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The companies landing atop of the heap in the region's growth category this year posted solid results across a number of performance categories. But the numbers alone don't tell the full story.
Results for two companies among the top five finishers -- H.J. Heinz Co. and rue21 -- are based on figures from the prior fiscal year (the new ones weren't available) so their performances don't reflect the brunt of the recession.
For two other companies at the top -- PNC Financial Services Group and Dick's Sporting Goods -- results looked especially good because the previous year was weighed down by special charges.
The growth rankings consider four standard measures of performance: How much a company's revenues have grown, how much profits have grown, how well the company's stock performed and how effectively management used shareholders' money to generate profits, a calculation known as return on equity.
PDFThe rankings try to give the region's smaller companies a fighting chance to make it to the top of the charts. Unlike the formula used to crown Pittsburgh's overall top performer, the growth formula ignores a company's market capitalization, actual revenue and actual net income so that size is taken out of the equation.
First place finisher H.J. Heinz Co. got a big lift in the rankings from its 59 percent return on equity. And although the company's 9 percent jump in net income for the fiscal year that ended in April 2009 wasn't spectacular, it still was better than 33 other companies on the list that saw their annual profits fall.
For No. 2 PNC, profits surged 163 percent, boosted by a one-time gain and a big charge in the prior year tied to its takeover of National City Corp. Revenue shot up 136 percent, reflecting the addition of National City.
Dick's snagged third place as it rebounded from a $35 million loss to a profit of $135 million in 2009. The Findlay sporting goods chain got a lift from the cold snap that warmed up sales of cold-weather gear and from one-time costs that knocked back the prior year's earnings.
Discount teen clothing retailer rue21, which only went public in November, placed fourth on the growth chart. It posted double-digit gains in all four categories for the fiscal year ended in January 2009.
Cecil-based coal producer Consol Energy rounded out the top five, aided by double-digit gains in its stock price, return on equity and net income, and despite flat revenues.
At the bottom of the rankings, Moon-based natural gas and oil producer Atlas Energy saw losses balloon from $6.2 million to $72 million, the worst percentage earnings slide on the list. Revenue plunged nearly 25 percent, while return on equity landed in negative territory.
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