If XL Capital Ltd. suffered among the most terrifying moments of any local employer in 2009, at least its employees can say they locked down the best return of any local company.
As of mid-December, XL Capital stock was trading at more than five times its level at the start of 2009, easily besting any other company with a headquarters or major office in Fairfield County.
“The question of growth would really have more to do with the market than will have to do with us,” said Michael McGavick, CEO of XL, while reviewing the company”™s third-quarter results with investment analysts. “We are very conservative, technically driven underwriter, and as you know the pricing environment has been difficult.”
XL is based in Bermuda, but has more than 400 employees in Stamford. This fall, a former employee was arrested and charged with attacking a manager at the company”™s Seaview House offices in an incident that had SWAT teams descending on the building and conducting a room-by-room search for the assailant.
Despite the recession”™s impact on travel ”“ or because of it ”“ Priceline.com Inc. also had a phenomenal year in the stock market, with its shares tripling over the course of the year to more than $220 in mid-December.
“Retail airline shopping is pervasive on the Internet, and all of the interest in reduced and eliminated booking fees that started two years ago ”¦ has generated a lot of new customers that are coming around and shopping for an airline ticket,” said Jeffrey Boyd, CEO of Norwalk-based Priceline.com, following the third quarter. “That”™s something that we”™re happy to see, in that it”™s our opportunity to try to cross sell them and bring them into the brand.”
Three more locally based companies saw their valuations double: Photronics Inc., Harman Industries International Inc., and Aircastle Ltd. So did a fourth that plans to move its headquarters here: Starwood Hotels & Resorts International Inc.
In full retreat was Patriot National Bancorp Inc., which suffered a 75 percent drop in its shares as its loan portfolio piled up significant losses during the year. In December, the beleaguered company struck a deal to sell a majority stake to an investment syndicate led by Michael Carrazza.
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While XL and Priceline.com had banner years, the story of the year was the devilish ride General Electric Co. took its shareholders on, with significant ramifications for the company”™s 5,000 local employees and countless retirees and general investors.
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Beginning the year at more than $15, GE shares plunged to $6.66 by early March before recovering their value on Sept. 16, ironically almost a year to the day after the Lehman Bros.”™ bankruptcy crisis pushed the recession into the depths.
“The environment has definitely improved in the third quarter,” said Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE, after the third quarter. “The credit markets are improving. Pricing on new lending is attractive. Losses still remain high. We expected a difficult recession. I think that”™s really bottomed. We see signs of life.”
Also notable was the performance of Hartford-based United Technologies Corp., the largest corporate employer both in Connecticut and Fairfield County, in the latter case via its Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. subsidiary in Stratford which has excelled throughout the recession.
UTC recently struck deals to acquire GE Security and to enter the wind turbine business dominated by GE and a few other companies. While UTC shares were up 35 percent this year, the company”™s chief financial officer cautioned things are still very much up in the air at year end.
“We’re not anticipating, quite frankly, any recovery here in the fourth quarter,” said Greg Hayes, chief financial officer of UTC, following the third quarter. “There”™s still some uncertainties out there. We feel confident we”™re going to grow earnings next year. I think the question really is what’s going to happen with revenues.”
