Mixed Showing for Second 50 Public Companies
By RAJIV VYAS
OC’s second 50 largest public companies saw only a small revenue dip in a tough 2001, but losses at technology and other struggling businesses compounded the group’s bottom-line bleeding.
That’s according to this week’s Business Journal list, our second in a three-part series on public companies. This week’s list covers companies ranked No. 51 to 100 based on sales for the most recent 12 months, most as of Dec. 31.
Last week, we ranked the top 50 public companies. In two weeks, we’re set to cover the bottom 50 companies.
The second 50 saw revenue dip 1% to $3.6 billion last year vs. 2000 with sharp sales drops at tech businesses such as No. 56 Irvine-based Rainbow Technologies Inc. and No. 58 Anaheim-based MTI Technology Corp.
The companies posted a collective 2001 net loss of $415 million, up from $272 million in red ink at the companies a year earlier. Big net losses at No. 67 Irvine-based Auto-bytel Inc. and No. 71 Aspeon Inc., also of Irvine, added to the poor showing.
Compared with the second 50 on last year’s list, this year’s group did worse in sales and somewhat better in the loss column. Sales were off 25% vs. last year’s second 50, while this year’s loss was about $60 million less than the $474 million in red ink posted by last year’s companies.
The mix of companies on the two lists accounts for the differences. This year’s list doesn’t include FutureLink Corp. of Lake Forest, which ranked No. 64 last year with a 826% gain in 2000 sales to $126 million. The company filed for bankruptcy and shut down last year.
While FutureLink’s loss hurt sales growth for this year’s group, it helped the bottom line. So did the departure of money-losing Krause’s Furniture Inc. of Brea, last year’s No. 58, which was bought out of bankruptcy and taken private in October. Ditto for Fullerton-based DayRunner Inc., last year’s No. 59, which was taken private.
Twelve companies that ranked below 100 last year moved up to this week’s second 50 group of companies.
Tech companies led the sales declines at this year’s group, including No. 93 Irvine-based Procom Technology Inc., a maker of storage devices that saw sales go from $53 million to $33 million last year, a 38% drop. The company dropped three notches from last year’s list.
Another big sales decliner: No. 99 Irvine-based SSP Solutions Inc., formerly Litronic Inc. SSP, which offers electronic commerce security products, reported a sales drop from $40 million to around $26 million, a decline of 34%. The company dropped one spot.
This isn’t the first time in recent years that sales have declined at the second 50, typically a tech-dominated group with several smaller, more volatile companies. In 1999, the second 50 companies reported a 15% drop in sales.
This year, 27 companies,or more than one in every two,had a decline in sales. The declines at tech companies were so steep that most of them fell in the rankings from last year.
Companies that posted a marginal gain in sales,or even a modest decline,saw their place in the standings increase. (A few companies jumped up to the top 50, which also made room for gains in the second 50.)
No. 63 Irvine-based Meade Instruments Corp., a maker of telescopes, binoculars and other optical products, saw an 18% decline in 2001 sales to $101 million. But the drop was lower than some others on the list, which boosted Meade’s ranking four notches from last year.
No. 65 Aliso Viejo-based Safeguard Health Enterprise Inc., a provider of managed care dental and vision plans, saw its ranking rise eight spots even though its 2001 sales dropped 13% to $85 million.
And Bridgford Foods Corp. of Anaheim, a maker of frozen foods and snack items, came in at No. 52 on this week’s list after reporting a 3% decline in 2001 sales to $153 million. The company ranked No. 57 last year.
There were some bright spots. Sixteen companies reported double-digit percentage increases in sales, one reported a triple-digit increase, while 21 companies posted higher profits or lower losses. Four companies turned the corner from losses to profits.
No. 51 Newport Beach-based IMPAC Mortgage Holding Inc. sprung back to profitability after reporting a 2000 loss. In 2001, the company reported a net profit of $33 million on revenue of $157 million, up 6%. IMPAC saw a $54 million loss a year earlier. The company’s ranking jumped nine notches.
In all, 23 companies jumped up more than 10 spots in the week’s list.
Irvine-based Dyntek Inc., formerly Telknsight, was the biggest climber. The provider of computer services to governments came in at No. 83 vs. last year’s 114 ranking, thanks to a 151% gain in 2001 sales to $50 million.
The other big climber was Irvine-based Consumer Portfolio Services Inc. It came in at No. 77 vs. last year’s 102 ranking with a 72% jump in revenue to $62 million. And No. 85 Santa Ana-based Collectors Universe Inc. rose 25 notches on a 79% jump in sales to $48 million.
Many of the 50 public companies trimmed workers or held the line on hiring in the past 12 months. The second 50 companies employ 9,087 people in OC, down 7% from last year’s level.
The big employment decliners include No. 53 Irvine-based Printronix Inc., down 18% to 423 OC workers, and Rainbow Technologies, down 40% to 158 workers.
