Last week, you might have seen that Bristow Group Inc. (NYSE:VTOL) released its quarterly result to the market. The early response was not positive, with shares down 8.7% to US$26.81 in the past week. It looks like a credible result overall - although revenues of US$307m were what the analysts expected, Bristow Group surprised by delivering a (statutory) profit of US$0.58 per share, an impressive 176% above what was forecast. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.

See our latest analysis for Bristow Group

Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from Bristow Group's dual analysts is for revenues of US$1.24b in 2023, which would reflect a satisfactory 7.7% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to surge 124% to US$1.29. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$1.25b and losses of US$0.21 per share in 2023. Although we saw no serious change to the revenue outlook, the analysts have definitely increased their earnings estimates, estimating a profit next year, compared to previous forecasts of a loss. So it seems like the consensus has become substantially more bullish on Bristow Group.

The average the analysts price target fell 8.1% to US$39.50, suggesting thatthe analysts have other concerns, and the improved earnings per share outlook was not enough to allay them.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Bristow Group's past performance and to peers in the same industry. One thing stands out from these estimates, which is that Bristow Group is forecast to grow faster in the future than it has in the past, with revenues expected to display 16% annualised growth until the end of 2023. If achieved, this would be a much better result than the 4.6% annual decline over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 11% per year. So it looks like Bristow Group is expected to grow faster than its competitors, at least for a while.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that there's been a clear step-change in belief around the business' prospects, with the analysts now expecting Bristow Group to become profitable next year. Fortunately, they also reconfirmed their revenue numbers, suggesting sales are tracking in line with expectations - and our data suggests that revenues are expected to grow faster than the wider industry. The consensus price target fell measurably, with the analysts seemingly not reassured by the latest results, leading to a lower estimate of Bristow Group's future valuation.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. At least one analyst has provided forecasts out to 2025, which can be seen for free on our platform here.

Before you take the next step you should know about the 2 warning signs for Bristow Group that we have uncovered.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.