Newsroom Notes: Dynamic Dozen companies compete in four categories

One of my favorite aspects of Springfield Business Journal’s Dynamic Dozen – now in its fifth year – is looking at the list of the 12 fastest-growing companies to see how previous honorees and new contenders are mixed in. As is customary with this award, the 2008 list includes some of each, and the industries represented range from health care to telecommunications to construction to retail.

The common thread, as usual, is top-line growth.

Qualifications are each company must have annual revenues of $500,000 for each of the last three years, and each company’s headquarters must be within roughly 50 miles of Springfield.

But the key in understanding how the Dynamic Dozen is selected lies in understanding the formula, so I checked in with Bob Helm, managing partner of CPA firm Elliott, Robinson & Co., which has judged the D12 competition since its inception.

Helm said a common misperception is that the company with the highest revenues will win the competition.

Companies must provide revenues for each of the past three years, and the firm looks at how those numbers change year-to-year in four categories, which this year were:

• Revenue growth from 2005 to 2006

• Revenue growth from 2006 to 2007

• Percentage growth from 2005 to 2006

• Percentage growth from 2006 to 2007

“If there’s 30 companies, then each one would place somewhere between first and 30th in each category,” Helm said. “There are four columns that we line up, and how (each company) places among the group as a hole, from one to however many are participating, is how the points are distributed.” (To see how the points broke down this year, see box.)

Case in point: This year’s No. 1 company, Cody Ventures LLC dba Cody’s Convenience Stores, posted 2007 revenues of nearly $92 million, while the company with the highest 2007 revenue, CoxHealth, posted $1.7 billion but landed at No. 6 on the list. The key difference is that Cody’s posted triple-digit percentage growth both years, wrapping up 2007 with a three-year growth rate of 723 percent.

Still, Helm said even when companies move down on the list, or fall off altogether, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not growing – it just means that other companies had bigger growth.

Also in this issue is the listing of the 2008 Dynamic Dozen. That list, and the 2008 Book of Lists, debuted at the March 6 Dynamic Dozen ceremony. If you weren’t there, but you want to get next year’s Book of Lists early, plan now to attend the 2009 D12 event.

D12 Trivia

Here’s my annual Dynamic Dozen trivia:

Read the above profiles to find out:

• Which company reports at least 10 acquisitions in the pipeline?

• Which company has hit lucky No. 7 each year it’s been among the Dynamic Dozen?

• Which company will have new owners come summer?

• Which company’s founder previously worked as a turkey farmer?

• Which company’s client roster includes national names The Home Depot, Lowe’s, PetSmart, Best Buy and Dick’s Sporting Goods?

• Which company plans to add theater seats to its product lineup?

• Which company must keep a particularly close eye on fuel costs to maximize profits?

Start reading and you’ll find out!

Maria Hoover is Springfield Business Journal features editor. She can be reached at mhoover@sbj.net.

The Points System

Here are the point totals for the 2008 Dynamic Dozen.

Cody Ventures LLC dba Cody’s Convenience Stores: 83

Incredible Pizza Co. Inc.: 76

Banta Foods Inc.: 61

Southern Trades LLC: 60

Jack Henry & Associates Inc.: 58

CoxHealth: 55

DeWitt & Associates Inc.: 53*

Russell Cellular: 53*

Hamra Enterprises: 52

Protel Systems & Supplies Inc. : 49*

Healthcarefirst Inc.: 49*

Covenant Church Furniture: 43

*Total revenues for the most recent year – in this case 2007 – are used as tie-breaker. [[In-content Ad]]