The fastest-growing public companies in Orange County followed divergent paths over the past year, with sales growth stronger among the smaller ones and profitability decidedly more prevalent among the largest businesses.
The 49 fastest-growing public companies combined for more than $90 billion in revenue for the 12 months through June, an increase of 24.3% from the same period two years ago, according to the three lists included in this week’s Business Journal (see Special Report, page 37; related stories throughout issue).
Total revenue was about 6% higher compared with last year’s list, which included 69 companies and ranked them all together, without any distinction in size.
This week’s edition includes separate lists for three categories: small companies, with annual revenue of up to $100 million; medium companies, with between $100 million and $500 million; and large companies, with $500 million or more in annual sales.
The change was made to draw a distinction between some of the biggest publicly traded companies based in OC and a host of smaller enterprises that are more apt to see large swings in sales or notch dramatic increases based on smaller bases.
The small-companies list shows the largest percentage gains in sales over the past two years. The 20 companies on the list combined for nearly $671 million in sales for the 12 months ending in June, about a 43% increase from the same period two years ago.
Aliso Viejo-based drug maker Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc. topped the small-company list with a 1,087% increase in sales over the two-year period to $67.2 million (see story, page 42).
Avanir’s best-known product treats uncontrollable outbursts of laughing or crying caused by a disease called pseudobulbar affect. The company was one of nine healthcare-related businesses on the small- company list, which includes 11 local companies that trade on over-the-counter exchanges, in addition to nine listed on Nasdaq.
Revenue Gains
Revenue gains weren’t as pronounced from a percentage perspective for the large companies, which face a steeper challenge on racking up gains by that measure. Their increases on larger bases demonstrated their combined muscle, though, and they made up nearly 95% of the cumulative sales for the three lists.
The 15 entries on the large-company list—which includes 12 of OC’s 15 largest public companies by market value—combined for a two-year sales growth rate of 23.6%.
Another drug maker, Anaheim-based Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc., took the top spot on that list, its sales jumping 332.8% to $620.6 million over the prior two years (see story, page 38).
Questcor and its fellow entries on the large-companies list could point to profitability in addition to sales growth over the past year. All reported a profit, with a combined $4.6 billion in net income over that period.
Six Profitable
Only six of the 20 entries on the small-company list were profitable, combining to post a loss of about $118.3 million for the 12-month period ending in June.
Irvine-based Allergan Inc., which ranked No. 11 on the large-company list, was the most profitable public company in OC this year. The maker of Botox and other drugs had nearly $1.2 billion in net income on $6 billion in revenue for the 12-month period ending in June.
The medium-companies list runs to form with results that largely fall between the extremes of the other two lists.
The 14 companies on the list had about $4.1 billion in revenue for the 12-month period ending in June, a 37.6% increase from two years ago. Eleven were profitable, and all of the entries combined to post profits of $161.4 million this year.
Irvine-based Banc of California Inc., one of four banks on our three lists this week, took the No. 1 spot on the medium-sized public company list. Its revenue jumped 241.7% over the prior two years to $148.2 million.
Companies on the lists employ more than 23,000 people in OC, a 4% increase from year-ago levels, and a total of more than 226,000 workers throughout their operations, up 21.3% from a year ago.
About the Fastest-Growing Public Companies List
The Business Journal’s annual fastest-growing public companies lists include OC-based businesses that trade on U.S. exchanges.
Companies had to have sales of at least $300,000 for the 12 months through June 2011 to be considered.
This year’s lists required companies to have at least 10% growth in revenue for the 12 months through June of this year compared with the same period two years ago.
The measurement skips a middle 12-month period—the 12 months through June 2012—in part to reflect the staying power of the companies on the lists, which include many smaller businesses.
The Business Journal compiled the financial data for the lists with the help of Los Angeles-based investment bank B. Riley & Co., along with regulatory filings and other sources.
Questions about the lists can be directed to Business Journal Research Director Dana Truong at truong@ocbj.com, or (949) 833-8373, ext. 247.
Download the 2013 OC’s FASTEST-GROWING PUBLIC COs list (pdf)
