Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • February 2, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com Stay ConneCted For breaking and daily Greater Hartford business news go to www.HartfordBusiness.com. HBJ on Twitter: @HartfordBiz HBJ on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HartfordBiz HBJ on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ the-Hartford-Business-Journal Daily e-newsletters: HBJ Today, CT Morning Blend www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe Weekly e-newsletters: CT Green Guide Weekly www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe By the numBerS $4 million The estimated cost to the state, not including local government expenses, for last week's blizzard. 57,000 The number of manufacturing workers in Hartford County in 2012, according to recently released federal data. $2.9 million The amount of money Treasurer Denise Nappier paid to law firms last year for bond-related services, according to the Journal Inquirer. 54,000 The number of students enrolled in Connecticut's 12 community colleges. 55% The percentage of Connecticut businesses that offer health insurance to their workers, down from 63.8 percent in 2008. top 5 moSt read on HartfordBusiness.com ■ Back9Network slashing workforce 41% ■ Fighter jets performing Hartford-area ■ What it takes to get into CT's 1% ■ New England BBQ championships set for Sept. ■ Bankers say consumer protection rules stifling mortgage lending top Story Back9Network searching for capital partner, possible buyer Hartford's Back9Network is trying to raise a "significant" amount of capital to keep its doors open and if a deal is reached it could mean a change in the com- pany's ownership, a source familiar with the golf-lifestyle network told Hartford Business Journal last week. Back9's board and management have been working tirelessly in recent weeks to develop a restructuring plan, which included laying off 41 percent of its workforce to slash costs. Now the company is searching for a signifi- cant capital infusion, the source said, which could come from individuals or business investors. It's not clear how much money the company needs, but Back9Network has already raised about $37 million, which is a significant sum for a startup company. Back9Network is searching regionally and nationwide for new capital partners, said the source, who was not authorized by the company to speak on the record. The source would not say if a deal is likely or not, but any investment could result in a change in the company's ownership, so a potential buyout is an option. The money would help keep the operation running and try to get the network in front of more viewers, the source said. In June, Back9Network signed its first TV deal with DirecTV and their programming has been on-air since September. But to reach a wider audience and attract more advertising revenue, Back9Network needs to strike deals with other TV providers, which has proved challenging. Meantime, the company has also scaled back production at its Constitution Plaza studio to save costs, the source said. In recent weeks Back9 has faced multiple issues. It delayed some payroll payments in early January, and then announced a restructuring plan Mon- day that included laying off 35 full-time employees. The company still has 50 full-time staffers in Hartford. Back9Network this month also filed suit against its former CEO James Bos- worth, accusing him of disparaging the company and disclosing financial secrets, in breach of his separation agreement. InSuranCe Study: Fewer CT employers offer health insurance The number of Connecticut employers who sponsor health insurance for their workers has fallen significantly since 2004, according to a study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The trend has accelerated since the Great Recession, particularly among small employers, the study said. Overall, 55 percent of Connecticut firms offer health insurance, down from 63.8 percent in 2008 and 66.3 percent in 2004. Almost all larger firms continue to offer insurance, but employee participation has fallen 11.3 percentage points, to 72.9 percent, since 2004. Just 39.4 percent of smaller firms offered insurance in 2013, down from 56.5 percent a decade prior. The changes have happened against a backdrop of rising premiums. Family coverage premiums have grown from $11,376 in 2004 to $16,883 in 2013, while individual premiums grew from $4,127 to $5,968. Employees are also paying a greater amount of those premiums, RWJF said, and deductibles have approximately doubled over the decade. eConomy With 4,800 more working, CT jobless rate 6.4% Connecticut added 4,800 more jobs in December, pushing the state jobless rate down slightly, to 6.4 percent, state labor officials said. In all, the state added a combined 26,700 jobs last year, finishing 2014 with an unemployment rate 1 percentage point lower than the 7.4 percent jobless rate posted in December 2013, according to the state Department of Labor. The state counted 121,406 residents without jobs as of Dec. 31. The government and private "supersector'' employers in leisure and hospitality, man- ufacturing, education and health services, and information all gained jobs last month. Construction and mining; trade, transportation & utilities; professional, scientific, and technical; and financial activities sectors all lost jobs in December, the agency said. LaBor CT union membership grew in 2014 The number of Connecticut workers who are labor union members grew both in number and as a percentage of the total workforce last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Connecticut had 231,000 union workers in 2014, who made up 14.8 percent of the workforce. That was up from 207,000 union workers, or 13.5 percent in 2013. The number of employed residents in the state grew by 29,000 over the measured time period. The rest of New England had mixed results. Vermont added 1,000 union jobs, growing its percentage of labor jobs from 10.9 percent to 11.1 percent, while New Hampshire's percentage ticked up from 9.6 percent to 9.9 percent. Massachusetts union membership percentage was flat at 13.7 percent. Maine's union membership percentage ticked down a tenth of a point, to 11 percent, while Rhode Island — which has the greatest ratio of union jobs — declined from 16.9 percent to 15.1 percent. BIoSCIenCe Alexion's Bell relinquishes CEO role Cheshire's Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. has named Chief Operating Officer David L. Hallal as CEO, marking the drug maker's second major shakeup since the October death of its chairman, Max Link. Dr. Leonard Bell is stepping aside as CEO, a posi- tion he has held for 23 years. Bell will remain as chairman, a role he took over after Link's passing. The company characterized the move as a planned transition at a time of financial strength and growing sales. Alexion hired Hallal, 48, in 2006 to initiate com- mercial operations. The company said he has played a key role in the launch of Soliris for several rare disorders and helping to build the company's operations internationally. He was appointed to the board of directors last year. Alexion announced Hallal's appointment last week just moments after it posted record 2014 sales of its blockbuster drug Soliris. Net sales of the drug were $2.23 billion last year, up from $1.55 billion in 2013. Alexion booked net income of $656.9 million, or $3.26 per diluted share, for the year. That's up from $252.9 million, or $1.27 the year before. For the fourth quarter, profits totaled $153.3 mil- lion, or 76 cents per diluted share, up from a $19 million loss a year earlier. The company said the sales gains were the result of steady additions of patients with rare blood disorders taking Soliris. aeroSpaCe UTC ekes out 4Q gain, cuts 2015 outlook Hartford aerospace manufacturer United Technologies Corp.'s quarterly prof- its slightly outpaced those from a year prior, as higher costs, expenses and taxes ate up most of a top-line increase. UTC also lowered its 2015 earnings outlook, citing the strengthening U.S. dollar and higher pension costs. Profits for the fourth quarter totaled $1.47 billion, or $1.62 per diluted share, up from $1.46 billion, or $1.58, in the fourth quarter of 2013. Net sales grew by $237 million, or 1.4 percent, to $17 billion. For the full year, UTC's profits increased from $5.72 billion, or $6.31 per di- luted share, to $6.22 billion, or $6.92. Net sales grew 4 percent, to $65.1 billion. In 2015, the company expects earnings per share to range between $6.85 and $7.05 on sales of $65 billion to $66 billion. That's down from its previous outlook, issued in December, of $7 to $7.20 on sales between $66 billion and $67 billion. energy & utILItIeS Yankee Gas converted 5,500 customers in 2014 Berlin-based utility Yankee Gas, which is owned by Northeast Utilities, said it surpassed its goal last year for converting customers to natural gas. Yankee said it converted more than 5,500 customers and added 20 miles of new gas main last year. It had set a target of 5,200 conversions. Yankee said state regulators have assisted by approving recommendations that give the utility more flexibility in developing projects and make it easier to enroll new customers. Wilton was the site of Yankee's first major expansion, starting in July. The company said it has several other large-scale projects in the works for this year. Week In revIew Back9Network has cut back production at its Constitution Plaza studio in Hartford. P H O T O | C O n T r i b u T e d Dr. Leonard Bell David L. Hallal

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