MetroWest495 Biz

MetroWest495 Biz | February 2014 5 Roundup A123 SYSTEMS WINS AUTOMAKER AT AUCTION The owner of lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems, which has operations in Westborough and Hopkinton, won an auction for hybrid car maker Fisker Automotive with a $149.2 million bid. A123's owner, Wanxiang Group of China, beat out Hybrid Tech Holdings LLC for the California manufacturer of luxury plug-in hybrids. The offer includes $126.2 million in cash, $8 million of assumed liabilities and a 20 percent stake in Fisker for creditors. Fisker was seeking just $25 million from Hybrid when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November. A123 previously made batteries for Fisker's Karma hybrid sports car, many of which had to be recalled due to defective power packs. Fisker also said it had a hard time meeting inventory after A123 itself filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late 2012. GULF POWER SUBSIDIARY REACHES OUT Framingham-based Gulf Electricity announced it will expand its consumer and small business electric service to the five boroughs of New York City and Westchester County. it said. The move will bring the Gulf Oil subsidiary into competition with Con Edison, the regulated utility for the New York metro area, as well as a couple dozen other energy service companies (ESCOs). Con Ed will remain responsible for the transmission and distribution of all electricity in the area, whether it's supplied by Con Ed, Gulf or another ESCO, according to a statement from Gulf. WESTBOROUGH APARTMENTS SOLD Three Westborough apartment buildings, known collectively as the Fountainhead Apartments, were sold for $83.75 million, according to records from the Worcester County Registry of Deeds. Northland In- vestment Corp. of Newton purchased the buildings, located at 293, 295 and 297 Turnpike Rd. (Route 9). The sale was recorded Jan. 24. The complex includes 562 apartment units, according to the Westborough assessor's office. Built in 1970, the Fountainhead Apartments were formerly owned by a limited li- ability corporation controlled by Lane Management Group of Framingham, according to the registry. Records show the sale also included parcels extend- ing into Northborough. WESTBOROUGH'S RXi ON NASDAQ Biotech startup RXi Pharmaceuticals of Westbor- ough announced it was approved for listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market and began trading on the exchange. RXi applied for the listing in July. The company had been trading since June on OTCOX, a segment of the OTC Market Group reserved for U.S. companies that meet certain quality standards. The company has enrolled subjects for its second phase of testing of its RXI-109 drug, which is intended to reduce post-surgical scarring. SALES, NET INCOME SOAR AT ACTON'S PSYCHEMEDICS Sales and profits soared at Psychemedics Corp. of Acton in the fourth quarter of 2013. The maker of drug-detection tests reported quarterly net income of $868,000, up from $273,000 last year. Earn- ings per share was 16 cents, beating both analysts' expectations of 12 cents and last year's performance of 5 cents. Psychemedics also announced revenue of $6.5 million, up from $5.7 million in the same quarter in 2012. Raymond Kubacki, chairman and CEO, said the company benefitted from expanded product offerings such as a hair test for alcohol that can look back 90 days, along with new partnerships in the instant drug and alcohol testing arena. For the full year, Psychemedics' sales were up $1.7 million to $26.9 million, while profits were $3.8 million, up from $3 million. PROFITS, REVENUE RISE AT VIRYANET IN WESTBOROUGH A boom in licensing revenue drove a 15-percent jump in year-over-year sales in the fourth quarter for ViryaNet of Westborough, the maker of mobile soft- ware reported. ViryaNet reported quarterly revenue of $3.4 million, beating both analysts' expectations of $2.98 million and sales of $2.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2012. Profits were $832,000, or 19 cents per share, well ahead of last year's performance of 9 cents and experts' projections of 8 cents. For all of 2013, revenue rose 8.4 percent to $11.6 million. Net income, meanwhile, jumped 62.8 percent, from $911,000 to $1.5 million. Bookings for the year increased 10 percent, with ViryaNet signing one new customer in Europe during the fourth quarter and license orders from two existing U.S. customers to assist them in acquisitions. SALES UP, PROFITS DOWN AT DOVER SADDLERY Sales surged but profits fell during 2013 at Dover Saddlery, according to preliminary data. The Little- ton-based equestrian products retailer said full-year revenue increased 8.7 percent from $86.3 million in 2012 to $93.8 million in 2013. That was fueled in part by a 4 percent jump in same-store sales for the year. Net income, though, dropped from $1.7 million, or 31 cents per share, to $1.6 million, or 30 cents per share. Dover Saddlery plans to open five to seven new stores in 2014 and expand its e-commerce operation. Dover will report its fourth-quarter and full-year results March 7. NORTHBOROUGH TECH FIRM MAKES N.Y. ACQUISITION Baesis, a Northborough technology products and services vendor for manufacturers, announced it has acquired an upstate New York consultancy that will allow it to expand into the Buffalo and Syracuse areas. Baesis said it has acquired Pat MAS Consult- ing, which will help manufacturers in the two areas work with Sage 100 ERP and JobOps software, two products in which Baesis specializes. Baesis also has an office in New Hampshire. DIVIDEND FOR EMC EMC Corp. of Hopkinton, which recently an- nounced financial results that exceeded analysts' expectations, declared a quarterly cash dividend of 10 cents per share of stock that it will pay in April. The dividend will be paid April 23 to shareholders of record effective April 14, the data storage giant said. Late last month, EMC said management had approved a restructuring plan. In the same week, it announced fourth-quarter revenue of $6.7 billion, up 11 percent compared to a year earlier, and resulting in net income of $1 billion, an annual increase of 17 percent. Earnings per share increased 11 percent year over year, to 60 cents per share. Meanwhile, full-year revenue was $23.2 billion, a jump of 7 percent over 2012. EMC reported annual net income of $2.9 bil- lion, a 6 percent year-over-year increase. METROWEST HEALTH PROJECT WINS STATE GRANT A MetroWest community health initiative has secured a $75,000 grant in its efforts to encourage healthier eating and active living, according to the office of State Sen. Karen Spilka. MetroWest Moves, which focuses its efforts on Hudson, Framingham and Marlborough, is one of 37 projects across the state to receive money as part of a $4-million Com- munity Innovation Challenge (CIC) grant program. The grants were announced by Secretary of Admin- istration and Finance Glen Shor. The MetroWest Moves initiative encourages residents to engage in healthy eating and active living by supporting healthy dining options in local communities and advocating for community design standards to make streets safer and more accessible. The grant will support the organization's "complete streets" com- munity design guidelines for transportation planning and development, according to a statement from the office of Spilka, D-Ashland. RESTECH ACQUIRING CONN. PLASTICS FIRM Hudson-based ResTech Plastic Molding has an- nounced the acquisition of a Glastonbury, Conn., company. In a statement, ResTech said its purchase of 30-year-old Northeast Mold & Plastics Inc. is due to ResTech's "continuing efforts to promote Ameri- can manufacturing and capability, create desirable EVERyTHING you NEEd To KNoW ABouT metROWest NUMBERS SHOW MARLBOROUGH OFFICE MARKET STRONG t he Marlborough Economic Develop- ment Committee (MEDC) touted figures from two firms specializing in commercial real estate that highlight the city's position as a stronghold for the commercial office market in the Interstate 495 area. According to commercial real estate research firm CoStar Group's final figures for 2013, Marlborough's office vacancy rate fell 12 percent year over year to 22 percent. That put the city ahead of the wider region, where the vacancy rate was 24.5 percent at the end of 2013, accord- ing to commercial real estate firm Colliers International. The downward trend in office vacancy occurred during a year when dozens of new companies entered Marlborough or announced plans to locate there, according to MEDC, which estimated new development will create roughly $2 million in new tax revenue and hundreds of new jobs. s page 6

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