Even before the ominous arrival of 2020’s pandemic economy, earnings for B.C.’s most profitable companies were declining, according to data collected for BIV’s most profitable companies list (pages 9–10).
The average net income of the most profitable companies sank 14.1% to $136.7 million from a 2018 peak of $159.2 million. In 2017, their average net income had increased the most in the past five years: up 37.3% to $141.2 million in 2017 from $102.8 million in the previous year.
The median net income of the companies on BIV’s list increased 2.8% in 2019 to $17.2 million from $16.7 million in 2018. The increase, however, followed a 37.7% decline in median net income in 2018 from a 2017 high of $26.9 million. This suggests that over the past year, smaller companies lower on the list grew while net income for their larger counterparts declined.
Glacier Media (TSX:GVC) recorded the largest one-year net income increase on the list: 2,028.9% to $37.3 million in 2019 from $1.7 million in 2018.
In contrast to its growth in net income, Glacier Media’s revenue fell 1.9% to $184.8 million in 2019 from $188.4 million in 2018. Because of its jump in net income, Glacier Media moved 56 places up BIV’s list from its No. 88 ranking last year.
Of the top five on the list, No. 1 Newmont Corp. (TSX:NGT) posted the largest profit growth over the past five years and ranked sixth overall in net income growth in 2019.
After two years of losses, Newmont’s earnings growth occurred primarily over the past year, increasing 658.9% to $2.9 billion in 2019 from $380 million in 2018
