By National Business Aviation Association
October 19, 2010
Atlanta, GA – A new study released today shows that smalland mid-sized companies using business aviation achieved greater success inimportant measures of performance, even during the worst financial recession inrecent memory, than comparable companies that do not use business aircraft.
The study, conducted for the National Business AviationAssociation (NBAA), demonstrates that the enterprise value business aviationconfers on Standard & Poor’s 500 index companies also applies to S&P600 small-cap companies.
“This study reveals that use of a business airplane is asign of a well-managed company, regardless of the size of the enterprise,” saidNBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “The level of productivity, flexibility andefficiency business aviation provides allows companies of all sizes to remainproductive despite the tough economy we’ve been experiencing, and this lateststudy confirms it,” Bolen added.
The 2010 study, “Business Aviation: An Enterprise ValuePerspective,” was released at NBAA’s 63rd Annual Meeting & Convention. Itis the second installment of the research by NEXA Advisors, LLC into themeasurable factors involved in use of general aviation aircraft for businesspurposes across the spectrum of American business.
The conclusions in the new study are consistent withfindings from the first NEXA study, conducted and published in 2009, whichshowed S&P 500 companies using business aircraft consistently outperformednon-business aviation users in revenues, profitability and shareholder value,and even in qualitative measures like “most admired” and “best brands.”
The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) represented inthe 2010 study represent a diverse group of entrepreneurs and organizations inthe United States, both privately owned and publicly traded. In comparing theirfinancial results from 2005 through 2009, NEXA researchers found that users ofbusiness aircraft outperformed nonusers across a range of standard shareholdermeasures. The NEXA study pinpointed three key findings from the analysis andinterviews:
* Superior Financial Performance: Companies usingbusiness aircraft overall produced better financial results than companies thatdid not, with average annual earnings showing 219-percent higher growth. Inaddition, market capitalization growth was 11 percent higher, with two of threecompanies “graduating” from the S&P 600 to the S&P 500 index operatingbusiness aircraft.
* Reduced Recession Impact: In responding to the worstfinancial crisis in recent history, termed the “Great Recession” by the U.S.financial press, SMEs using business aircraft were less impacted than nonusers.Indeed, 69 percent of these companies posted greater top-line growth in 2008and 2009.
* Better Customer Access: Business aviation provided SMEcompanies with better access to customers and markets not convenientlyaccessible by other means of transportation, improving customer retention andsecuring new sources of revenue.
“The remarkably consistent results across the range ofenterprises from large-cap to small-cap suggest that for any size company,business aviation is a clear differentiator of shareholder value creation andbusiness performance,” said the study’s author, Michael Dyment, managingpartner with NEXA Advisors.
The study comes as NBAA continues to highlight the valueof business aviation to citizens, companies and communities across the U.S.,through No Plane No Gain, an advocacy campaign jointly sponsored by NBAA andthe General Aviation Manufacturers Association.
Launched in February 2009, the campaign educatespolicymakers and opinion leaders about the essential contributions of businessaviation to the nation’s economy and transportation system, and to the globalcompetitiveness of American business. To learn more, visit www.noplanenogain.org
To download both Part I and Part II of the NEXA study,visit www.nbaa.org/news/backgrounders.
http://www.amtonline.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=12062
Source: AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY
Date: 2010-10-19