Erickson Air-Crane Announces Aviation Services Contract

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Erickson Air-Crane Announces Aviation Services Contract

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Afghanistan

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Prime Contract Extension with USTRANSCOM with Total Value of $24 Million Continues Cargo and Passenger Transport Supporting Military Operations in Afghanistan Erickson Air-Crane Incorporated a leading global provider of aviation services to a diverse mix of commercial and government customers, and the vertically-integrated manufacturer and operator of the powerful heavy-lift Erickson S-64 Aircrane helicopter, announced today that it has won an extension to its prime contract with USTRANSCOM U.S. Transportation Command to provide essential services in support of overseas operations in Afghanistan. The award was made to Evergreen Helicopters EHI, a recently acquired and now wholly owned subsidiary of Erickson. Under the contract, the Company will provide multiple aircraft, pilots and ground crews for both passenger and cargo transport services in support of current operations. The total value of the contract extension is approximately $24 million; the Company noted the award derives its funding from portions of the Defense budget not subject to sequestration. Udo Rieder, Chief Executive Officer of Erickson, commented, We are very pleased to have extended this important prime contract for essential services and to build on our long-held and important relationship with the US Transportation Command. We are excited to demonstrate for our customer that we stand ready to provide strong levels of performance and readiness across a wide range of critical mission responsibilities. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. You can identify forward-looking statements by words such as believe,may, estimate, continue, anticipate, intend, plan, expect,predict, potential, or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations but they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of risks and uncertainties, which include: the possibility that we do not complete the acquisition of the Brazilian air logistics business, or realize the benefits of the acquisition of EHI or the Brazilian air logistics business on a timely basis or at all; our ability to integrate these businesses successfully or in a timely and cost-efficient manner; our ability to successfully enter new markets and manage international expansion; that we do not have extensive operating history in the aerial services segments in which EHI and Air Amazonia operate nor with the types of aircraft we acquired in the EHI acquisition and those we would in the Air Amazonia acquisition; that we do not have extensive operating history in South America, the Middle East and Africa, which are where EHI and Air Amazonia provide aerial services that we do not have any operating history providing services to the Department of Defense and related customers and projects, which are segments to which EHI provides services; that the anticipated reduction in troops in Afghanistan in the near-term may adversely affect EHI that EHI operates in certain dangerous and war-affected areas, which may result in hazards to its fleet and personnel; that, despite our current indebtedness levels, we and our subsidiaries may still incur significant additional indebtedness; our failure to obtain any required financing on favorable terms; our safety record; the hazards associated with our helicopter operations, which involve significant risks and which may result in hazards that may not be covered by our insurance or may increase the cost of our insurance; compliance with debt obligations and our substantial indebtedness, which could adversely affect our financial condition and impair our ability to grow and operate our business; cancellations; reductions or delays in customer orders; our ability to collect on customer receivables; weather and seasonal fluctuations that impact our Aircrane and other aerial services activities; competition; reliance on a small number of large customers; the impact of short-term contracts; the availability and size of the Aircrane fleet; the ability to implement production rate changes; the impact of government spending; the impact of product liability and product warranties; the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel the impact of environmental and other regulations, including FAA regulations and similar international regulations our ability to accurately forecast financial guidance; our ability convert backlog into revenues and appropriately plan expenses; worldwide economic conditions including conditions in Greece and Italy our reliance on a small number of manufacturers the necessity to provide components or services to owners and operators of aircraft; our ability to effectively manage our growth; our ability to keep pace with changes in technology our ability to adequately protect our intellectual property our ability to successfully enter new markets and manage international expansion our ability to expand and diversify our customer base our ability to expand and market manufacturing and maintenance, repair and overhaul services the potential unionization of our employees the fluctuation in the price of fuel our ability to access public or private debt markets the impact of equipment failures or other events impacting the operation of our factories and our ability to successfully manage any future acquisitions as well as other risks and uncertainties more fully described under the heading Risk Factors in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K as well as the other reports we file with the SEC. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Erickson Air-Crane assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions, or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information, except to the extent required by applicable laws.