The largest minority-owned businesses in Orange County added jobs even as they combined for a decline in revenue last year.
The 32 companies on this week’s Business Journal list together saw $11.2 billion in revenue in 2011, down 3.5%, or $400 million, from a year earlier.
The overall decline stems from an estimated $700 million dip in revenue for top-ranked Fountain Valley-based Kingston Technology Co.
The maker of memory products posted a record $6.5 billion in sales in 2010, a jump of $2.4 billion from the prior year. The gain was fueled by a 54% global increase in sales of DRAM products, the most common type of memory used in computers and Kingston’s biggest source of revenue.
Kingston entered 2011 warning that it was “extremely unlikely to meet the same sort of revenue” as the prior year. The estimate for the decline stems from an apparent cooling of demand in the market for third-party DRAM—Kingston’s specialty in that segment—that was offset in part by signs of strength in its smaller line of flash memory products.
The other companies on the list combined for a $300 million increase in 2011 revenue, or an average gain of 6%. More than half of the companies reported increased revenue, with many showing double-digit gains.
Five companies posted revenue declines, and one reported flat sales. Eight were based on Business Journal estimates.
The list includes OC-based companies that are at least 51% owned by Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians or1 Native Americans. In general, we follow federal guidelines on minorities, which exclude Arabs, Iranians, Armenians and others.
Businesses owned by those of Hispanic descent, including East Indian, are the most common on the list, followed by Asians. A handful of companies include a mix of Hispanic, Asian or other owners.
The 32 companies collectively added 769 people to their local offices for a total of 7,275 employees, up 12% growth from a year earlier.
No. 3 M S International Inc. in Orange posted an increase of $54 million for a total of $390 million last year, marking one of the largest dollar-amount growths among the listed companies. M S International was started by Manu Shah and his wife in 1975 after they moved to the U.S. from India. It received a Family-Owned Business award from the Business Journal in 2010.
The company sells granite, marble and other natural stone products for commercial and residential uses. It operates distribution centers in 10 states and has five offices abroad.
No. 8 Aliso Viejo-based Pacific Rim Capital Inc. saw a 9% increase to $143.8 million in sales. The company provides financing services for heavy-duty equipment leasing (see story, page 1).
Santa Ana-based Wahoo’s Fish Taco was No. 17 on the list, with $34 million, a 3% decline from a year earlier.
Wahoo’s has 360 employees at its Orange County restaurants, up 9% from a year earlier. Its OC work force makes up a little more than half of its companywide employee total.
Anaheim-based DEB Construction Inc. had the biggest increase in revenue on a percentage basis, a 56% jump to $25 million. That took the company up 11 spots to No. 21.
“We had a low year in 2010,” Senior Vice President Keith Martin said. “In 2009 we were in the $40-million-plus range, and then we dropped.”
Banks, Hospitals
DEB is a general contractor in the commercial construction industry, with a bent toward projects involving banks and hospitals.
This year is starting off slowly, “but the backlog looks good,” Martin said.
“We expanded our client base, which helped a lot,” he said. “We had been heavily dependent on a couple of clients before.”
Four companies are new to the list.
Santa Ana-based law firm AlvaradoSmith had $20.7 million in revenue, good for a No. 22 debut. The firm added five employees here for a total of 73 people.
Cypress-based WCCT Global LLC made the list at No. 23 with $20 million in revenue. The early-phase drug development company, which has 140 employees, was founded by Kenneth Kim.
“We partner with pharmaceutical companies that develop new drugs,” Kim said. “We work with 16 out of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. and in Europe.”
Bridge to Asia
WCCT has clients in Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
“We’re known for doing Asian-bridging trials,” Kim said. “When companies want to develop a drug in Asia, they will often come to us and we’ll provide ethnic data, to determine the dosage of drugs, for example.”
WCCT Global has done trials for Tamiflu, Allegra, Claritin and others.
No. 30 Placentia-based software and hardware maker CLI Inc. also is new to the list with $8 million in revenue.
And Aliso-Viejo based technology and engineering-services provider Information Management Resources Inc. debuted at No. 32 with $7.1 million in revenue. That was a 46% growth from a year earlier.
Download the 2012 OC’s LARGEST MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESSES list (pdf)
