Category Archives: Liberty

The head of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group yesterday fended off criticism of his multimillion-dollar pay package, claiming earlier reports had overestimated his actual annual salary and reminding policyholders they have benefited with him in the success of the company.

It wouldnt have happened if the company hadnt done well, and Im not going to apologize for the company doing well, Liberty Mutual Chairman Ted Kelly told the Herald after addressing about 70 students and faculty members at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned a doctorate in math.

Kelly said Liberty Mutual had more outstanding liabilities than value 20 years ago when he joined the company as president and chief operating officer, before the Boston business went from near-bankruptcy to becoming an international giant and many of its competitors disappeared.

Theyre all gone, and weve been hiring Massachusetts employees, lots of them, Kelly said.

Reports filed with state regulators indicated Kelly had earned as much as $50 million in each of the past four years, according to published reports. But the Liberty Mutual chief said his actual annual salary was closer to $7 million last year and about $15 million annually over the previous three years. He said he earned $1 million to $2 million in his early years with the mutually owned company.

Kelly attributed the higher figures in the past few years to cashing out long-held investment holdings he had earned and that increased in value during the course of his Liberty Mutual career. He said Liberty Mutual has seen its value rise from about $2 billion with nearly that much in liabilities when he joined the company in 1992 to $16 billion to $17 billion today.

During his speech at MIT, Kelly said he was headed for an academic life in mathematics when he put his background to actuarial use and then moved into management.

Extolling the benefits of ethics in the workplace, Kelly said the stability of any company should be credited to the dedication of its frontline workers.

The best thing that ever happened to me was bad luck because its how we manage bad luck and the 90-degree turns that it creates that gets us where we are, he said.

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Liberty chief fights back

Five Liberty ships, the workhorse Ugly Ducklings of Americas World War II fleet, were sunk in the Mississippi Sound.

War wasnt to blame.

The ships, at least what is left of them after nearly 40 years on the sea bottom, are haven to snapper, grouper, sheephead and other sport fish. The vessels were stripped and deliberately scuttled in the mid-1970s to create fishing reefs, and that initial success led to an inshore and offshore artificial reef program that continues today.

During the war, more than 2,750 Liberty ships were built in this nation to help crush the Japanese and German war machines by delivering cargo, troops, even bombs. These ships that used time and cost-cutting measures lived up to their Liberty name but when President Franklin D. Roosevelt called them a dreadful looking object, the Ugly Ducking nickname stuck. Another nickname, Kaisers Creeping Coffins, arose from their slowness, at 10 knots, and Henry J. Kaiser, whose ship-building empire constructed most of them.

After the war, the Liberties became the mainstay of the worldwide tramp steamer fleet, but some, or parts of them were converted for other uses. Today, only two are thought to still see action at sea.

As they weathered, Liberties in the National Defense Reserve Fleet were offered to coastal states as artificial reefs, and the Mississippi Gulf Fishing Banks Inc., stepped into action. With the help of state agencies, continuing today through the Department of Marine Resources, MGFB organizers and those who continue the reef efforts have helped plant hundreds of reefs near shore, in the Mississippi Sound and south of the barrier islands.

But even before the mid-1970s and the five Liberty sinkings, this region benefited from artificial reefs when old tires and even older cars were used for two reefs in the late 1960s. That was the root of the Fishing Banks.

Those involved with MGFB today credit four men with leading the way for what are called The Liberty Reefs: businessman Roland Agregaard, supper club owner Gus Stevens, Coast leader Yankie Barhanovich and charter boat captain J.P. Trochesset. Two have sons now working in the charter fishing industry, captains Jay Trochesset of the Silver Dollar III and Kenny Barhanovich of the Miss Hospitality.

The road to the reefs was sometimes rough because commercial fishermen worried that objects in the artificial reefs would snag their nets -- they did and they still occasionally do. The reefs are marked on up-to-date nautical charts. and the planning behind their locations considers water depths and locations. Some very low-profile reefs, in fact, have been planted off popular fishing piers.

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Liberty ships launch era of Coast artificial reefs

The Liberty City Council unanimously voted at its April 24 special meeting to unravel the requests for proposals and to re-bid the construction of two 10-unit hangars at Liberty Municipal Airport, a project that comports with broader plans to expand the local economy by attracting new business and creating jobs.

The council April 10 ratified the Liberty Community Development Corporations acceptance of the proposal that Beaumont-based Bruces General Construction Inc. submitted, which included storage walls and insulation as well as walls that would handle a 150 mph wind load.

The city accepted proposals rather than sealed bids because the former would allow the city to negotiate with prospective contractors, which was precisely what happened in this situation.

The Liberty firm was the low bidder until the citys staff changed the wind load from 130 mph to 150 mph and added storage walls and insulation to the the request. The change in the citys request flipped the ranking of the bidders, and the Beaumont company came in lower than the Liberty company.

Bruces $610,000 proposal came in under the $655,832 proposal that Liberty-based Pelco Construction submitted for the same type of structure; nevertheless Pelco President Matt Harris told the council that the difference was attributable to his firms submission of an engineered, stamped foundation that would withstand 150 mph, as the building would; the foundation needs to match the buildings windload.

The council unanimously voted to request new proposals, in the process providing detailed engineered plans instead of two-page generalized requests that gave the bidders the latitude to come in with their own proposals on how to best construct the hangars.

The councils rationale was that if engineered plans were submitted, which would include a certified foundation, then the proposals would compare apples to apples, a term council used on several points in the deliberations.

Harris spoke about the importance of hiring a city-based firm that would employ more city residents and pay taxes to the City of Liberty, Liberty County and the Liberty Independent School District.

He had two other key grievances. First, Bruces had the flexibility to lower its price, consistent with the sealed proposal process. Second, when the citys staff requested the submission of new estimates based on additional wind load capacities, insulation and storage, that information was requested verbally rather than in an engineered drawing that would have pinned down each competitor to a precise price for a precise product.

They adjusted their base bid, where it was lower than ours. ... I dont feel like its ethical to allow contractors to change the bid after the public opening, Harris said.

Continued here:
Liberty Council reboots airport hangar construction bidding

Brown plans to publicly release six years worth of returns later this week, his campaign said in a letter to Warren this morning that put pressure on the leading Democratic challenger to do the same. In that letter, Browns campaign manager, Jim Barnett, said the senator will make his returns available for inspection on Friday.

By early afternoon, Warren announced that she would release four years worth of returns, drawing criticism from Barnett who attacked Warrens refusal to release all six years, questioning whether she has something to hide.

It doesnt take a Harvard Law degree to see through Elizabeth Warrens game of cat and mouse and know she has something to hide, Barnett wrote in an email. Whether she is concealing other big corporate clients like Travelers Insurance, which paid her enormous sums to fight against victims of asbestos poisoning, covering up sketchy financial transactions, or simply masking that she may take advantage of tax breaks she criticizes others for, Warrens nuanced refusal to disclose the tax years 2006 and 2007 exposes her hypocrisy when it comes to transparency in government.

Warrens campaign challenged Brown to make his returns available Wednesday, saying a Friday release amounts to a typical Washington game of releasing bad news when there is traditionally little news coverage.

Elizabeth thinks we should be more straightforward and make both returns available tomorrow, her campaign said.

Barnett said the campaign chose Friday because Brown would be in Washington until late Thursday. He said the date could be moved to Monday if Warren prefers.

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Liberty Mutual says profits up 26 percent for first quarter of 2012

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Liberty Mutual Holding Company Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively LMHC or the Company) today reported net income attributable to LMHC of $459 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, an increase of $95 million over the same period in 2011.

Our first quarter results highlight the progress we have made in terms of core profitability and continued growth, said David H. Long, President and CEO of Liberty Mutual Insurance. Our net income of $459 million was up 26% in the quarter reflecting an accelerating commercial lines price trend, excellent non-catastrophe personal lines results, and fewer international catastrophes. Our growth was strong where we targeted, with increases of 12% internationally and 9% in domestic personal lines, while U.S. commercial lines contracted an acceptable 1%. These results, plus our acquisition of KIT Finance Insurance in Russia, have provided an encouraging start to the year.

First Quarter Highlights

Financial Condition as of March 31, 2012

Consolidated Results of Operations for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2012 and 2011:

March 31,

Pre-tax operating income (PTOI) before catastrophes, net incurred losses attributable to prior years and LP and LLC income

Less: Net (loss) income attributable to non-controlling interest

1 Catastrophes include all current and prior accident year catastrophe losses incurred excluding losses related to the Companys external reinsurance assumed lines (assumed voluntary reinsurance and reinsurance assumed through Lloyds Syndicate 4472) except for the 2011 Australia floods, Cyclone Yasi, Japan earthquake and tsunami, New Zealand earthquakes, Hurricane Irene, Thailand floods and the tornadoes and other severe storms in the U.S. Catastrophe losses, where applicable, include the impact of accelerated earned catastrophe premiums and earned reinstatement premiums.

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Liberty Mutual Insurance Reports First Quarter 2012 Results

HOUSTON, April 24, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Liberty Energy Corp. (LBYE.OB - News) ("Liberty" or "the Company") announces the appointment of Mr. Pete Gawith to the Company's newly created Advisory Board.

Mr. Gawith has worked as a financial analyst and auditor for over 7 years. During this time he has held positions at Barclays Capital (BARC-30B Market Cap) working as an financial analyst within the equity derivatives and fixed Income finance teams and at KPMG. At KMPG he worked as an Assistant Manager where he was given the responsibility of 'in-charging' the audit of HBOS (HBoS) (LLOY-24B Market Cap) Retail during the Lloyds Banking Group takeover and performing the fair value work surrounding the takeover.

His responsibilities have included calculating, analyzing and reporting P&L across a wide range of financial instruments, including management information and account preparation in addition to drafting commentary build outs, P&L platform integration and liaising with sales and traders over trade bookings and cash-flow generation balance sheet and competitor analysis commentary for strategic planning & financial compliance reports.

Mr. Gawith is a qualified accountant and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales. His significant exposure to senior management, financial models, valuations and development of technical knowledge coupled with strong mathematics will no doubt prove to be an invaluable resource to the Company.

The Company is currently reviewing additional candidates for positions on the Advisory Board.

"Mr. Gawith's experience in the financial services industry and transaction advisory sector will no doubt prove to be an invaluable resource to the company as we evaluate and develop our current assets whilst appraise potential new oil and gas projects," commented Ian Spowart, CEO of Liberty Energy Corp.

ABOUT LIBERTY: Liberty Energy Corp (LBYE.OB - News) is an Independent Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Company dedicated to the sourcing and production of fuel supplies in the United States and Europe. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company has leases and royalties in both Texas and Bulgaria, covering several wells with extensive potential for future development. In Texas, Liberty owns twelve leases based around numerous geological pay zones. In North-West Bulgaria, Liberty has royalty rights to a 1,000,000+ acre natural gas property (the A-Lovech exploration block), an area of high quality, low-sulphur natural gas condensate. Through this combined international reach and domestic focus, Liberty Energy is committed to the development of US fuel reserves while seeking out further opportunities for the global energy markets.

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Liberty Energy Corp. bases these forward-looking statements on current expectations and projections about future events, based on information currently available. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release may also include statements relating to Liberty Energy Corp.'s anticipated financial performance, business prospects, new developments, strategies and similar matters. Liberty Energy Corp. disclaims any obligation to update any of its forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS,

Liberty Energy Corp

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Liberty Energy Announces Creation of Advisory Board and Appointment of Its First Member

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) -- A company that proposed building a liquefied natural gas terminal off the central New Jersey coast has withdrawn its application, saying it will start over on a new plan in the future.

Liberty Natural Gas LLC had applied to the federal Maritime Administration and the Coast Guard to build a facility 16 miles off Asbury Park.

But Gov. Chris Christie vetoed the plan in February 2011, saying it was too risky to the state's crucial tourism and fishing industries.

The company kept pressing forward with the plan. But in an April 10 letter to regulators, it noted it had made so many changes to the proposal that a new application would be needed.

"This is a victory for the ocean and for the thousands of citizens and scores of organizations that fought for five years against this wrongful proposal," said Cindy Zipf, executive director of the Clean Ocean Action environmental group. "With Governor Christie's firm opposition, this project was dead in the water. It is about time they faced reality and withdrew (or) terminated the project. It's over for now, but they are lurking and may be back."

Indeed, the company made clear it still plans to move forward with a new version of the proposal at some point.

"Liberty completely redesigned its project, including by scaling down its size from four buoys to two, eliminating the onshore pipeline, changing the project location and configuration to site the project exclusively offshore, and redesigning its construction and techniques to substantially reduce seabed impacts," the company wrote in its letter to regulators.

Because it had made so many changes to its initial application, Liberty withdrew it and intends to submit a new one once surveys and plans are completed.

Liberty's plan was the last of three proposed offshore gas projects in New Jersey waters to remain under consideration. ExxonMobil had proposed a floating gas terminal called BlueOcean Energy about 20 miles off the coast of Manasquan, and The Atlantic Sea Island Group wanted to build a 63-acre artificial island nearly 20 miles off Sandy Hook for a liquefied natural gas port called "Safe Harbor Energy."

Liberty said its facility would rest on the ocean floor when it's not being used, and would be far enough offshore so that it would not be visible to beachgoers, even when it was being utilized. It had hoped to have the project up and running by 2014.

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Liberty scraps offshore liquid gas terminal plan

Referenced Stocks: DRE, LRY

Liberty Property Trust ( LRY ), a real estate investment trust (REIT), reported first quarter 2012 FFO (fund from operations) of 68 cents per share compared with 65 cents in the year-earlier quarter. Reported FFO beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5 cents. Fund from operations, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, is obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income.

Total revenue for first quarter 2012 stood at $169.9 million compared with $166.1 million in the year-ago quarter. Total revenue in the reported quarter fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $173 million.

At the end of the reported quarter, the in-service portfolio of Liberty Property, spanning 79.3 million square feet, had occupancy of 90.5% compared with 91.3% in the previous quarter. During the reported quarter, Liberty Property witnessed strong leasing activities with about 4.3 million square feet of leased space. Operating income from same-store properties inched up 0.5% on a cash basis but slipped 0.4% on a straight line basis year over year.

The company continues to reposition its portfolio by sellingsuburban office and high-finish flex properties. During the reported quarter, Liberty Property sold 2 properties (76.6% leased) spanning 105,000 square feet for $6.5 million. There were no acquisitions during the first quarter 2012.

Also during first quarter 2012, Liberty Property began development of a distribution building in Suffolk, Virginia spanning 126,000 square feet for an estimated investment of $7.8 million.

Subsequent to the quarter-end, Liberty Property completed the sale of 49 properties spanning 2.5 million square feet of leasable space in Wisconsin, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and New Jersey for approximately $195 million. At the time of sale, the properties were 83% leased.

During the reported quarter, Liberty property redeemed $32.5 million of its outstanding 6.65% Series F Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Units for $26.0 million and redeemed the entire $95.0 million of 7.45% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Units at par. At the end of first quarter 2012, the company had $27.6 million in cash and cash equivalents.

For fiscal 2012, Liberty Property revised its FFO guidance from the earlier range of $2.45 - $2.60 per share to $2.50 -$2.65 per share.

We currently have a 'Neutral' recommendation on Liberty Property, which presently has a Zacks #3 Rank that translates into a short-term Hold rating. One of its competitors, Duke Realty Corp. ( DRE ) currently retains a Zacks #3 Rank

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Liberty Property Beats Estimates - Analyst Blog

MALVERN, Pa., April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Liberty Property Trust (NYSE: LRY - News) reported that funds from operations available to common shareholders (diluted) ("FFO") for the first quarter of 2012 was $0.68 per share, compared to $0.65 per share for the first quarter of 2011. Funds from operations for the first quarter of 2012 include termination fees of $2.2 million, a $3.7 million net discount realized on the redemption of certain preferred units, and $3.2 million of additional compensation expense due to the accelerated vesting of long-term incentive compensation due to the years of service and ages of certain employees.

Net income per common share (diluted) was $0.32 per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, compared to $0.25 per share (diluted) for the quarter ended March 31, 2011.

"Liberty has done very well so far in 2012," commented Bill Hankowsky, chief executive officer. "We had strong first quarter, leasing 4.3 million square feet and redeeming high-dividend preferred securities, and we have subsequently advanced our repositioning strategy with the execution of a significant sale of suburban office and high-finish flex properties. All of this was accomplished in an environment of slow recovery in the real estate markets."

Portfolio Performance

Leasing: At March 31, 2012, Liberty's in-service portfolio of 79.3 million square feet was 90.5% occupied, compared to 91.3% at the end of the fourth quarter, an anticipated decrease. During the quarter, Liberty completed lease transactions totaling 4.3 million square feet of space.

Same Store Performance: Property level operating income for same store properties increased by 0.5% on a cash basis and decreased by 0.4% on a straight line basis for the first quarter of 2012 compared to the same quarter in 2011.

Capital Activities and Balance Sheet Management

Preferred Unit Redemptions: During the first quarter, Liberty redeemed $32.5 million of its outstanding 6.65% Series F Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Units for $26.0 million, and redeemed the entire $95.0 million of 7.45% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Units at par. The $6.5 million discount net of the write off of $2.8 million of origination costs is included in FFO.

Property Sales: During the first quarter, Liberty sold two operating properties, which contained 105,000 square feet of leasable space for $6.5 million. The properties were 76.6% leased at the time of the sale.

Real Estate Investments

Originally posted here:
Liberty Property Trust Announces First Quarter 2012 Results

By Steven Church and David Voreacos - Thu Apr 19 20:37:54 GMT 2012

Liberty Harbor North Inc., a developer of waterfront property opposite Manhattan in Jersey City, New Jersey, filed for bankruptcy to resolve a $21 million court judgment related to the urban-renewal project.

Company President Peter Mocco, a former mayor of neighboring North Bergen, put three companies affiliated with the Liberty Harbor community into bankruptcy to settle a legal dispute with a former landowner.

We need the quick definitive action of the bankruptcy court to permit me to enter into a settlement, Mocco said today in an interview.

Liberty Harbor North controls land worth $350 million, the company said in court papers filed April 17 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark. The project itself is not in bankruptcy and has adequate cash flow, Mocco said.

The development is an example of new urbanism, which relies less on cars and more on public transportation in creating a sense of community, Bob Antonicello, executive director of the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency, said in a telephone interview.

It is monitored by more than 500 security cameras, served by two light-rail stations, and sits within walking distance of PATH trains run by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, Mocco said.

People have really looked at this and said this could be a striking example of how to redevelop cities, Antonicello said.

The bankruptcy filing is very disappointing, he said.

When the developer files a bankruptcy and thinks it wont impact the future development, thats ludicrous, he said. At the end of the day, bankruptcies have a stigma. This will be a stigma on what has the potential for being a jewel on the Hudson. This cold, calculating business move could have a very damaging effect on the city.

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Jersey City Developer Liberty Harbor North Files for Bankruptcy