Daily Record Financial News &
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Vol. 102, No. 109 • One Section
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Slower growth for CSX rest of 2015 Low natural gas prices, coal demand key factors reach its target of double-digit growth for all of 2015. It will more likely grow by a mid to high single-digit percentage. “For the first quarter, we did well,” Chairman and CEO Michael Ward said in an interview Wednesday. “Our expectation was that we would do that for the entire year,” he said. However, two factors affected the company’s forecast, he said. One is low natural gas prices,
By Mark Basch Contributing Writer CSX’s first-quarter earnings per share rose by 13 percent to 45 cents, its third straight quarter of double-digit earnings growth. But the Jacksonville-based railroad company doesn’t expect to keep up that growth rate. After announcing its first-quarter earnings late on Tuesday, CSX on Wednesday warned investors that the company will likely not
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which is continuing to reduce domestic demand for coal. Coal volumes have been falling in recent years for CSX and other railroads but coal shipments remain CSX’s biggest business, accounting for $638 million of its total first-quarter revenue of $3.03 billion. Ward said the company is revising its original forecast of flat coal volumes this year. “At this point we’re predicting it will be down at least 5 percent,”
he said. The other factor affecting CSX’s business is the strong U.S. dollar, which is reducing the value of metals shipped from overseas markets for transport on CSX’s rails. Also, the strong dollar is reducing the value of export coal shipments. Ward also said lower fuel prices will reduce the amount of fuel surcharge recovery revenue recorded by CSX. While that will lower revenue, CSX... Continued on Page A-4
Local man adds proposal for temple and Noah’s Ark By David Chapman Staff Writer The 30-day net the Downtown Investment Authority cast to bring in proposals for redeveloping the Shipyards site brought in three possibilities. Three very different possibilities. Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan’s interest in the riverfront property led to the DIA issuing the proposal. No surprise, his Iguana Investment Florida LLC is among the three. Khan in February unveiled his vision, a mixed-use site that could incorporate more than 650 residential units, some commercial space, an upscale hotel, multilevel practice facilities, marine and parks. Khan submitted a term sheet soon after, leading to the DIA meeting March 6 to talk about the next steps for selecting a developer and issuing a request for proposals. During that meeting, Patrick Mullen, CEO of Shitaki Enterprises, told the board of his idea to invest $1.4 billion over five years to develop a boatyard and marina for mega yachts, along with a festival marketplace. He, too, is one of the three who responded by Wednesday. His pitch, though, remains relatively unchanged from a PowerPoint his company submitted to DIA CEO Aundra Wallace about the same time. Four pages of background on luxury yachts replicated information on a Wikipedia page about the topic. Eric Smith, an attorney representing Mullen and Shitaki, submitted a letter to Wallace saying the original submission stands. The letter went on the say the city failed to properly provide necessary information on environmental remediation for the site, making it “impossible for my client to submit a detailed proposal.” Shipyards... Continued
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‘This is a golf fan’s nirvana’
Photo courtesy of The Players Championship
3 groups, 3 visions for the Shipyards
Jaxson de Ville won the 17th-hole challenge during Media Day at The Players Championship. He beat a series of celebrities, including some professional golfers, when his best drive was 4 feet, 9 inches from the pin. See story about changes for fans at the upcoming tournament on Page A-3.
City, JEA, GE partner for street lights By David Chapman Staff Writer The future will be brighter for at least one Jacksonville neighborhood this summer. The city and JEA today announced a partnership with GE for an advanced LED street light technology system. The result of the pilot program is expected to be energy savings and better asset management of the lights. That’s done by accessing real-time data by connecting to the “Industrial Internet” that integrates machinery with software. The city and JEA are expected to begin the program this summer in yet-to-bedetermined locations. Downtown and its surrounding neighborhoods are being reviewed to best utilize
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the technology. Jacksonville will be the first East Coast city for the program. San Diego was the first city to partner with GE this year. Lighting software Predix, GE’s software platform that connects machines, data and people to improvement performance, and the company’s LightGrid system will be part of the initiative. LightGrid reports energy usage and other data points of each streetlight through wireless communication and can be controlled remotely. According to a story on GE’s website, the LED lights installed in San Diego’s Downtown District are 40 percent to 60 percent more efficient than high-intensity discharge lamps. They also have a lifespan of more than 11 years based on 12 hours of use per day.
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In addition, the story talks about how such technology can lower continuous costs for cities by allowing for preventive maintenance. A January news release about the San Diego project said annual energy savings were estimated at $254,000 for the implementation of replacing 3,000 city lamps. The Jacksonville pilot program is expected to start with about 50 lights. “This technology has the potential to transform how our city solves problems by allowing us to use the power of data to drive outcomes that give us flexibility, efficiency and new, creative actions to enhance life in our city,” said Mayor Alvin Brown. dchapman@jaxdailyrecord.com @writerchapman (904) 356-2466
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