The St. Joe Company Income Numbers in the Second Quarter of 2013

The St. Joe Company on Wednesday announced its income numbers — and the news is improving for investors in the company that remains the largest landowner in Northwest Florida. Company officials also announced they plan to unveil a new project involving the “active adult” community in the next several months.

Net income for the second quarter of 2013 was reported to be $2.7 million — or $0.03 per share — compared to a far less profitable second quarter of 2012, when net income was reported at $0.2 million, or zero dollars per share. For the six months ending June 30, the company reported a net income of $0.2 million, which amounted to zero dollars per share — but during the same period last year, the company took a net loss of $700,000.

In comparing the second quarter of 2013 to the same period in 2012, the company noted:

• Residential revenue increased $1.2 million, or 28 percent, primarily due to an increase in the number of residential lots sold.
• Resorts, leisure and leasing revenue increased $1.4 million, or 9 percent, due to higher average room rates, a greater number of homes in the company’s vacation rental business and the full-year effect of commercial leases that began during 2012.
• Forestry revenue was flat, reflecting higher prices offset by a decrease in the tons of timber delivered. The volume of timber delivered is lower due to temporary plant shutdowns or slowdowns at some facilities.
• Commercial development revenue decreased by $0.5 million, to $0.1 million for the second quarter, as the company continued to experience a slow and intermittent pace of commercial activity.
• Rural land sale revenue was essentially flat and immaterial, primarily because the company has not pursued rural land sales as a source of revenue in the most recent quarters.
• Operating and corporate expenses declined $1.4 million, primarily due to reductions in pension expense and lower real estate carrying costs.

Park Brady, St. Joe’s chief executive officer, said he is pleased with the second quarter results and expects improvements through the rest of 2013.

“We also continue to evaluate all of our residential, commercial and forestry assets to determine the best path for maximizing the value of those assets,” he added. “In addition, during the past 18 months we have spent considerable time and money exploring the active adult residential market and I am excited to announce that we plan to start the planning and entitlement process for that project in the third quarter of 2013.”