British Columbia’s largest construction companies grew an average of 16.25% over the past year, according to data on Business in Vancouver’s Biggest Construction Companies in B.C. list (page 12).
Growth in average B.C. billings by the top 20 construction companies has picked up steam since 2016. The average of the one-year growth rates for 2017-18 and 2016-17 was four times higher at 16.8% than it was in 2015-16 and 2014-15 at 4.2%.
Over the past year, the B.C. billings of seven companies on the list declined while the remainder posted increases.
The average B.C. billings by the top 20 construction companies grew 13.4% to $212.5 million in 2018 from $187.3 million in 2017.
During this same period the median B.C. billings for the top construction companies fell 8.6% to $118.4 million in 2018 from $129.6 million the year before.
This suggests that larger construction companies higher on the list grew while smaller ones lower on the list decreased in size.
Not only did larger companies grow, but they also grew at such a fast clip that they far outpaced the declining billings of smaller companies.
Of the five largest companies with complete data available, the largest increase was No. 3-ranked Axiom Builders Inc., which grew 72.9% to $510 million in 2018 from $295 million in 2017.
Of the top 20 companies on the list, Bosa Construction Inc. had the largest one-year decline in total B.C. billings, falling 49.6% to $56 million in 2018, down from $111 million in 2017.
Wales McLelland Construction had the highest five-year growth of the top five companies, increasing its total B.C. billing by 136% to $185 million in 2018 from $78.4 million in 2014, putting Axiom Builders Inc. in second place at 124% growth over the same five-year period. •
