Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal • March 2, 2015 www.wbjournal.com A day snowed in can be a welcome reprieve from the daily grind. But when one snow day turns into three or four, employees and their bosses start to won- der how they'll ever catch up, and how being snowed in hurts the bottom line. This has certainly been the case during the winter of 2015. Massachusetts had one total shutdown day in January when Gov. Charlie Baker issued a travel ban, preventing even the most dedicated employees from going to work. Subsequent storms have kept many employees off the roads and hindered operations in other ways. What does a snow day cost? Christopher Geehern, executive vice president for communications and marketing at Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM), said it's difficult to quantify what this year's weather has cost the Bay State economy, since there's been just one total shut- down day and a handful of others in which businesses were impacted to varying degrees. But he cited a study by IHS Global Insight that estimated that one work shutdown day due to snow results in about $265 mil- lion in lost economic activity. How hard has Central Massachusetts been hit? AIM and other business groups, such as local chambers of commerce, rely mostly on anecdotes to gauge how well, or poorly, the region fared during the difficult stretch. But it's clear that all businesses have been negatively impacted. A recent informal survey sent to 33 of AIM's member businesses last week found that all incurred some losses in productivity this winter. "I think the most telling comment came from one company that said they'd had their first snow day can- cellation in more than 40 years," Geehern said. The largest challenge for AIM members has been transportation. People have either had trouble driving or parking, or catching a train, given the MBTA's sig- nificant service disruptions. Many manufacturers reported trouble shipping or receiving goods, and companies told AIM their employees are distracted as they worry about ice dams and how to handle kids who are home from school. The service industry has been particularly hard hit, as restaurants, theaters and retail stores rely heavily on foot traffic for sales. Is there any relief for business? Gov. Charlie Baker is lobbying for relief for cities and towns, state agencies and nonprofits to help recoup losses, and business leaders hope federal money will be available to them, too. One potential source of relief is the U.S. Small Business Administration, which provides low-interest disaster relief loans to businesses that have been impacted by weather-related disaster. n FRAMINGHAM — TJX Cos. deliv- ered good news to shareholders and employees Wednesday, as the discount retailer announced profit and sales growth as well as plans to increase wages for U.S. employees at its HomeGoods, Marshalls, T.J. Maxx and Sierra Trading Post sites. In its fourth quarter, which ended Jan. 31, TJX reported net income of $648.2 million, up from $582.2 million a year earlier. Annual net income rose to $2.2 bil- lion, up from $2.1 billion the previous year, while sales increased 6 percent for both the quarter and the full year. The good news for employees? TJX is planning to boost minimum wages for full- and part-timers to at least $9 per hour beginning in June. Sometime during 2016, all hourly U.S. store asso- ciates who have been employed for at least six months will earn at least $10, the company said. This follows a move by Wal-Mart to do the same for its employees. MARLBOROUGH — Boston Scientific has agreed to pay rival Johnson & Johnson $600 million as part of a settlement of a lawsuit stem- ming from Boston Scientific's acquisi- tion of Guidant Corp. nine years ago, the Marlborough life sciences compa- ny announced. In the lawsuit, Johnson & Johnson alleged that Guidant broke a deal it had with Johnson & Johnson to merge with that firm, and sought $7.2 billion in damages. Guidant dis- puted the allegations. As part of the settlement, BSX said Johnson & Johnson has agreed to dismiss its law- suit without acknowledgment of lia- bility by Guidant. Also, BSX has agreed not to bring patent infringe- ment or other claims related to three of Johnson & Johnson's stent products, the BSX statement said. In 2006, BSX bought Guidant, which manufactures cardiovascular medical products, for $27.2 billion. WORCESTER — Registered nurses at Saint Vincent Hospital have ratified a new three-year contract with the Worcester health-care facility, ending more than a year of contract talks, the nurses' union announced last week. The pact includes improvements to nurse staffing levels, which will lower patient assignments and improve patient care, according to a statement from the Massachusetts Nurses Association. The contract will also lower the cost of health benefits for most part-time nurses, the union said. The contract, which runs through the end of 2016, includes a 1 percent across-the-board pay increase retroac- tive to July 1, 2014, another 1 percent retroactive to Jan. 1, and another 1 percent effective Jan. 1, 2016. The union includes more than 700 nurses. GARDNER — Biomedical firm New England Peptide will expand its facility to create more research and production space. The company, in business since 1998, will expand its facilities by 12,500 square feet. The new space will allow the firm to reduce its production time for peptides, a piece of protein used in the biomedi- cal research industry by such organi- zations as Pfizer and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. The company of 43 employees also announced that it intends to hire an additional three to five people a year over the next five years. LITTLETON — Equestrian products retailer Dover Saddlery said its reve- nue and profits increased last year, helped by a strong holiday season. Dover (NASDAQ: DOVR) released preliminary, unaudited results, which cited an 8.5-percent jump in revenue to about $101.8 million. Meanwhile, gross profit — revenue minus the cost of goods sold — rose 7.6 percent to $39.5 million. Dover did not release a net income figure with the prelimi- nary results. For 2013, the company reported net income of $1.6 million, or 30 cents per share. That was down slightly from $1.7 million in 2012. Dover, which has 25 retail stores along with its online sales channel, plans to open five to seven new stores this year. WORCESTER — Investment manage- ment firm Cutler Capital Management has promoted a 13-year veteran employee to be its president, the company announced. Geoffrey K. Dancey of Sudbury, who most recently served as both research director and portfolio manager, has been named president and managing partner. He joined Cutler in 2002 as a financial analyst. Cutler's clients include high net-worth investors, corporations, endowments, family offices and chari- table foundations. The firm manages $350 million in assets. OXFORD — As it had forecast, IPG Phononics of Oxford turned in a bet- ter-than-expected financial perfor- mance in the fourth quarter of 2014, reporting revenue of $207.4 million and net income of $56.4 million, both up substantially over the fourth quar- ter of 2013. The manufacturer of fiber lasers said the three months ending the year marked a record quarter, with revenue and net income increases of 25 percent and 54 percent, respective- ly. (Net income amounted to $1.07 per share.) The company cited sales growth in several markets, especially automotive. REGIONAL BRIEFS >> Continued on next page Verbatim "The MBTA appar- ently needs a little more work than we had anticipated." House Speaker Robert DeLeo, suggesting in a television interview that the MBTA needs fundamental improvement before lawmakers can act on proposals to expand service. Source: State House News Service, Feb. 24 >> "In Bruce we have clearly found a distinguished and gifted scientist to join our ranks." WPI President Laurie Leshin, announcing the appointment of Bruce E. Bursten, former dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tennessee, as WPI's new provost, effective June 1. (More information, Page 25) Source: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Feb. 17 >> "We got some frozen lemons and we made frozen lemonade." Joseph Cox, president of the EcoTarium, on the Worcester museum's ability to catch up on projects during a forced closure in early February due to water dam- age at its aging power plant. Source: Telegram & Gazette, Feb. 23 >> BRIEFING: WINTER'S IMPACT ON BUSINESS CENTRALMASS In Review

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