Briefcase – Sept. 4, 2015

CLOSINGS

Sussex, Wis.-based publishing company Quad Graphics Inc. (NYSE: QUAD) will close its Loveland facility by the end of October, resulting in the loss of 137 jobs locally. Claire Ho, a spokesperson for Quad/Graphics, said there would be no changes for Quad/Graphics’ small office in Boulder, which houses mostly information-technology functions.

CONTRACTS

Loveland-based McWhinney Real Estate Services Inc. and Denver-based Sage Hospitality will own and operate a 13-story, 204-room AC Hotel by Marriott in downtown Portland, Ore., when it is completed late next year. McWhinney and Sage also are teaming with Fort Collins-based Bohemian Cos. to build the Fort Collins Hotel in downtown Fort Collins.

Members of the Boulder Area Realtor Association can access WikiRealty, a web platform based on crowdsourcing that allows real-estate agents to share their knowledge online. The association said it is partnering with Santa Monica, Calif.-based WikiRealty, a mobile and Web platform that promotes the exchange of “hyper-local” real estate news and knowledge between consumers, Realtors, agents, brokers, lawyers, lenders and developers. Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.

Denver-based architectural firms Semple Brown Design and Handprint Architecture were awarded the contract to design Campus Commons, a signature building at the heart of the University of Northern Colorado campus in Greeley. The $73.6 million building, being funded through a combination of state capital funds, bonds supported by a student capital fee and private donor gifts, will be located south of the University Center near 11th Avenue and 22nd Street. Construction is scheduled to begin next summer.

California-based SunEdison Inc. (NYSE: SUNE) hired Broomfield-based Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. to manage construction of the 156-megawatt Comanche Solar project located seven miles southeast of Pueblo. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Public Service Company of Colorado, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy Inc. that services more than 1.4 million customers, will purchase electricity generated by the solar-power plant under a 25-year power purchase agreement with SunEdison.

Fort Collins-based Woodward Inc. (Nasdaq: WWD) struck a deal with Aircelle to supply hardware for the thrust reverser actuation system for the A330neo jetliner being developed by Airbus. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

DEADLINES

Business and commercial property owners in Lafayette have until Oct. 16 to apply for the city’s fourth annual Green Business Recognition Program. They must complete an online application to highlight and celebrate their sustainability activities such as saving energy and water, reducing waste sent to the landfill, biking and utilizing public transportation, and other sustainable business practices. Winners will benefit from positive publicity, improved operational efficiencies and cost savings, and access to expert advising and incentives. An adviser is available to assist each business to identify opportunities, find rebates and contractors and complete the recognition application. Those services are offered at no cost through Boulder County. Businesses can apply at cityoflafayette.com/GreenBusiness or by calling 303-786-7223.

EARNINGS

RGS Energy Inc. (Nasdaq: RGSE) reported a profit of $1.4 million for its second quarter that ended June 30, a big turnaround from a loss of $21.4 million during the same period a year ago. The Louisville-based installer of solar rooftop systems, officially called Real Goods Solar Inc., reported revenue of $14.7 million compared with $19.6 million for the second quarter of 2014. During the quarter, RGS was facing possible delisting by Nasdaq for having a stock price below $1 per share.

PDC Energy Inc. (Nasdaq: PDCE), which bases most of its oil and gas operations in Northern Colorado, posted a net loss for the second quarter that ended June 30 of $46.9 million, or $1.17 per diluted share. That’s compared to a loss of $28.2 million, or 78 cents per share, for the same period a year ago. Revenue, meanwhile, fell from $101.3 million during the period last year to $51 million this year as oil prices continue their slump. Denver-based PDC reported production of 37,001 barrels of oil equivalent per day during the second quarter, up 46 percent from last year and 15 percent from the first quarter of this year.

Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL), one of the major oil and natural gas producers in Northern Colorado, posted a second-straight quarterly loss and noted that it had decreased production in the second quarter from a record first. The Houston-based firm, whose largest onshore drilling operations are in the Denver-Julesburg Basin, saw a net loss of $109 million, or 28 cents per share, for the period ending June 30. That’s after a profit of $192 million, or 53 cents per share, for the same period a year ago. Revenue, for the second quarter in a row, was cut nearly in half versus the year before thanks to an oil price crash that even eased a bit during the second quarter before prices began sliding again over the past month. Sales came in at $730 million, down from nearly $1.4 billion last year despite production increasing over the prior year. Production in the second quarter averaged 299,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up 3 percent versus the previous year. That figure was down, however, from the 318,000 barrels per day produced in the first quarter of this year. The company continued to reduce the costs of production, with total production costs in the second quarter falling to $7.83 per barrel, down 17 percent from a year earlier and down 13 percent from just a quarter earlier.

Boulder-based Array BioPharma Inc. (Nasdaq: ARRY) reported a profit of $9.4 million for its fiscal year that ended June 30, despite a loss of $12.7 million for the final quarter of the fiscal year. The Boulder-based biopharmaceutical company reported revenue of $51.9 million for the fiscal year, compared with revenue of $42.1 million for fiscal 2014. The $9.4 million profit equated to 6 cents per share compared with a loss of $85.3 million, or 7 cents per share reported in fiscal 2014. During the fourth quarter, Array posted revenue of $12.3 million compared with $6 million for the same period a year ago. The $12.7 million quarterly loss compared with a loss of $28.2 million for fourth-quarter 2014. Cost of partnered programs for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 was $7 million, compared with $11.4 million for the same period last year. Array ended the quarter with $185.1 million in cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and accounts receivable.

Boulder-based medical device company Encision Inc. (OTC PK: ECIA) posted a net loss of $213,000, or 2 cents per share, in its first quarter of fiscal year 2016, which ended June 30, versus a loss of $202,000, or 2 cents per share a year ago. Revenue dipped $22,000 from a year ago to $2.45 million. Revenue was up 6 percent from the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2015.

WhiteWave Foods Co. (NYSE: WWAV) closed its $550 million acquisition of Langley, British Columbia-based Vega and has also struck a deal to acquire California-based Wallaby Yogurt Co. Inc. for about $125 million in cash. WhiteWave reported a net profit during the second quarter of $37.4 million, or 21 cents per share, up from $34.4 million, or 19 cents per share, for the same period last year. Revenue leaped 10 percent to $923.6 million.

Boulder-based cannabis-technology startup Surna Inc. (OTCQB: SRNA) cut its second-quarter net loss in half from 2014 to 2015. The company posted a loss of $976,610, or 1 cent per share, for the 90-day period ending June 30 this year. That’s compared with a loss of $2.1 million, or 2 cents per share for the same period a year ago. The improvement was due mainly to the company growing revenue from $346,559 in the period last year to nearly $1.7 million this year.

KUDOS

“Millionaire Marketing on a Shoestring,” a book by Boulder-based author Debra Jason, received an Evvy award in the business category from the Colorado Independent Publishers Association. The awards are named for CIPA Founder Evelyn Kaye. The book is available at Jacque Michelle Gifts in Boulder, Local Editions in Longmont, City Stacks Books and Coffee in LoDo and Bookbar in Denver. Jason will sign books Sept. 12 at Barnes and Noble in Boulder.

Bank of Colorado in Fort Collins was one of two community banks in Colorado that made a national list of the Top 50 Community Bank Leaders in Social Media assembled by the Independent Community Bankers of America.

The Longmont Area Economic Council honored four companies and one individual for their contributions to the community at its 15th annual Community Appreciation Luncheon. Awards were given to Guaranty Bank, Magelab, vAuto and Wiland, and Don Haddad, superintendent of the St. Vrain Valley School District, received the Tom Brock Award.

Louisville again made Money magazine’s list of the top 50 American small cities to live in, coming in at No. 4. Erie made the list at No. 13. Money ranked cities with populations between 10,000 and 50,000 people.

State Rep. Dave Young, D-Greeley, was named a Community Behavioral Health Champion by the Colorado Behavioral Health Council, North Range Behavioral Health, Signal Behavioral Health Network and Colorado Access. He received the award Aug. 14 at North Range Behavioral Health’s intensive-services campus in Greeley.

Myles and Jean Roche, owners of Fish Window Cleaning in Boulder, were recognized for top sales at the company’s annual convention on July 25 in St. Louis. The Roches added more than 500 accounts to their customer base in 2014 and increased their annual production at least $100,000 over the previous year. They also were honored as Navigators for their work with prospective franchisees.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Seagate Technologies plc plans to acquire Longmont-based data-storage firm Dot Hill Systems Corp. in an all-cash deal valued at $645 million. Seagate (Nasdaq: STX), based in Cupertino, Calif., has a campus in Longmont at 389 Disc Drive that employs 1,380 people. Dot Hill’s (Nasdaq: HILL) headquarters is at 1351 S. Sunset St. with approximately 250 employees. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter. Seagate, a provider of data-storage solutions worldwide, said one of its wholly owned indirect subsidiaries will commence a tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of Dot Hill in an all-cash transaction valued at $9.75 per share, or a total of approximately $694 million on a fully-diluted equity-value basis. As Dot Hill has approximately $49 million in cash as of June 30, the transaction reflects a value of approximately $645 million. Dot Hill’s external storage array-based systems and software products will complement and expand Seagate’s storage-systems offerings and be offered as part of Seagate’s Cloud Systems and Electronics Solutions business, according to a joint statement.

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