Newcomers Reshape Fastest-Growing Companies
By ANDREW SIMONS
Two years ago, technology businesses were the fastest-growing public companies in Orange County. Last year it was healthcare. This year, it’s, well, both,plus some.
The top five companies on this week’s Business Journal list of the 51 fastest-growing public companies in OC represent a broad swath, from healthcare to banking to human resources management to technology.
With 11 new companies on the list and several moving up in the rankings from 2002, this year’s list looks little like last year’s. For one thing, the top four companies all are new.
The list was compiled with Newport Beach-based Roth Capital Partners LLC. It ranks companies by revenue percentage growth in the past three years.
The fastest-growing companies are a hodgepodge of small companies for which big revenue gains are easy to come by and more mature businesses in industries seeing robust growth, such as real estate.
This year’s list is much shorter than last year’s, which counted 72 companies. This year, just 51 public companies posted revenue increases in the three-year period.
The 51 companies posted sales of $40.5 billion for the 12 months ended June 30, 2003. That’s up 43% from the 12 months ended June 30, 2000 and up 68% from the total posted by the 51 largest companies on last year’s list.
The only resemblance to last year’s list is that this year’s top company, Irvine-based Cardiac Science Inc., is in healthcare. (TriZetto Group Inc., a Newport Beach provider of medical software, which was No. 1 last year is No. 5 this time around.)
Cardiac Science, which makes heart defibrillators and debuted on this year’s list, posted sales growth of 3,660% for the three-year period. The company saw 12-month sales jump to $56.4 million as of June 30 from $1.5 million in June 2000.
Despite falling four spots, TriZetto didn’t fare too badly. The company saw revenue grow 410% to $284 million from three years earlier.
Debuting at No. 2 is Irvine-based Exult Inc., a provider of human resources services for big companies. Exult has grown sales 3,242% to $461 million in the past three years amid a string of deals with companies such as International Paper Co., Bank of America Corp., BP PLC and Unisys Corp.
Irvine-based DynTek Inc., another debut, nabbed the No. 3 spot on this year’s fastest-growing companies list with sales of $52.6 million, a three-year gain of 2,530%.
In late 2001, Irvine-based TekInsight.com Inc. bought the state and local government consulting business of Reston, Va.-based DynCorp. and renamed itself DynTek.
What became DynTek had sales of just $2 million in 2000. The company provides software, computers and consulting services to state and local governments.
Costa Mesa-based Pacific Mercantile Bancorp saw its revenue grow to $32.7 million for the 12 months through June 30, up 644% from 2000. That was good enough for Pacific Mercantile to debut at No. 4.
The bank turned a profit in the three-year period, reporting net income of $3 million for the 12 months through June 30. That compares to a loss of $400,000 for the same period in 2000. The bank’s asset base also has grown fast, up 88% to $605 million at the end of the second quarter versus a year earlier.
Real estate proved a key driver for several companies on the list. No. 6 Irvine-based California Coastal Communities Inc., a developer and homebuilder, grew revenue 389% to $38 million amid the hot housing market.
No. 7 Irvine-based Lantronix Inc. posted a 378% sales rise to $49 million. But it hasn’t been all smooth sailing for the networking device maker. The company lost $103 million in the past year as it underwent a massive restructuring, accounting troubles, litigation and Securities and Exchange Commission scrutiny.
Dropping five spots from last year is No. 8 Biolase Technology Inc., a San Clemente maker of laser products for dentists. Biolase reported 372% sales growth to $36 million in the past three years.
No. 11 Irvine-based New Century Financial Corp. is among the larger companies on the list, posting three-year sales growth of 241% to $750 million. The subprime mortgage company moved up from No. 19 on last year’s list.
Similarly, No. 15 Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc., which buys mortgages, mortgage-backed securities and originates loans, posted a 148% three-year rise to $324 million in revenue. That was good enough to bring Impac up from No. 37 last year.
The top 25 companies on the list were mixed with eight technology companies, seven healthcare, three real estate, three financial and a smattering of others.
Apparel makers and retailers have fared well in the past three years.
No. 23 Anaheim-based Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. has been cashing in on America’s fascination with beach garb and hip-hop clothes. The teen retailer saw net sales grow 89% in the past three years to $883 million. That bumped PacSun up from No. 25 last year.
No. 32 Foothill Ranch-based sunglasses maker Oakley Inc. also cashed in. The company recorded 63% growth in the past three years, going from $300.2 million in 2000 sales to $489.9 million this year.
The biggest drop in ranking came by way of No. 38 Irvine-based Autobytel Inc., an automotive Web site that ranked No. 12 last year. Autobytel saw sales growth of 47% in the past three years for a total of $81 million.
