Those attending TECO Energy Inc.'s annual shareholders meeting Wednesday won't be feeling quite as cramped as they did last year. Whether they'll be feeling any happier is another question.
For the first time in recent memory, the Tampa utility won't be holding its annual meeting at its downtown corporate headquarters. Instead, TECO shareholders will gather at the more spacious Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore Hotel. At last year's meeting, more than 170 shareholders jammed the main meeting hall at TECO headquarters, forcing the utility to open other meeting rooms to accommodate the overflow.
That meeting was a tense affair, with shareholders criticizing top TECO executives for making huge (and ultimately money-losing) bets on wholesale power, which led to a plunge in the company's stock price and a near-halving of its dividend. With TECO still sailing in treacherous financial waters, shareholders are likely to remain ticked off this time around, especially if there are any unwelcome surprises in the utility's first-quarter financial results that also will be released Wednesday.
One thin silver lining is that TECO's shares have gained ground from their lowly levels last year. The company's stock closed Friday at $13.55, up 27 percent from a year earlier.
Then again, that's still less than half its north-of-$30 peak three years ago.
The annual meeting will begin at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore Hotel, 2225 N Lois Ave. Shareholders must bring proof of TECO stock ownership to attend.
