Seasonality

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Seasonality

Seasonality

Note 16. Seasonality

        The Company's Aerial Services operations in any given location are seasonal and depend on prevailing weather conditions. The Company's flight hours are substantially reduced in winter or monsoon seasons. The global deployment of the Company's helicopters and crews helps to limit the effect of seasonality, but the Company's Aerial Services operations tend to peak in June through October and to be at a low point in January through April. Due to the seasonality of the Company's business, the Company often has unabsorbed overhead costs in the first quarter and the fourth quarter which generally lead to negative reported gross profit in these quarters.