Utah One Hundred

There aren’t many company leaders in Utah who aren’t wishing, a thousand times over, for the ability to rise above the worst recession since World War II. But for 100 of them, that wish is reality, in a literal sense.

The average growth rate for the companies ranked on the 2010 MountainWest Capital Network Utah 100 list is nearly 1,000 percent — that’s a staggering increase, considering the continual layoffs and furloughs plaguing businesses across the state. The list is considered the rock-solid indicator of which companies are excelling in Utah. That’s because the selection process boils down to one thing: bottom-line numbers. A place on the list, says Steven C. Stauffer, audit partner at Grant Thornton LLP and the Utah 100 chair, shows phenomenal performance.

“These companies were able to achieve incredible results during very difficult times,” he says. “Combined revenues for the top revenue companies was $12.6 billion in 2009 versus $13.1 billion in 2008 — down slightly from the prior year. But considering the state of the economy, it’s a very impressive number.”

While the percentage of growth required to make the Utah 100 list declined 39 percent this year from 2009, the selection process for the list remains consistent since the event’s genesis 16 years ago. There are three categories of winners: the 100 fastest growing companies based on percentage growth of revenues during the most recent five years; the 15 companies with the largest change in revenue dollars during the past five years; and the Emerging Elite, which are companies that show incredible potential but do not qualify for the other two categories.

Read more at: http://www.utahceomagazine.com/