Orange County’s 75 largest private companies posted a 13% revenue gain to $42 billion last year while holding local employment steady and growing some jobs elsewhere, according to this week’s Business Journal list.
The trend echoed that of the county’s 75 largest publicly traded companies, which saw a 19% sales increase to $104 billion last year and flat local employment. Our list of the 75 largest public companies appeared April 10.
For the private companies, this year’s sales gain marks the third straight year of growth. The companies on the list are a diverse group of technology businesses, grocers, real estate owners and developers, auto dealers and others.
|
|
More than half the companies, 38 of them, saw higher sales in 2005, including some estimated gains by the Business Journal. Seven had lower revenue. Four were flat. A percentage change estimate for the rest, 26 companies, couldn’t be made.
The list, which ranks the largest private companies based here by 2005 sales or for the nearest 12 months, includes companies owned by individuals or investor groups and excludes subsidiaries.
Because the companies are privately held, the list includes several estimates based on input from sources, industry publications or comparisons to similar publicly traded companies.
The top 10 companies on the list dominate. They accounted for more than half of the $5 billion in new revenue the companies posted last year.
The most significant gain came at No. 2 Orange-based ACC Capital Holdings Corp., parent of Ameriquest Mortgage. The Business Journal estimates a $700 million gain, or 28%, at the mortgage lender last year. We estimated ACC Capital at $3.2 billion in 2005 revenue.
Not far behind was No. 7 WL Homes LLC, a Newport Beach-based homebuilder whose main unit is John Laing Homes. The company’s $606 million sales gain was a 58% increase from 2004.
The gain pushed WL Homes to $1.6 billion in 2005 sales and up from No. 10 on last year’s list.
Newport Beach-based Pacific Life Insurance Co. again tops our list.
The life insurer reported $4.6 billion in 2005 revenue, up 12% from 2004.
Pacific Life maintained a healthy lead over ACC Capital, despite the big estimated surge at the mortgage lender.
Fountain Valley’s Kingston Technology Co. tightened its grip on the No. 3 spot with a 22% gain to $3 billion in 2005 revenue. The maker of memory products for computers and consumer electronics (see story, page 1) has about a $600 million edge over No. 4 Irvine-based Golden State Foods Corp.
Golden State, a supplier to McDonald’s Corp., saw its sales rise 9% to $2.4 billion.
Rounding out the top five is The Irvine Company, which traded places with Golden State, last year’s No. 5. The Newport Beach-based real estate owner and developer saw an estimated 5% rise in 2005 revenue to $2.3 billion.
Only Top 10 Decliner
Only one company among the top 10 showed a decline in 2005 revenue, No. 8 Brea-based Ventura Foods LLC. The maker of salad dressings and other food oils saw sales slip 2% to $1.56 billion and dropped from No. 6 on last year’s list.
“It was totally as a result of the soybean oil market,” said Rick Mazer, Ventura’s chief executive. “Revenues go up and down based on the value of the soybean oil market.”
2004 saw a surge in soybean oil prices that drove up revenue, according to Mazer. Last year’s supply returned to normal, he said.
Ventura is the largest user of soybean oil in the country, Mazer said.
A highlight from the mid ranks of the list: No. 51 Angels Baseball LP, Arte Moreno’s operating company for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball team.
The team saw revenue rise 29% to $200 million last year, based on Moreno’s testimony earlier this year in the lawsuit with Anaheim over the team’s name.
Local employment at the companies was down 2% to 37,164 people. Total employment was flat at 134,473 people.
Kingston exemplified the trend. The company’s OC employment was off 11% to 872 people as job growth in China pushed total employment up 13% to 2,726 people. Kingston opened a 260,000-square-foot plant in Shanghai this year.
ACC Capital’s Ameriquest had an impact on the list’s overall job tally. The Business Journal estimates Ameriquest to be off 50% to 1,000 OC workers and down 50% to 3,500 people companywide.
The numbers factor in Ameriquest’s plan detailed this month to cut 3,800 workers by closing its retail branches to deal with a slowdown in the mortgage business.
Without Ameriquest, the 74 other companies saw a 1% gain in local jobs and a 3% rise in total employment.
Two companies on the list sought to switch to our public companies roster but ended up pulling plans for initial public offerings: No. 30 Aliso Viejo-based Buy.com Inc. and No. 37 Costa Mesa-based Anna’s Linens Inc.
No. 47 El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc., recently filed to raise $135 million in a public offering. No. 57 Newport Beach-based Jazz Semiconductor Inc. filed to raise $105 million.
Several companies appear for the first time on the list, which always is a work in progress given the nature of private companies. The list is expanded from 60 companies last year.
Newcomers include: No. 23 Newport Beach-based Koll Co., a real estate owner and developer with $400 million in 2005 sales; No. 31 Anaheim-based Northgate Gonzalez Supermarkets, a Hispanic grocer with an estimated $325 million in yearly sales; No. 39 Brea-based Nature’s Best Inc. with $273 million in sales last year; No. 43 Orange-based Budget Blinds Inc. with $250 million in 2005 sales; and No. 49 Irvine-based shoe maker American Sporting Goods with $220 million in estimated yearly sales.
Four companies on last year’s list didn’t qualify this time around.
Santa Ana’s GeoLogistics Corp., which ranked No. 7 last year, was acquired by Kuwait’s PWC Logistics and appeared on our foreign-owned companies list earlier this year. Same goes for Huntington Beach-based C & D; Aerospace Group, last year’s No. 22 and now part of France’s Zodiac SA.
Lake Forest-based Del Taco Inc., No. 16 last year, now is a subsidiary of Nashville-based restaurant operator Sagittarius Brands Inc. And Aliso Viejo-based Marie Callender Pie Shops Inc., last year’s No. 39, now is part of Memphis-based Restaurant Co.
