on continued growth complemented by strategic acquisition opportunities

30 Sep Cantor... 400.00 Buy

16/02/2016 BUY Sir Ralph Robins CH 10,000
16/02/2016 BUY Kevin Godley FD 20,000
16/02/2016 BUY Stephen Wright ED 25,000
16/02/2016 BUY Peter Brown NED 10,000

Approval of acquisition of Aviation Beauport Ltd
RNS
RNS Number : 2539P
Gama Aviation PLC
17 February 2016

17 February 2015

Gama Aviation Plc (AIM: GMAA)
("Gama", "Gama Aviation" or the "Company")

Approval by Jersey Competition Authority of the acquisition of Aviation Beauport Limited

Further to the announcement of 8 January 2016, Gama Aviation Plc, one of the world's largest business aviation service providers, is pleased to announce the approval by the Jersey Competition Authority of the acquisition by Gama Aviation of Aviation Beauport Limited; a privately owned Jersey based business offering a range of business aviation services. Completion of the acquisition will take place at midnight on 29 February 2016.

As part of the consideration for the acquisition, the Company will issue 1,000,000 new ordinary shares in the capital of the Company. Application is being made for the new ordinary shares to be admitted to trading on AIM ("Admission") and it is expected that Admission will become effective on 1 March 2016.

Following the issue of the new ordinary shares, there will be 43,994,442 ordinary shares in issue. The Company does not hold any Ordinary Shares in treasury and therefore this figure may be used by shareholders of the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

Interim results

19 Sep
Cantor...
200.00
Hold

European Maintenance Agreement

RNS


RNS Number : 5266V

Gama Aviation PLC

31 January 2017




Press release

WIJET signs European maintenance agreement with Gama Aviation.

Farnborough, 31st January 2017. Gama Aviation Plc's (AIM:GMAA), European Ground division is pleased to announce the signature of a Europe-wide maintenance agreement with WIJET, which recently acquired Blink.

From its Oxford (UK) base, Gama Aviation will provide full base and line maintenance support for WIJET's fleet of fifteen Cessna Citation Mustangs, in addition to providing AOG support across Europe to ensure aircraft availability. The first Mustang has already arrived at Oxford to begin routine checks; the other fourteen are due by the end of April.



Pat Marchant, Head of Maintenance, WIJET comments: "Our business is reliant on maintaining aircraft availability. Gama Aviation has a long history of providing mission critical support to fleets around the world and as such is an ideal partner to provide maintenance support across Europe."



The contract award comes at a time of growth for Gama Aviation's Oxford base. Within the last six months, the base has added considerably to its EASA and FAA maintenance approvals, and it now supports the Citation Mustang (the aircraft operated by Wijet) as well as the 560 XLS, King Air 90-300 series, Learjet 45 and Premier 1, and larger aircraft such as Bombardier's Global, Challenger and Embraer's Legacy series.



Marwan Khalek, Group Chief Executive, Gama Aviation Plc comments: "Following the National Police Air Service ("NPAS") contract win, the European Ground business has continued its strong start to the year. This deal demonstrates the scale, breadth and depth of our Ground offer; its benefit to clients who value mission critical support and our ability to grow our business organically worldwide."

Full results

Financial Highlights
·      Record Total Group revenues of $432.4m, up 12.6% (2015: $383.9m)
·      Underlying profit before tax of $13.7m, up 3.8% (2015: $13.2m)
·      Net debt of $19.4m (2015: $9.0m) reflecting acquisitions and Aberdeen hangar development
·      Cash generation from operations improved to an inflow of $2.2m compared to an outflow of $14.1m in 2015
·      Dividend per share up 4% to 2.6p per share (2015: 2.5p)
·      2017 trading in line with management expectations


Operational Highlights
·      Aircraft under management up 12.2% to 165 (2015: 147)
·      US Air revenue up 30% driven by contract wins
·      Transformative deal signed on 1 January 2017 with BBA Aviation Plc in the US Air division  
·      Europe Air revenue down 5% due to exiting underperforming contracts
·      Europe Air restructuring successfully completed 
·      US Ground revenue up 15% driven by 3 new line maintenance bases
·      Europe Ground revenue down 20% due to lower levels of discretionary spend 
·      Europe Ground delivered 20% operating margin despite challenging market
·      Acquisitions fully integrated into the Air and Ground divisions in Europe
·      Recent multi-year contract wins in the Air and Ground divisions in Europe
·      Strong progress establishing Middle East and Asia platforms
·      Simplified corporate structure and strengthened management team  

ST of IC today - I feel that a return to growth this year should deliver further upside and so have upgraded my target price to 250p. Buy.

08:40 11/04/2017
Broker Forecast - Cantor Fitzgerald issues a broker note on Gama Aviation Plc
Cantor Fitzgerald today reaffirms its buy investment rating on Gama Aviation Plc (LON:GMAA) and raised its price target to 270p (from 230p). Story provided by StockMarketWire.com

ST of IC - I am upgrading my target price to a range between 275p and 300p to reflect the operational improvements being made and de-risking of earnings estimates. Buy.y -

8 Nov
Jefferies...
330.00
Buy

Admission of Placing Shares to Trading on AIM
Gama Aviation Plc ("Gama Aviation" or the "Company"), the global business aviation services provider, is pleased to announce the Admission of 19,591,837 new ordinary shares of one pence each in the Company to trading on AIM at 8:00am today. Accordingly, the Company has successfully raised gross proceeds of £48 million pursuant to the Placing. The gross proceeds of the Placing will be used to accelerate the group's strategy of becoming the leading global business aviation services group.

Following the Placing, the Company's Enlarged Issued Share Capital will comprise 63,611,279 Ordinary Shares. No Ordinary Shares are held in treasury. Accordingly, this figure of 63,611,279 Ordinary Shares may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculation by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the AIM Rules for Companies or the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

Further to Admission occurring, Mr Simon To has also become a director of the Company with effect from Admission pursuant to the terms of the Relationship Agreement entered into with Hutchison Whampoa (China) Limited on 9 February 2018.