TUE AM News: MMAC survey finds low expectations for Q2 activity; WEC Energy Group spending $459M to acquire most of Texas solar project

April 30, 2024

— The MMAC’s latest business outlook survey found relatively low expectations for growth in the second quarter.

Bret Mayborne, economic research director for the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, notes respondents expressed concern about continuing economic growth in the coming months.

“That concern was reflected with less than half of those surveyed seeing [second quarter] growth among the three major metrics – sales, profits and employment,” he said in a statement.

MMAC found 44% of respondents expect to see year-over-year sales increases in the second quarter of this year, while 29% expect sales declines and 27% expect to see no change. Report authors note the percentage predicting second-quarter growth is below the 49% who predicted sales growth in the first quarter.

It’s also the third quarter in a row where fewer than half of respondents were optimistic about sales in the coming months, the release shows.

Still, manufacturing was a bright spot for the region as 57% of manufacturers expect second quarter sales growth compared to 38% for non-manufacturers.

“On the positive side, manufacturers expressed a higher level of optimism on average, particularly on jobs, giving hope [that] manufacturing numbers may be turning the corner from weak first-quarter results,” Mayborne said.

The percentage of manufacturers predicting job gains in the second quarter was 57%, compared to 42% for all other businesses.

Across all industries, 48% expect job gains over the year, the survey found. That’s a sizable improvement from the first-quarter survey, when 35% of respondents expected to add jobs.

In line with the trend for sales, 43% of respondents predict higher profits in the second quarter — down from the 52% who forecasted higher profits in the first quarter. And 30% don’t expect profits to change in the second quarter, while 27% expect profits to slide.

Meanwhile, 46% of respondents predict real sales gains for 2024 overall, while 25% expect sales to fall and 29% predict no change.

“Three months into the new year, the percentage predicting an annual sales increase marks a notable downgrade from first-quarter expectations when 61% of those surveyed predicted a 2024 sales gain,” report authors wrote.

The online survey conducted by MMAC tapped 63 Milwaukee-area businesses that collectively employ more than 13,300 people.

See the release.

— WEC Energy Group has announced plans to acquire 90% ownership of a large solar project in Texas, which is scheduled to begin operation in June.

The Milwaukee-based utility company yesterday said its investment in the Delilah I Solar Energy Center is expected to total $459 million.

The Delilah 1 project is part of a five-phase Samson & Delilah solar portfolio, which WEC Energy Group says is one of the largest solar facilities under construction in the country. The company also has a majority interest in Samson 1, another part of this project.

“The Delilah Solar project is an exciting addition to our Infrastructure business and highlights our continued investment in affordable, reliable and clean energy,” Executive Chairman Gale Klappa said in a statement.

See more in the release.

— The director of Potawatomi Hotel & Casino’s new sportsbook says he’d back legalizing sports betting statewide just as the tribe’s new sports betting facility opens.

“I would hope so, and we would hope so, but at the end of the day, that’s up to the state, but we’re obviously supportive of that,” Sean Cullen, the director of the sportsbook, told WISN’s “UpFront,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics.

Gov. Tony Evers and the Forest County Potawatomi signed an amended compact in 2022 that allows for sports betting on tribal property. Evers has signed several other amended compacts including with the Oneida Nation in Green Bay.

“For us we may see a slight bump in sports betting revenue, but I think it probably benefits our food and beverage a little more,” Cullen said. “Largely for the city of Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin, it’s a destination. There’s nothing like this within 1,000 miles.”

See more from the show.

— Wisconsin Policy Forum President Rob Henken will be stepping down July 16, the research group announced.

He will be succeeded by Jason Stein, who joined the organization in 2018 as research director and was later named WPF’s vice president. Stein previously worked as a journalist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Wisconsin State Journal.

The leadership change was originally planned for 2025, but was accelerated when Milwaukee-based Herzfeld Foundation selected Henken as the group’s next part-time executive director, according to yesterday’s release.

Going forward, Henken will continue to lead WPF’s local government service sharing portfolio while holding a “prominent role” in the group’s government finance research and analysis, among other efforts.

WPF Board Chair Grady Crosby said the group is “thrilled to be able to retain Rob’s wisdom and policy expertise in a reduced but still critical capacity while offering Jason a wellearned opportunity to accelerate our strategic direction and manage our operations.”

See the release.

Top headlines from the Health Care Report…

— State and local health departments have released a list of locations and times where people may have been exposed to the measles virus.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

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