Private Cos. Post Relatively Strong Showing
THE LIST
By MICHAEL LYSTER
Orange County’s largest private companies held up relatively well in 2001 with flat sales and the addition of a handful of workers locally, according to this week’s Business Journal list.
The 45 largest private companies,a diverse group of technology, distribution, service and other businesses,saw sales ebb 4% last year to $23.9 billion. The group’s revenue was off by 3% from that posted by the top 45 companies that made last year’s list.
No. 1 Newport Beach-based Pacific Life Insurance Co. accounted for the group’s decline with an 18% drop to $3.6 billion in 2001 revenue.
But Pacific Life’s drop is misleading: its 2000 figure includes $1.1 billion in revenue from the insurer’s sale of its stake in Pacific Investment Management Co. Without the gain, Pacific Life’s 2001 revenue was up 10%.
Adjusting for Pacific Life, this year’s group saw $65 million more in 2001 sales than a year earlier, a result that’s statistically flat.
The list ranks the largest private companies here by 2001 sales or for the nearest 12 months.
The companies saw their local workforces expand by 2% to 23,441 people in the past year.
No. 14 Irvine-based St. John Knits International Inc., an upscale women’s clothier, led the hiring with 500 more OC workers for a total of 3,000. No. 15 Laguna Hills-based Del Taco Inc. kicked in 394 new jobs for a total of 2,198 OC workers.
Companywide, the companies cut employment by 1% to 102,035 people. No. 10 Irvine-based Freedom Communications Inc., owner of the Orange County Register and other media outlets, led the job declines in OC and companywide amid advertising’s slump. Freedom’s local headcount dropped 14% to 1,912 people. Total employment sunk 30% to 5,603 people.
Other signs of distress abound on the list, despite the group’s overall performance.
No. 6 Santa Ana-based GeoLogistics Corp. saw sales drop 34% to $1 billion. In November, GeoLogistics raised $67.5 million in a stock sale to turnaround investor Questor Management Co.
No. 7 Fountain Valley-based Kingston Technology Co., a maker of computer memory products, saw revenue fall 47% to $900 million on slower PC sales and slumping memory prices. Kingston’s ranking dropped four spots this year.
Bright spots include No. 15 Irvine-based The Linksys Group Inc., a seller of computer networking products for home and small-business users, which reported a 72% surge in sales to $355 million last year.
No. 17 Lake Forest-based construction company ARB Inc. saw revenue surge 75% to $350 million on power plant work, though that business since has slowed.
Because the companies are privately held, the list includes several Business Journal estimates based on numbers from industry sources and databases, including that of D & B; Corp., formerly Dun & Bradstreet Corp.
As such, the list is as intriguing for who’s on it as much as for the trends it reveals. The list is one of the more difficult to produce, and includes several newcomers and revisions to those on last year’s list.
Pacific Life reclaimed its spot as OC’s largest private company after a revision to last year’s No. 1, Irvine-based grocery products broker Advantage Sales & Marketing LLC.
Advantage checks in this year at No. 44.
Advantage declined to provide sales this year or last. A year ago, the Business Journal estimated Advantage at $25 billion in 2000 sales, a figure we’ve determined was wrong.
The big figure represents Advantage’s wholesale revenue, or the value of goods it passes on from producers to stores. Advantage’s actual sales for 2001 are estimated at $142 million.
Rounding out the top five are:
n No. 2 Irvine-based Golden State Foods Corp.s, which makes and distributes products for McDonald’s Corp., with $1.8 million in 2001 sales.
n No. 3 Orange-based liquor distributor Young’s Market Co. with $1.6 billion in 2001 sales, up 7%.
n No. 4 Newport Beach-based The Irvine Company, with an estimated 15% rise in 2001 revenue to $1.5 billion, based on land sales that offset slumping commercial rents.
n No. 5 Orange-based David Wilson Automotive Group, owner of Toyota of Orange, with a 3% gain in sales to $1.1 billion.
The list includes several newcomers, many based on Business Journal estimates.
The highest-ranking debut is No. 9 Newport Beach-based WL Homes LLC. The homebuilder, which does business as John Laing Homes, made the list after executives bought a majority stake from Britain’s John Laing PLC last year.
WL Homes reported 2001 sales of $799 million, which were up 23% amid the housing boom.
The other newcomers:
n No. 13 Orange-based Ameriquest Mortgage Co., a subprime housing and auto lender, with an estimated $400 million in 2001 revenue.
n No. 31 Anaheim-based RSI Home Products Inc., which supplies bath and kitchen products to home improvement stores, with an estimated $250 million in 2001 revenue.
n No. 43 Santa Ana-based Crevier Motors Inc., owner of Crevier BMW, with a reported $144 million in 2001 sales, up 7%.
n No. 45 San Juan Capistrano-based Fluidmaster Inc., a maker of toilet repair gear, with an estimated $130 million in sales.
A handful of companies from last year’s list didn’t make the cut this year or no longer meet the criteria. The most notable: Edwards Theatre Circuits Inc., which formerly was based in Newport Beach and ranked No. 23 on last year’s list. It fell off after becoming part of Englewood, Colo.-based Regal Entertainment Group Inc.
