FED up with traversing Malaysia’s roads to grow his luxury car dealerships, Syed Azman Syed Ibrahim listened to a bit of advice and bought himself a helicopter. He now runs Southeast Asia’s largest fleet of choppers for the oil-and-gas sector and has a sideline chartering private jets for executives. His privately held Weststar Group is firing on all cylinders as it expands its chopper fleet and pushes into new markets, including Africa and the Middle East.
The plan’s centerpiece is flagship Weststar Aviation Services, which now has 34 helicopters (agreed to buy five more in May), making it the second-largest offshore services operator in the Asia-Pacific region, according to India-based market research firm Imarc Group. The company’s choppers ferry executives, crew, and supplies to and from offshore oil rigs in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and they conduct medical evacuations, power-line and pipeline inspections, timber surveys, and other jobs in remote locations that can’t easily be reached by land or sea. Clients include the country’s state-owned oil company Petronas and industry giants Shell and ExxonMobil.
A separate unit, Weststar General Aviation, operates a handful of helicopters for VIP transportation and other missions. The company also imports and sells commercial vehicles and customizes vehicles for the police and armed forces. Weststar Group is a significant exporter of helicopters to Indonesia and Thailand and has been in talks to sell them to Vietnam.
Earlier this year, Weststar Aviation inked deals with two Italian helicopter manufacturers—Lincoln Aircraft and Leonardo—to purchase five more helicopters. It also acquired two more helicopters from a private equity firm with stakes.
In addition to expanding its chopper fleet, Weststar branches into government charters. The company now leases four helicopters to the Royal Malaysian Air Force and will add three more next year. It’s also working with the governments of Tanzania and Uganda on contracts to operate and maintain those planes.
As the company grows, it faces challenges, such as more infrastructure to support helicopter operations in some areas. It is also a competitive environment, with other choppers offering lower prices and more capacity than Weststar. But the company says it can compete by offering lower maintenance and fuel prices and being a more flexible provider.
With revenue of $900 million and profit after tax of about $50 million last year, Weststar is close to a listing on Bursa Malaysia. Syed Azman, who owns most of the company, has made it clear that he wants to see WAS go public eventually, and he has a lofty goal: “In ten years, we want to be the largest helicopter operator in the world.”
