Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • July 27, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com TOP STORY UTC sells Sikorsky, announces cost-cutting as profits disappoint investors It was a busy week for United Technologies Corp. First the Hartford con- glomerate announced the $9 billion sale of its Sikorsky helicopter division to Lockheed Martin. Then the company said it will implement aggressive cost reductions after its second-quarter profits fell 8 percent, raising the possibility of job cuts. UTC also lowered its 2015 profit outlook for the second time since Janu- ary, citing the effects of a strong U.S. dollar, among other factors. Net income for the second quarter totaled $1.54 billion, or $1.73 per di- luted share, down from $1.68 billion, or $1.84, a year earlier. Net sales of $16.33 billion were down from $17.19 billion a year prior. Most of the decrease was due to adverse foreign currency exchange, UTC said. The company lowered its 2015 earnings outlook to a range of $6.45 to $6.60 per share, down from a prior range issued in January of $6.85 to $7.05. UTC also cited softness in its Otis elevator subsidiary's business in Europe and UTC Aerospace's commercial-aftermarket business, as well as a slowing in China. In a statement, CEO Gregory Hayes called the revised forecast disappoint- ing, but said he remains confident in UTC's long-term outlook. "We will accelerate aggressive cost reduction across the businesses and look for additional structural cost actions that can drive earnings growth well into the future," Hayes said. "We will also look to deploy additional capital to share repurchase and M&A." ECONOMY & LABOR CT unemployment fell to 5.7% in June The state's unemployment rate fell again in June, as it added 600 seasonally adjusted jobs, the state Department of Labor said last week. The state's preliminary estimate of the jobless rate in June was 5.7 percent, down from 6 percent in May and 6.5 percent a year ago. The private sector added 2,600 jobs during the month, while government shed 2,000 jobs, led by the local government sector. The DOL also revised its May job-creation estimate downward, from 6,400 to 5,900. Connecticut has added 27,000 jobs over the past 12 months, reaching total employment of 1.69 million. Since the 2008-2010 recession, which eliminated 119,000 jobs in the state, Connecticut has recovered 97,900 positions, DOL said. SPORTS Report: Hartford deserves a pro franchise A consumer financial technology company used a bit of math to determine that the Hartford metro area deserves a professional sports team. SmartAsset's conclusion, reached using a model based on household income and population, is the following: Bring the Whalers hockey franchise back to Hartford by taking away Tampa Bay's Lightning franchise. SmartAsset's calculations, which did not factor in proximity to other sports markets or other potential team-owner considerations, determined which metro areas had too many teams and which had too few. Based on income and population, Fairfield County deserves a team more than Hartford, it said, though it did not recommend that it get one. It also said that Providence, Rhode Island deserves a team slightly more than Hartford. The biggest surplus of teams was found in Denver, Colo., which has four but deserves 1.6 teams, SmartAsset said. The largest deficit was in San Bernadino, Calif., which it said deserves 2.3 teams but has none. BANKING & FINANCE United Bank's 2Q net turns black Glastonbury lender United Financial Bancorp Inc. restored its second-quarter net to black amid skyrocketing demand for its home and business loans. For three months ended June 30, the parent of United Bank — formerly Rockville Bank — said it netted $13.3 million, or 27 cents a share. That compares to a net loss of $5.6 million, or 13 cents a share, sustained in the second quarter of 2014, reflecting the costs of former Rockville Financial's merger with former United Financial of West Springfield, Mass. The bank said both the earnings and revenue were a quarterly record. ENERGY & UTILITIES Wallingford energy management firm acquired Horizon Bradco of Schenectady, N.Y. has acquired Wallingford refrigeration and HVAC installer and repairer Allied Mechanical Services as well as its energy management sister company New England Controls. The move, which aims to grow Horizon's presence in southern New England, adds 35 licensed refrigeration mechanics to Horizon's team of 70 food equip- ment technicians. Horizon has been expanding over the last 18 months, acquiring Burke Food Equipment of South Carolina and Massachusetts food equipment provider Foley & Wallace in January 2014. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Both Allied and New England Controls will keep all their employees, retain their Wallingford location, and operate under their existing brand names. GOVERNMENT, POLITICS & LAW CT budget benefits from $69M in unclaimed property The amount of unclaimed property deposited into the state's general fund more than tripled in the recently concluded fiscal year, Treasurer Denise L. Nappier announced. Nappier said her office deposited $69 million in unclaimed property into the general fund for the year ended June 30, up from $22.9 million in fiscal year 2014. The deposit helped reduce the state's deficit for the year, which as of late June stood at nearly $116 million, according to the Office of Policy Management. Unclaimed property includes abandoned securities, uncashed checks, wage refunds, valuables and other assets for which businesses or government can't locate an owner. Under the state's escheat law, it can take possession of the property after a certain period of time — typically three years. Nappier said her office has stepped up its efforts to locate unclaimed prop- erty held by businesses, through audits and other methods, which yielded $27 million in collections, up from $12 million a year prior. The state treasurer also sold $42 million worth of unclaimed securities, which was $22 million higher than expected. The state returned $61 million in unclaimed property to nearly 18,000 people during the recent year. It is still holding $710 million in unclaimed assets. TECHNOLOGY Meriden company aims to protect pilots from laser pointers A Meriden company said it will start production this summer on special glasses that protect airplane pilots from being distracted or temporarily blinded by laser pointers. PerriQuest Defense Research Enterprises aims to guard against the poten- tially dangerous nuisance of people shining lasers at planes, a practice that has grown 10-fold since 2006, according to the Washington Post. Earlier this month, pilots on 34 commercial flights in New Jersey reported laser incidents to the Federal Aviation Administration, CNN said. "Tracking down, arresting and prosecuting the perpetrators of these attacks is a herculean task," Nicholas Perricone, the company's founder, said in a state- ment. "While enforcement is important, mitigation technology is really going to put an end to this behavior." PerriQuest said its glasses protect against green, red and blue laser light and do not compromise the user's ability to perceive or distinguish color. BY THE NUMBERS $9 billion The price aerospace giant Lockheed Martin has agreed to pay for United Technologies subsidiary Sikorsky. $19.61 The per-megawatt hour price of New England electricity last month— the lowest June price in at least 12 years, according to ISO New England. 50% The percentage of Access Health CT insurance customers who didn't have coverage prior to signing up during the recent enrollment period, according to the exchange. $100 Starting in October, the increased fine for advertising food at a farmers market as Connecticut Grown without also disclosing the name and address of the farm. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ UTC profits down, outlook lower ■ N. England power prices hit historic low in June ■ SmartAsset: Hartford deserves a pro franchise ■ Black Hawk chopper maker Sikorsky sold for $9 billion ■ Quinnipiac sues Hamden over zoning decision STAY CONNECTED For breaking and daily Greater Hartford business news go to www.HartfordBusiness.com. 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