The province's fastest-growing companies span a variety of industries. Within the top 10 alone, there are companies in the mining, pharmaceutical, tech and restaurant sectors. The following are the top 10 fastest-growing companies in British Columbia.
1. Timmins Gold Corp.
Gold mining in Mexico
2012 revenue: $156 million
Five-year growth: 108,627%
2012 rank: n/a
Since making its first pour in December 2009, Timmins Gold Corp. has continued to ramp up its gold production at its San Francisco mine located in Mexico's Sonora state. The company has doubled the amount of gold it has produced over the last three years to nearly 95,000 ounces in 2012 from 47,032 ounces in 2010. Its silver production has also ramped up 80% in the same period of time to 56,252 ounces from 31,183 ounces in 2010. Those production increases coincided with the rising global prices for precious metals, leading to record metal revenues of US$156.2 million and net profits of US$36.1 million. The company continues to expand, aiming to produce 125,000 ounces of gold in 2013.
2. Nevsun Resources Ltd.
Gold and copper mining in Africa
2012 revenue: US$565.5 million
Five-year growth: 56,632%
2012 rank: 4
The operator of the East African Bisha Mine in Eritrea benefited from record production and strong commodity prices, boosting the company's top-line revenue by 4% to US$566 million in 2012 from US$547.8 million in 2011. Nevsun Resources produced 313,000 ounces of gold in 2012, exceeding the company's production guidance. An average realized gold price of $1,671 per ounce coupled with its record production led to a second year of revenues hovering around $250 million. While the company plans to produce between 80,000 to 90,000 ounces of gold this year, it is aiming to transform the mine to produce 60 million to 80 million pounds of copper concentrate in the second half of 2013 and produce 200 million pounds in 2014.
3. B2Gold Corp.
Asian and South American gold mining
2012 revenue: $258.8 million
Five-year growth: 9,295%
2012 rank: 3
The Vancouver-headquartered gold producer posted a 16% increase in revenue in 2012 that was led by record gold prices and production last year. It produced 157,885 ounces of gold in 2012, generating $258.8 million in revenue, resulting in the company maintaining third place on Business in Vancouver's list of the fastest-growing companies in B.C.
Its gold production is expected to more than double this year to between 360,000 and 380,000 ounces, bolstered by the acquisition of its producing gold mine in the Philippines that B2Gold acquired in January from the merger with CGA Mining announced last December.
B2Gold CEO Clive Johnson said at the time, "With this transaction, B2Gold becomes a new intermediate gold producer, achieving geographic and operational diversity while contributing significant cash and future cash flow toward B2Gold's exciting development projects."
See more on B2Gold on page B4.
4. OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals
Cancer therapy developer
2012 revenue: $20.1 million
Five-year growth: 4,373%
2012 rank: 7
The life sciences firm has continued to advance towards its goal of commercializing new therapies that deal with treatment resistance of cancer patients with a collaboration agreement with global pharmaceutical giant Teva Pharmaceuticals. Its leading compound, called Curstirsen, is in Phase 3 clinical development as a treatment for men with certain treatment resistant forms of prostate cancer and lung cancer. A weekly intravenous drug, Apatorsen, is in Phase 2 clinical development.
5. Avigilon Corp.
HD surveillance systems developer
2012 revenue: $100.3 million
Five-year growth: 1,813%
2012 rank: 2
The Vancouver-based developer of high-definition video surveillance systems has continued to grow rapidly over the past half decade, breaking the $100 million revenue mark last year, a 67% increase in sales in a single year.
Alexander Fernandes, Avigilon's CEO, noted, "We continue to expand our sales and product development teams aggressively and invest in marketing to increase brand awareness." The company will mark its second anniversary as a publicly traded company in November, likely to post another record year. For the first half of its 2013 fiscal year, revenues have jumped 69% and profits have more than tripled in the same period in 2012.
6. Famoso Neopolitan Pizzeria
Italian pizza restaurant chain
2012 revenue: $25.2 million
Five-year growth: 1,682%
2012 rank: n/a
Since opening its first restaurant in Edmonton in 2007, the pizzeria operator has since become a franchiser, increasing its footprint to include 25 restaurants that aim to give patrons the authentic Italian pizza experience. The rapid growth has been challenging for the company that increased the number of restaurants from six to 15 early on. A key business lesson for Famoso's CEO Justin Lussier to grow a brand nationally is to "invest heavily in up-front brand-building pillars such as high staffing levels, a commitment to training and to details and quality."
See more on Famoso Neopolitan Pizzeria on page B17.
7. dPoint Technologies Inc.
HVAC fuel-cell innovator
2012 revenue: $2.5 million
Five-year growth: 1,539%
2012 rank: n/a
The Vancouver-based developer of fuel-cell humidifiers and building energy recovery ventilators has had to be creative since the Great Recession to grow its business. James Dean, dPoint's CEO, noted the lack of venture capital over the past few years has made it challenging to fund growth. But with an eye for new opportunities, the company has worked with strategic investors and found other ways to grow the business. "We started out as a fuel cell company and then discovered our technology was great for building energy recovery. We have had success focusing on that business."
See more on dPoint Technologies on page B16.
8. SouthGobi Resources Ltd.
Mongolian coal miner
2012 revenue: $53.1 million
Five-year growth: 1,492%
2012 rank: n/a
Last year was a challenging year for the Vancouver-based coal mining company that owns the Ovoot Tolgoi coal mine in Mongolia and three other development projects in that country. The mine was selling coal to China until its licence was suspended by the Mongolian government over concerns China was going to acquire ownership in SouthGobi through state-owned Aluminum Corp. of China. The share deal ultimately fell through and SouthGobi was able to resume mining in March. The company plans to sell 3.2 million tons of semi-soft coking coal in 2013.
9. Alexco Resource Corp.
Yukon silver producer
2012 revenue: $84.7 million
Five-year growth: 1,377%
2012 rank: n/a
The owner and operator of Canada's only primary silver mine did well in 2012. It produced nearly 2.2 million ounces of silver – a 6.4% increase over 2011 production from its Bellekeno mine in the Yukon Territory. Its revenues were bolstered by near-record silver prices, with average realized silver prices of US$31.54 per ounce.
But with plummeting silver prices, 2013 isn't turning into a positive year. Mining revenues were down 60% for the first half of the year with an average realized silver price of $25.31 per ounce.
10. Global Village Consulting Inc.
Health information software developer
2012 revenue: $14.3 million
Five-year growth: 1,057%
2012 rank: 15
The health infomatics consulting and software development firm has taken its name to heart and truly taken a global route to growth. While the business began in 1995, the company has grown substantially over the last few years, increasing revenues 42% between 2011 and 2012 alone.
The company has Canadian offices in Vancouver, Victoria, Regina, Ottawa and Toronto and has expanded with a branch in the Philippines and Dubai with more branches planned in Europe, the U.S. and South America.
