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Discovery Air is a Tier One sponsor of the Discovery Air Hawk One Project – Celebrating 100 years of powered flight in Canada! To learn more, please visit www.hawkone.ca.
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Headquartered in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Great Slave Helicopters and its group of companies is the second-largest VFR operator in Canada.
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Discovery Mining Services is a mining service and expediting company serving the needs of companies operating throughout Canada.
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Air Tindi operates a diversified fleet of 25 fixed wing aircraft and offers air ambulance, cargo service and scheduled flights across Canada's north.
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Top Aces is the prime supplier of Airborne Training services to the Canadian Army, Navy and Air Force.
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Discovery Air's Class A common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol DA.A.
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Whether you need to accommodate 2 or 80 people, our remote, portable, flyable all weather exploration camps can be customized for your needs. Complete with communications systems, kitchens, offices, dry/shower tents these camps have been constructed in the most remote locations in Canada.
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Discovery Air would like to congratulate the Great Slave Helicopters that recently won the third place medal in the Yellowknife Minor Hockey Junior Tournament. The team is sponsored by Discovery Air and recently spent the day looking over Discovery Air's Alpha Jet, which was in Yellowknife for the grand opening of the new headquarters.
CEO's Message to Shareholders
During calendar 2009, we worked hard to stabilize Discovery Air both operationally and financially in the midst of a particularly challenging economic environment. Our adjusted EBITDA performance has strengthened, both in dollar terms and as a percentage of revenues, reflecting a continued focus on operating efficiencies and cost control. For fiscal 2010, we recorded a net loss of $286,000 compared to the $130 million net loss in fiscal 2009, which included significant goodwill and asset impairment charges. This improvement came despite a reduction in revenues to $123 million, down from $152 million in fiscal 2009. While returns, even at these improved levels, are below target and not acceptable over the long haul, we emerged from a tough year as a better-managed and more resilient business, well-positioned for improved results in fiscal 2011.
To our Shareholders
Financial results by themselves to not tell the entire story of any company, of course, and this is equally true of Discovery Air. The past year marked an important turning point, as we made progress on several fronts:
- Safety continued as an overriding consideration across all of our operations. We flew in excess of 44,000 flight hours during the year without a single accident;
- We are now executing on a new, Board-approved five-year strategic plan designed to grow Discovery Air sustainability and greatly enhance its profitability. We describe this further in the "Vision" section of the Annual Report;
- Our Executive Team has been further strengthened with additions from both inside and outside the Corporation, positioning us to achieve the objectives of our five-year plan;
- We identified a number of additional operating efficiencies, and we continue to optimize and "lean out" our business;
- We are working to strengthen existing relationships and to forge new ones, including several new strategic Aboriginal partnerships within our Northern Services segment;
- We are pursuing opportunities outside our traditional market, as well as the provision of additional services to our existing customers;
- In February 2009, we successfully closed a major refinancing with the Northwest Territories Opportunities Fund, and now have no significant long-term debt maturities prior to December 31, 2011; and
- We ended fiscal 2010 with $9.2 million in unrestricted cash on our balance sheet and approximately $8.3 million in undrawn working capital credit availability.
Subsequent to year-end, we announced that our Top Aces unit secured two important contract extensions. Its Interim Contracted Airborne Training Services Type 1 contract was extended for a further one-year term, and its Interim Contracted Airborne Training Services Type 2 Standing Offers were extended for a further one-year term. Hicks & Lawrence signed a new five-year contract with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to provide 20 aircraft in support of forest fire management and air transport/utility requirements. And finally, we relocated our corporate head office to Yellowknife in March, and closed our London facility at the end of April 2010.
Looking Ahead
Through fiscal 2011, our foremost objective will remain to continue delivering specialty aviation services in a safe and professional manner. We are seeing some signs of recovery in our Northern Services markets, although they remain exposed to commodity pricing and capital markets trends. The government services market in which we operate will require a continued focus on operating efficiency and meeting the high service levels required by our customers. We are making progress in developing new sources of revenue, both within Canada and in select markets internationally, and expect we will be in a position to make further announcements in this regard shortly. In the interim, we will maintain our focus on adjusting our cost structure to our revenue base. We will continue to invest carefully and prudently in promising opportunities that will yield appropriate risk-adjusted returns. We will be working very hard to position Top Aces to win the renewal long-term contracted airborne training services commitment. And we plan to leverage the combination of an anticipated improvement in our operating results and continued strengthening in capital market conditions to deal with our capital structure constraints through fiscal 2011 and fiscal 2012.
In closing, I would like to recognize the ongoing efforts of our flight crew, maintenance team and support staff throughout Discovery Air. They operate with precision and pride in a variety of challenging environments, and their efforts have made Discovery Air the foremost specialty aviation services provider in Canada. Discovery Air was tested in fiscal 2010. Having successfully met and overcome those challenges, our Board, Executive Team and employees are confident that we are a stronger, better-positioned company, ready to drive hard toward our five-year objectives. Discovery Air today is about Vision, People and Momentum. I invite you to read through our Annual Report to see more on those themes, and to continue visiting us on the web to see our progress in achieving our goals.
Dave Jennings
President and Chief Executive Officer
Discovery Air Inc.
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Discovery Mining Service annually sponsors an adult recreational soccer team in Yellowknife; whereas Air Tindi commits to two novice hockey teams – the Air Tindi Otters.
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Hicks & Lawrence operates with two divisions
A division dedicated to Air Charter Services and a Fire Division. The Air Charter Services division is operated by Walsten Air, a company wholly owned by Hicks & Lawrence.
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The Northlinx Network brings together many of the Great Slave Helicopters Aboriginal Joint-Venture Partnerships allowing all participants to benefit from pan-territorial mega-projects requiring helicopter services in the North. Presently there are nine partnerships operating in this profitable model around the NWT and Nunavut, including Denendeh Helicopters, Dehcho Regional Helicopters, Sahtu Helicopters, Kitikmeot Helicopters, Gwich’in Helicopters, Havgun Helicopters, Kivalliq Aviation, Tlicho Helicopters and Akaitcho Helicopters.
We are committed to providing our customers with specialty aviation solutions whenever and wherever they are required. Our pilots, maintainers, logisticians and administrators operate with precision and pride in some of the most challenging environments in the world.
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Discovery Air is committed to recruiting and retaining the best talent in aviation industry. By joining Discovery Air you will have the opportunity to participate in a unique and dynamic environment focused on growth, entrepreneurship, innovation and teamwork.
Hicks & Lawrence Limited, (“H&L”), is a Northern Ontario based Air Operator which has been active in the Canadian Aviation industry for over 50 years.
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If you would like to concentrate on flying aircraft while knowing you are in the safest hands around, our team of maintainers will take care of all aspects of managing your fleet.
The Turbine Single Otter is one of the most versatile and dependable bush airplanes operating in the North today. This aircraft is easily converted from full-passenger to all-cargo configuration quickly, or a combination of both may be used.
