Need to catch up on Southwest Florida business news? No problem. Here are the top stories of the week pulled from our daily newsletter, Gulfshore Business Daily.
Friday, Oct. 26
LIGHTHOUSE OF SWFL WELCOMES CEO
Lighthouse of SWFL has appointed Dotty St. Amand as the agency’s new chief executive officer. Prior to joining Lighthouse of SW Florida, St. Amand was the executive director of Arden Courts Memory Care Community for more than six years and served as the executive director of the Alvin A. Dubin Alzheimer’s Resource Center for 15 years. The mission of the Lighthouse of SWFL is to enable people of all ages living with a visual impairment or blindness to remain independent, active and productive in society. For more information, visit www.lighthouseswfl.org.
Thursday, Oct. 25
Q3 MEDIAN HOME PRICES BELOW PRE-RECESSION PEAK IN SWFL
Median home prices in the third quarter of 2018 were below their pre-recession peak in 47 of 150 metro areas analyzed for median prices, including Naples (20 percent below) and Cape Coral-Fort Myers (16 percent below), according to the Q3 2018 U.S. Home Sales Report from ATTOM Data Solutions. Median home prices nationwide in the third quarter of 2018 were 11 percent above the pre-recession peak of $230,000 in the third quarter of 2005 and 77 percent above the post-recession trough of $145,000 in the first quarter of 2012. The report also shows that U.S. single-family homes and condos sold for a median price of $256,000 in the third quarter, up 1 percent from the previous quarter and up 4.8 percent from a year ago—the slowest pace of annual home price appreciation since Q2 2016. For the full report, click here.
Wednesday, Oct. 24
NEOGENOMICS TO ACQUIRE GENOPTIX
NeoGenomics has agreed to acquire oncology laboratory Genoptix for $125 million in cash plus 1 million shares of NEO common stock. The acquisition is expected to contribute $85 million of revenue and break-even earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in year one, $25 million of cost synergies over time, and 25 percent EBITDA margin by the end of year three, according to a press release. Management hosted a conference call at 8 a.m. on Tuesday to discuss the detail. A replay of the conference call will be available until 8 a.m. on Oct. 30 and can be accessed by dialing (877) 481-4010 (domestic) and (919) 882-2331 (international). The playback conference ID Number is 39604. The web-cast may be accessed at http://www.investorcalendar.com/event/39604. An archive of the webcast will be available until 08 a.m. on Jan. 23, 2019.
Tuesday, Oct. 23
REPORT: FL SHOWS TOP ANNUAL CONSTRUCTION JOB INCREASE
Florida added the most construction jobs during the past year—a 70,700 job or 14.8 percent gain over the last 12 months—out of the 45 states and the District of Columbia that added construction jobs between September 2017 and September 2018, according to a report from the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America). Florida construction employment totaled 550,000 in September, compared with 479,300 the year prior. For the full report, click here.
Monday, Oct. 22
RSW REPORTS RECORD-BREAKING TRAFFIC
During September, 418,256 passengers traveled through Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, an increase of 27.7 percent compared to September 2017. Year-to-date, passenger traffic is up 6.3 percent from the same period last year. Southwest Florida International Airport reported 9,256,500 passengers for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, breaking all records in the 35-year history of the airport. The traffic leader in September was Delta Air Lines with 93,483 passengers traveling to and from Fort Myers. Rounding out the top five airlines were American (72,983), Southwest (66,667), JetBlue (60,934) and United (39,986). Southwest Florida International Airport had 4,043 aircraft operations, a decrease of 4.9 percent compared to September 2017. Page Field saw 7,952 operations, a 45.5 percent increase from September 2017. In addition, slightly more than 2.3 million pounds of air freight moved through Southwest Florida International Airport in September 2018.
In other news…
A Cape Coral social fundraising company aims to assist nonprofits in need. (More here.)
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