Helicóptero Nacionales de Colombia, Helicol, is a company with almost 70 years in the market and is currently going through a reorganization process, in which a liability of $59,308 million was recorded.
Recently, the Superintendence of Companies called them to a hearing for alleged non-compliance with the obligations established in the payment plan that was approved in 2023.
Juan David Restrepo, CEO of the company, spoke with LR and assured that the pension payment included in the agreement is guaranteed and the obligation with the operator of El Dorado is also in order.
Also, he spoke about the weight that Ecopetrol has for players like Helicol and pointed out that since 2011 no participant has been able to access that contract; fact for which the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce, SIC, has already opened an investigation.
What is the expectation for the non-payment hearing?
We are confident that the contest judge will understand that the issue of the International Airport Operator Concessionaire, Opaín, is completely cancelled. And the issue of funding pension liabilities is also guaranteed.
How many retirees are in charge of the company?
Because it is so old, Helicol is responsible for the pension liabilities of pilots and ground personnel; There are about 100 pilots and between 60 or 70 workers on the ground.
The air liability is no longer in Helicol’s management, at the time it was integrated in January, it was because Helicol already transferred the resources to Caxdac, a pension fund for pilots, so that with those resources it can continue transferring the allowances.
This ground staff is being funded by Valorém (former owner of Helicol), as dictated by an award in 2015 and has been done very judiciously.
Do the current owners still believe in the company?
Helicol’s shareholders are people very committed to continuing to have Helicol for many more years, not just the almost 70 that we already have.
We believe that Colombia is a country worth betting on and that is why these shareholders want more operations and we are looking for new lines of business.
How strong is Helicol in its market segment?
We can divide the helicopter market into three. One, single-engine, focused on tourism and transportation of valuables; the second, medium-sized equipment, in which the largest niche is oil companies; and the third, heavy helicopters, much more used for logistics tasks.
Helicol focuses on the medium-sized sector due to its relationship with the oil industry. This is a market with significant entry barriers, because Operating a helicopter has its regulatory, technical and machine-related complexities.
Is it a risk that the Government prevents the signing of new oil exploration and exploitation contracts?
Colombia is a very oil-producing country and the tender is very aimed at current exploitation. The risk is in what has already been seen, the SIC investigation, in which the limitations are reviewed so that players like Helicol cannot appear. This is not just now, since 2011 neither we nor anyone in Colombia or the world has been able to enter the Ecopetrol contract, that is where the main risk of the sector is.
One does not have to be an expert to understand that only one organization meets all the requirements.
