The St. Joe Company Provides Guidance for 2005
biz.yahoo.com
Monday January 10, 6:54 am ET
Earnings Growth Expected to Continue in 2005
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 10, 2005--The St. Joe Company (NYSE:JOE) today announced that the company expects to have another strong year in 2005 with earnings per share, excluding gains from conservation land sales, to be in the range of $1.35 to $1.50 per share.
"We have finished 2004 with strong momentum," said Peter S. Rummell, chairman and CEO of JOE. "We are well positioned in Florida, a state with one of the nation's strongest economies, where we have significant demographic and geographic advantages. We believe 2005 will be another very good year for JOE."
"We expect good earnings from all major segments of the company as we bring a broad array of real estate products to market," said Kevin M. Twomey, JOE's president.
Towns & Resorts
"We expect JOE's Towns & Resorts segment to drive the increase in earnings for the year 2005," said Twomey. "WaterColor and WaterSound Beach combined are expected to deliver fewer units than in 2004 but produce nearly as much earnings. Several existing projects, notably Artisan Park, Victoria Park, Palmetto Trace, Rivercrest and Paseos, should see earnings increases. Three new projects, WindMark Beach Phase II, SummerCamp and WaterSound West Beach, are expected to generate significant new income."
"Notably, our expectations for 2005 do not include sales for three major entitled projects we expect to bring to market in 2006: WaterSound, RiverTown and Perico Island," said Twomey.
Commercial Real Estate
"During 2005, our commercial real estate segment is expected to continue adding value through development and land sales in Northwest Florida and from rental income from our Investment Property Portfolio," said Twomey. "Results from this segment are expected to be similar to 2004's level, despite the fact that we do not expect to replicate the gains from buildings sales in 2005."
St. Joe Land Company
"We expect St. Joe Land Company to deliver modestly higher income in 2005, with a substantially different mix of earnings sources," said Twomey. "We have decided not to sell two large tracts of land, which we had initially planned to sell in 2005 and 2006, because we see significantly greater profit opportunity from this land through future development. At the same time, we expect our RiverCamps products to deliver more sales with increased unit pricing." |
