The public ups
and downs
It was a strong year for overall revenue and profits, while the
net number of companies remained the same and and total market
value slipped.
The revenue and income pictures were strong for this
year’s top Oregon public companies, while total market
value shrank.
Total revenues grew by 7% overall, and total net income grew
20.3% (although only 43 companies experienced revenue growth,
compared to 51 last year). Total market value slipped by 1.7%.
There was no growth in the number of public companies, either.
From 1997 to 2005, the state has seen a net loss of 25 public
companies.
Five companies left the list (and the state) for a variety of
reasons. The biggest were Hollywood Entertainment Corp. (No. 5
last year), which was acquired by Alabama-based Movie Gallery
in April 2005, and KinderCare Learning Centers (No. 10 last
year), which was acquired in January 2005 by Knowledge Learning
Corp, a subsidiary of the California-based Knowledge Universe.
AB Holding Corp. was sold, and both Nano Chemical Systems and
Oxis International moved their headquarters out of the
state.
“We’re a medium-sized market at best,” says
Scott Dawson, dean of Portland State University’s School
of Business Administration, adding that he thinks it will
always be difficult to recruit big companies to headquarter in
the state.
And the near absence of IPOs? The costs associated with
complying with Sarbanes-Oxley reporting requirements
“have made many potential IPOs think long and hard before
taking the plunge,” says Dawson. “At the same time,
the equity market is huge and provides alternative forms of
financing.” Dawson sees some sun on the horizon, though.
He expects several companies in a number of different
industries to go public within the next 18 months.
Five new companies joined the list this year. The biggest news
was Portland General Electric, entering the list at No. 5. PGE
was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in April following
the bankruptcy settlement of its former parent, Enron.
The perennial gorilla on the list, Nike, saw its market value
drop from $23.9 billion in 2004 to $22.5 billion in 2005. That
drop comes on the heels of Nike’s growth spurt from $18
billion in 2003. But revenues rose 9% over last year, and
income was up 15%.
The revenue picture was strong for other iconic and important
Oregon companies, such as StanCorp Financial Group, Lithia
Motors, Precision Castparts, Columbia Sportswear and Schnitzer
Steel.
— The editors
Go to alphabetical index, glossary of terms
and footnotes...
THE TOP TENS
|
MARKET VALUE 2005
|
|
Nike
|
Sportswear
|
$22.5b
|
|
Precision Castparts Corp.
|
Diversified mfg.
|
$6.9b
|
|
StanCorp Financial Group
|
Insurance
|
$2.7b
|
|
Tektronix
|
Electronics
|
$2.3b
|
|
Columbia Sportswear Co.
|
Sportswear
|
$1.8b
|
|
FLIR Systems
|
Thermal imaging
|
$1.5b
|
|
Umpqua Holdings Corp.
|
Banking
|
$1.3b
|
|
Oregon Steel Mills
|
Steel
|
$1.1b
|
|
Northwest Natural Gas Co.
|
Utility
|
$942.7m
|
|
Schnitzer Steel Industries
|
Steel
|
$932.3m
|
|
|
INCOME 2005
|
|
Nike
|
Sportswear
|
$1.4b
|
|
Precision Castparts
|
Diversified mfg.
|
$350.6m
|
|
StanCorp Financial Group
|
Insurance
|
$211.1m
|
|
Schnitzer Steel Industries
|
Steel
|
$146.9m
|
|
Columbia Sportswear Co.
|
Sportswear
|
$130.7m
|
|
Oregon Steel Mills
|
Steel
|
$110.0m
|
|
Blount International
|
Cutting tools
|
$106.6m
|
|
Tektronix
|
Electronics
|
$92.4m
|
|
FLIR Systems
|
Thermal imaging
|
$90.8m
|
|
Umpqua Holdings Corp.
|
Banking
|
$69.7m
|
|
|
LOWEST P/E RATIO 2005
|
|
Paulson Capital Corp.
|
Brokerage
|
4
|
|
PW Eagle
|
PVC pipe mfg.
|
4
|
|
Schnitzer Steel Industries
|
Steel
|
6
|
|
Blount International
|
Cutting tools mfg.
|
7
|
|
Williams Controls
|
Electronics
|
8
|
|
Oregon Steel Mills
|
Steel
|
10
|
|
Albina Community Bancorp
|
Banking
|
12
|
|
LaCrosse Footwear
|
Footwear
|
13
|
|
Lithia Motors
|
Auto sales
|
13
|
|
StanCorp Financial Group
|
Insurance
|
13
|
|
|
HIGHEST P/E RATIO
|
|
Mentor Graphics Corp.
|
Software
|
148
|
|
Monaco Coach Corp.
|
RV mfg.
|
148
|
|
TriQuint Semiconductor
|
Semiconductors
|
148
|
|
Merix Corp.
|
Electronics
|
140
|
|
Yocream International
|
Frozen desserts
|
50
|
|
Corillian Corp.
|
Internet banking
|
45
|
|
McCormick & Schmick’s
|
Restaurants
|
29
|
|
Electro Scientific Industries
|
Electronics
|
26
|
|
RadiSys Corp.
|
Electronics
|
26
|
|
Rentrak Corp.
|
Information mgmt.
|
26
|
|
|
RETURN ON EQUITY 2005
|
|
Williams Controls
|
Electronics
|
1290.0%
|
|
PW Eagle
|
PVC pipe mfg.
|
54.6%
|
|
Portland General Electric Co.
|
Electric utilities
|
40.0%
|
|
Schnitzer Steel Industries
|
Steel
|
25.3%
|
|
FLIR Systems
|
Thermal imaging
|
24.6%
|
|
Nike
|
Sportswear
|
22.1%
|
|
Cascade Bancorp
|
Banking
|
21.5%
|
|
Paulson Capital Corp.
|
Brokerage
|
21.4%
|
|
Schmitt Industries
|
Equipment
|
20.2%
|
|
Oregon Steel Mills
|
Steel
|
19.9%
|
|
|
RETURN ON INVESTMENT 2005
|
|
Blount International
|
Cutting tools mfg.
|
23.4%
|
|
Williams Controls
|
Electronics
|
22.4%
|
|
Schnitzer Steel Industries
|
Steel
|
20.7%
|
|
PW Eagle
|
PVC pipe mfg.
|
20.0%
|
|
Schmitt Industries
|
Equipment
|
17.7%
|
|
Paulson Capital Corp.
|
Brokerage
|
15.4%
|
|
Nike
|
Sportswear
|
14.1%
|
|
Columbia Sportswear Co.
|
Sportswear
|
13.5%
|
|
FLIR Systems
|
Thermal imaging
|
13.1%
|
|
Cascade Corp.
|
Equipment mfg.
|
11.6%
|
|
