DAYTONA BEACH — It began as a low-key affair, but Consolidated-Tomoka Land Co.'s annual shareholders meeting on Wednesday suddenly took on a reality TV-like twist, leaving investors and onlookers waiting for a dramatic conclusion.
Finally, after a several-hour delay, Consolidated-Tomoka issued a statement that all seven current board directors, including CEO John Albright, had been reelected to new one-year terms. Failing to win seats were three candidates nominated by the company's largest shareholder, New Jersey-based Wintergreen Advisors LLC: the investment adviser firm's managing director David Winters, its chief operating officer Liz Cohernour, and Wintergreen consultant Evan Ho.
The election included approval of a new executive compensation plan and rejection of a proposal by Wintergreen to hire an outside adviser firm to explore ways to "maximize shareholder value" for the second time in two years.
The latter proposal would have called for looking into the feasibility of either selling the public company or liquidating its assets, which include 8,100 acres in Daytona Beach, mostly surrounding the Interstate 95/LPGA Boulevard interchange.
A last-minute request by a "large institutional investor" for more time to submit votes prompted Consolidated-Tomoka officials to call for a lengthy intermission in its annual shareholders meeting on Wednesday, board chairwoman Laura Franklin confirmed.
When the meeting briefly reconvened at 4:30 p.m., attendees were once again surprised to find out it was just to inform them that voting had closed and that the election results would be announced at a later, unspecified time. The gathering was then adjourned.
"I think this means the votes were so close that we were ahead a couple hours ago on at least one of our proposals," said Cohernour of Consolidated-Tomoka's unexpected decision to extend the voting period.
Wintergreen owns and/or manages nearly 28 percent of Consolidated-Tomoka's outstanding stock shares.
"While legally, they can postpone the results of the meeting it is highly unusual," Cohernour said.
Winters and Cohernour have contended that Consolidated-Tomoka has underperformed under Albright, despite increases in both annual revenues and net earnings each year since he took the helm in 2011.
The meeting, held at the LPGA International clubhouse, drew approximately 50 people.
Albright presented the company's accomplishments of the past year, which included increasing annual revenues to $91.4 million and earnings to $3.51 a share — both new record highs.
Since 2011, the company has sold 2,685 acres in Daytona Beach for a combined $109.7 million. It has reinvested much of those proceeds by acquiring income-producing properties in multiple states to diversify its revenues and to defer taxable income. For the first time in its 100-plus-year history, most of Consolidated-Tomoka's assets are now in income properties — properties leased to commercial tenants — as opposed to land, Albright said.
Albright also noted the company has contracts to sell another 6,000 acres locally, including the second phase of Latitude Margaritaville, the Jimmy Buffett 55-and-older community going up along LPGA Boulevard, just west of I-95.
J. Hyatt Brown, a shareholder who attended with wife Cici, said he supported staying the course set by Albight and his team.
"I think the results speak for themselves," the chairman of Daytona Beach-based Brown & Brown Inc. said of Consolidated-Tomoka's performance. "This company is doing well."
Said Albright: "We're pleased that for the second year in a row shareholders have voted with the company's directors and management to keep with the strategy that we've embarked on."