Aviation services provider BBA Aviation PLC (BBA.LN) has GBP300 million to GBP400 million in facilities available to finance acquisitions and investments, Chief Executive Simon Pryce said Wednesday.

Pryce told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview that the FTSE-250 company had "more than sufficient facilities to satisfy our ambitions."

In a trading update earlier Wednesday, the company said it had recently signed a new $750 million multi-currency revolving credit facility. The facility, which has a split maturity with a three-year term for $250 million and five-year term for $500 million, was provided by 11 relationship banks and was oversubscribed, it said.

The new facility replaces a $175 million one maturing in August 2011 and a $900 million facility maturing in September 2012.

BBA Aviation in March raised net proceeds of GBP86 million from a share placing. A chunk of that, $69.5 million, was used to finance the purchase of GE Aviation Systems' legacy fuel measurement business. GE Aviation Systems is part of General Electric Co. (GE).

The company said that its pipeline of acquisition and investment opportunities "remains strong."

Pryce said that BBA Aviation's targets were principally in North America, its most important market, and included fixed-base operations and legacy businesses.

In 2011, the company has acquired fixed-base operation at Bozeman, Montana, for a cash consideration of $10.5 million and a second fixed-base operation at Edinburgh Airport for GBP1.5 million.

It also has reached agreement with Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s (BRKA, BRKB) jet-rental company NetJets Inc. to build, lease and operate on its behalf a dedicated facility at Palm Beach International, Florida, at a capital cost of about $13 million.

BBA Aviation said trading in the first three months of the year had been in line with expectations, with revenue up 13% year-on-year, or 6% on an organic basis.

Revenue at its flight support unit was up 18%, or 5% on an organic basis, reflecting continued growth in business and general aviation flying hours, with outperformance in Signature North America more than offsetting a reduction in traffic to Europe from the Middle East due to civil unrest and slot constraints at London's Heathrow Airport.

Pryce downplayed the significance of Heathrow's constraints, which had been caused by a recovery in commercial air traffic that followed an easing in the downturn.

In aftermarket services and systems, revenue grew 5% on a reported basis and 6% on an organic basis.

In the interim management statement, Pryce reiterated his bullish outlook for the year. "Over the longer term, the strengths of our business and our organic growth and consolidation opportunities, together with further operational improvement, mean that we expect to deliver a strong performance and generate superior returns," he said.

At 0822 GMT, BBA Aviation's shares traded up a penny, or 0.2%, at 218 pence, while the FTSE 250 index traded down 0.1%. The stock is roughly flat since the start of the year.

J.P. Morgan Cazenove in a research note said that the pace of recovery in business and general aviation flying hours remained key to maintaining growth in estimates.

"While the higher fuel prices have not yet had an impact on the group's operations, there is a risk that a sustained high oil price could negatively impact U.S. GDP, which could have an impact on (business and general aviation) flying hours or commercial flight movements and slow the group's recovery," it said. However, it retains an overweight recommendation on the stock.

-By Jonathan Buck, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)207 842 9237; jonathan.buck@dowjones.com
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