Healthcare and real estate led Orange County’s crop of fastest-growing companies in the past three years.
The top 10 companies on this week’s Business Journal list of the 50 fastest-growing public companies in OC include four healthcare-related businesses, a pair of real estate lenders and one homebuilder.
The list was compiled with Newport Beach-based Roth Capital Partners LLC. It ranks companies by growth in annual revenue during the past three years.
The fastest-growing companies are a hodgepodge of small companies for which big revenue gains are relatively easy to come by and more mature businesses in industries seeing robust growth. The county features vibrant medical device and mortgage lending industries.
Overall, the 50 companies on the list posted sales of $43.4 billion for the 12 months ended June 30, 2004. That’s up 70% from what the same companies reported for the 12 months ended June 30, 2001.
Total sales for this group of fastest-growers is more than double last year’s $17.9 billion for the top 50. The reason for a bigger number this year: larger, more mature companies on the list.
OC employment rose 4% to 25,510, versus a year earlier, with companywide employment up 9% to more than 169,000.
With 10 new companies and the shifts in the economy benefiting some sectors, this year’s list differs quite a bit from last year’s. The main difference: just one technology company in the top 10, versus five a year earlier. Fourteen of the 50 companies were healthcare-related.
One prominent familiar face on this year’s list is No. 1 Irvine-based Cardiac Science Inc., which repeats as the fastest-growing company in the county.
Cardiac Science, which makes heart defibrillators, posted sales growth of 1,231% for the three-year period. The company saw 12-month sales jump to $66.5 million as of June 30, versus $5 million for the one-year period through June 2001.
No. 2 Irvine-based New Century Financial Corp. jumped nine spots from the No. 11 position last year, thanks to continued strength in the real estate market.
Subprime mortgage lender New Century is one of the largest companies on the list, with $1.4 billion in annual sales as of June 30, up from $180 million in 2001. New Century is part of a group of specialty finance companies that operates out of Orange County, including privately held Orange-based Ameriquest Mortgage Co. and Irvine’s Option One Mortgage Corp., a unit of H & R; Block Inc.
San Clemente-based BioLase Technology Inc. came in at No. 3 this year, thanks to a 342% increase in sales to $59 million for the 12 months through June 30.
BioLase makes lasers that allow dentists, oral surgeons and other specialists to do common and cosmetic procedures. Its flagship Waterlase product uses lasers and water to cut bone, teeth and gums with minimal or no damage to surrounding tissue.
Another healthcare-related company is San Juan Capistrano-based ChromaVision Medical Systems Inc., which debuts at No. 4.
ChromaVision’s sales were $10.5 million for the year ended June 30, up 339% from $2.4 million in 2001. The company, which was founded in 1993 as a unit of Wayne, Pa.-based Safeguard Scientifics Inc., makes automated cell imaging systems. It spun off as a public company in 1996.
Rounding out the top five was Newport Beach-based Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc., a real estate investment trust that packages loans in pools and sells them as bonds to Wall Street investors.
No. 5 Impac reported 12-month sales of $662 million, up 302% from three years earlier. Impac jumped up from the No. 15 spot a year ago.
Santa Ana-based Corinthian Colleges Inc. moved up five spots to No. 7 on this year’s list. Corinthian posted a three-year increase in sales of 229% to $804 million. Corinthian operates more than 80 for-profit colleges and two continuing education centers in 21 states in the U.S., plus others in seven Canadian provinces.
Shares of Corinthian hit hard times on Wall Street this year, down 47% to 14.3 at recent check.
Last month Corinthian said that the Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting an informal investigation of its financial projections, results and correspondence with analysts for the 12 months ended June 30 and the quarter ending Sept. 30.
Meanwhile, the for-profit college operator said the Department of Education restored Corinthian’s ability to receive advanced financial aid funding. Regulators had found in June that Corinthian’s San Jose Bryman campus,one of its 134 schools,had non-compliance issues in its financial aid program.
Another real estate name in the top 10 this year,Newport Beach-based William Lyon Homes Inc. The homebuilder jumped from No. 37 to No. 8 on this year’s list thanks to a 200% jump in three-year sales to $1.3 billion.
The list’s top technology-related company,No. 10 Exult Inc. in Irvine,fell eight spots from a year ago. The provider of outsourced human resources services and software has seen annual sales rise 192% to $470 million since 2001.
Say goodbye to Exult. This year’s ranking marks the last for Exult, which was bought by Lincolnshire, Ill.-based Hewitt Associates Inc. for some $580 million. Hewitt shareholders signed off on the deal earlier this month.
Technology companies were few and far between at the top of the list. Following Exult, Santa Ana-based MSC.Software Corp. was the next tech name at No. 19,the same as a year earlier.
The maker of industrial design software saw a 91% increase in sales to $329 million for the 12 months ended June 30.
Last week MSC rejected a $275 million buyout offer from San Francisco-based ValueAct Capital Partners LP. ValueAct, which owns 6.3% of MSC shares, said it planned to take the publicly traded maker of industrial and engineering software private if its offer was accepted.
The maker of engineering software has dealt with other issues. Earlier this year, MSC said it would restate its 2001 and 2002 financial results to adjust for revenue recognition, stock options and other items.
A notable departure from the top ranks was Newport Beach-based TriZetto Group Inc., a provider of medical software and systems. TriZetto had been a perennial top five fastest-grower, including the No. 1 ranked company in 2002. This year TriZetto fell to No. 22 on an 81% sales gain to $276 million.
Other Technology names on this year’s list include No. 24 Irvine-based Broadcom Corp., which posted an 80% sales gain to $2.1 billion. The company jumped five spots from last year’s list.
Other tech companies include No. 32 Lake Forest-based Western Digital Corp.; No. 35 Costa Mesa-based Emulex Corp.; No. 37 Irvine-based Quest Software Inc.; No. 39 Aliso Viejo-based Qlogic Corp.; and No. 42 Irvine-based Raining Data Corp.
Apparel was another well-represented industry on the list.
No. 17 Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc. had sales of $1.1 billion through June 30, up 95% from three years ago. Anaheim-based teen retailer Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. came in at No. 26 with sales growth of 77% to $1.1 billion. And No. 44 Foothill Ranch-based sunglasses maker Oakley Inc. recorded 28% growth.
