South Australia’s Top 100 SA Companies Index has been released, showing aggregate revenue of $21.03 billion dollars this year for the state’s top 100 companies, versus $20.62b in 2009 and $22.6b in 2008.
The Top 100 SA Companies Index ranks the biggest locally owned or controlled enterprises in order of turnover.
“This is the seventh year of the Top 100 SA Company Index and the fifth year of our memorable luncheon at the Hilton Adelaide,” says in-business publisher Graham Wakeling. “These are good numbers but the Top 100 creates the real highlights.
“In South Australia, it’s hard to believe we’ve had a global financial crisis. Aggregate sales revenue for the Top 100 dipped less than 5% since 2008. Without last year’s billion-dollar departure of ABB Grain from the list following its sale to Canada’s Viterra, and the impact this had on the combined T100 revenue, this 5% dip would not have occurred.
“The GFC was real, but it is in the past and our Top 100 CEOs only look one way: forward. Or, in some cases, fast forward. Leed Engineering has achieved 124% growth in the past 12 months. That was exceptional and while double-digit growth was not as easy to achieve last year, nine Top 100 SA companies still managed it in 2010.”
While there was considerable movement within the Top 100 rankings this year, the trend to improved performance was impressive. Among the top 50 enterprises, 54 percent have grown against the tide of economic downturn and 14 percent stayed steady. The remaining 32 percent declined in turnover.
Companies that have ‘climbed the ladder’ include:
- T & R Pastoral from 11 to 6
- Leed Engineering from 52 to 25
- Australian Central CU from 50 to 32
- Tagara from 61 to 49
- Codan from 35 to 26
- Mossop from 55 to 47
- MC Mahon from 51 to 45
- MGA Whittles from 73 to 67
Codan was the most widespread exporter, reaching 150 countries.
In terms of contribution to employment numbers, the Top 100 major players were IGA operator, Drake Supermarkets, which added more than 900 full time equivalent employees, with BP On The Run operator, Peregrine Corporation, adding almost 500.
Meat supplier T&S Pastoral and K&S Corporation, a transport and logistics enterprise, grew from 1600 employees to 2000 and 1800 respectively.
