Post 200
The Post 200 -- Industry Breakouts
Financial Services | Government Services | Health Care | Hospitality & Travel | Information Technology
Manufacturing | Media | Real Estate | Telecommunications | Other Industries | Private Companies
Other Md. Companies | Other Va. Companies | Major Employers (Out-of-Town Companies) | What About...?
Lockheed Martin Corp. didn't stop building military jets in 2005, and General Dynamics Corp. didn't pull the plug on its submarine assembly lines. But diversification beyond war-fighting hardware remained the byword for aerospace and defense companies as they sought to expand their presence in information technology. Lockheed bought a company that maintains Web sites for federal agencies and put the chief financial officer of computer-maker Dell Inc. on its board. General Dynamics, while preparing to lay off as many as 2,400 workers from its dwindling shipyard business, put $2.2 billion on the table to buy government technology contractor Anteon International Corp. of Fairfax. Some mid-size companies already providing information technology to defense and intelligence agencies -- such as CACI International Inc. and ManTech International Corp. -- bulked up through acquisitions. (See all aerospace & defense firms in the Post 200.)
MedImmune Inc. of Gaithersburg remained the area's most successful biotech company, with $1.24 billion in sales, mostly from its product to treat certain respiratory infections in babies. Martek Biosciences Corp. had a rough year because customers who were worried about production problems hoarded supplies of its nutritional supplement used in infant formula. United Therapeutics Corp. of Silver Spring reported that profit tripled for its drug to treat pulmonary hypertension. And Digene Corp. of Gaithersburg started aggressive marketing of its DNA test that can help women determine if they are at risk of developing cervical cancer. (See all biotechnology firms in the Post 200.)
Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc., a consulting firm that advises companies on personnel and financial management, earned its global name in 2005. It paid $394 million in cash in July for the 80 percent of its European business partner that it didn't already own. The Corporate Executive Board Co. posted a 29 percent increase in revenue. And the Advisory Board Co. reported a 16 percent increase in third-quarter revenue. FTI Consulting Inc. lost its place in this category by moving its headquarters to Baltimore from Annapolis. (See all consulting & professional services firms in the Post 200.)
It was a profitable yet trying year for area energy companies. AES Corp., an international energy producer and distributor, reduced its earnings for 2002 through 2004 by hundreds of millions of dollars in a restatement. Pepco Holdings Inc. was caught in an uproar in Maryland over fast-rising utility rates. WGL Holdings Inc., the parent of Washington Gas Light Co., had to commit $144 million to repair thousands of leaks in underground natural gas lines in Prince George's County. USEC Inc. of Bethesda, which recycles uranium for use in nuclear power plants, cut staff as it ran into problems with a new plant in Ohio. Foundation Coal Holdings Inc. of Linthicum Heights, Md., earned 32 percent more revenue than in the previous year, and profit rose to $88.9 million from $3 million. (See all energy firms in the Post 200.)
The area's largest bank by assets, Baltimore-based Mercantile Bankshares Corp., expanded its presence in the Washington suburbs by buying Community Bank of Northern Virginia. Chevy Chase, the largest bank based in the immediate Washington area, won a five-year contract to put its ATMs in Metro stations. Two banks disappeared from the Post 200: Riggs National Corp., devastated by scandals in its international banking operations, was sold to PNC Financial Services Group Inc. of Pittsburgh. And Columbia Bancorp of Columbia was acquired by Fulton Financial Corp. of Lancaster, Pa. The two banks that rose to take their places on The Post 200 were Severn Bancorp Inc. of Annapolis and Middleburg Financial Corp. of Middleburg. (See financial institutions in the Post 200.)
The biggest players in this category, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are unranked this year because of their continuing accounting problems. Capital One Financial Corp., known for its credit card pitches, diversified with deals to buy two banks. Investment bank Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group Inc. went through a rough year, including an insider-trading investigation that led to the forced resignation of co-chief executive Emanuel Friedman and a 10 percent drop in revenue. And American Capital Strategies Ltd. became the biggest "business-development company," overtaking local rival Allied Capital Corp. (See all financial services firms in the Post 200.)
New leaders at Maximus Inc., a Reston company that sells software and consulting services to state and local governments, are focusing on health and human services outsourcing. Duratek Inc. of Columbia took a different approach to its future in nuclear-waste treatment: It agreed in February to be bought by a Salt Lake City company. Two other companies, VSE Corp. of Alexandria and Versar Inc. of Springfield, landed contracts in support of the war in Iraq. And GTSI Corp. of Chantilly is making a painful transformation from selling technology equipment to providing services. (See all government services firms in the Post 200.)
Managed-health-care company Coventry Health Care Inc. of Bethesda expanded its business in Medicare and Medicaid last year through a $1.8 billion acquisition. Sunrise Senior Living Inc. of McLean grew through acquisitions and a major push to build retirement facilities in Europe. Pharmacy-benefit manager HealthExtras Inc. of Rockville bought rival EBRx Inc. Hanger Orthopedic Group Inc., which provides artificial limbs and braces, endured a year of nearly flat sales and rising costs following an acquisition spree that ended several years ago. PRA International, which helps companies develop new drugs, couldn't hire fast enough to keep up with booming business. (See all health care firms in the Post 200.)
Hotel manager Marriott International Inc., the industry's biggest player, prospered from a boom in business travel combined with a shortage of new hotel properties. Hotel-property owner Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. moved to diversify beyond its Marriott family roots, buying 35 luxury hotels from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. for $3.76 billion. MeriStar Hospitality Corp., a real estate investment trust that owns hotels and resorts, agreed to be acquired by a unit of the Blackstone Group for $2.6 billion. Hotel franchiser Choice Hotels International Inc., known for economy brands, introduced a more upscale brand. (See all hospitality & travel firms in the Post 200.)
Micros Systems Inc. joined the acquisition spree by area companies last year, buying the company that sells restaurants those paging "coasters" that flash and buzz when your table is ready. EPlus Inc., which sells procurement and supply-chain software, concentrated on lawsuits defending its technology patents. MicroStrategy Inc. spent heavily in buying back its stock to prop up its price. The founder of TNS Inc. moved to take the company private again. And three companies went public last year: NeuStar Inc., which serves as a clearinghouse for the telecom industry; NCI Inc., which provides information technology to federal agencies; and Vocus Inc., which provides software for public relations. (See all information technology firms in the Post 200.)
Danaher Corp. is on an acquisition campaign that netted it 16 specialty tool and instrument manufacturers last year alone, including Visual Networks Inc. of Rockville. Cement-maker Lafarge North America Inc. is on the other end of the acquisition equation, with its French parent trying to buy the 47 percent of the company it doesn't already own. Harman International Industries Inc., which makes much of its money producing high-end audio equipment for luxury automobiles, developed an adapter to pump iPod music through a car's sound system. Specialty chemical maker W.R. Grace & Co. continued to grapple with asbestos liability. And manufacturers American Woodmark Corp. (which makes cabinets), Rowe Cos. (furniture) and Trex Co. (simulated wood decks) all had a tough year. (See all manufacturing firms in the Post 200.)
As newspaper circulation continued to decline, Gannett Co. of McLean, the country's biggest publisher, put new emphasis on its Web strategy by merging the online and print newsroom operations of USA Today. The Washington Post Co. continued to benefit from diversification, as its education-services firm, Kaplan Inc., produced the company's strongest revenue growth. XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. kept adding subscribers and remained the leader in its field, but it spent heavily to recruit listeners and to counter the publicity that rival Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. scored by signing up shock jock Howard Stern. Radio One Inc. branched out into television and the Web as the radio business stagnated. (See all media firms in the Post 200.)
The real estate industry in the Washington area prospered, but by the end of the year, there was trepidation that rising interest rates would lead to a slowdown. Homebuilder NVR Inc. reported a 33 percent increase in annual profit, but new-home orders dipped in the third quarter compared with the same period a year earlier before recovering in the fourth quarter. AvalonBay Communities Inc., which owns apartment complexes, benefited as those who couldn't afford rising home prices remained renters. The area's commercial real estate companies also had a strong year, and CarrAmerica Realty Corp. agreed to be sold for $5.6 billion to the Blackstone Group. Shopping-mall owner Mills Corp. is unranked this year because of accounting problems. Construction firm Williams Industries Inc. struggled through a liquidity crisis. And Republic Property Trust went public. (See all real estate firms in the Post 200.)
The August merger of Kansas-based Sprint Corp. with Nextel Communications Inc. of Reston created a formidable player in the cellphone market, with 49.6 million subscribers. It also powered the combined company, Sprint Nextel Corp., which has its corporate headquarters in Reston but its operational center outside Kansas City, to No. 2 in this year's Post 200. NII Holdings Inc., a former Nextel subsidiary, had a boom year in its business selling wireless service in Latin America. Cable provider RCN Corp., which offers television, phone and Internet service, moved its headquarters from Princeton, N.J., to Herndon last year after emerging from bankruptcy protection. Many local telecom companies continued to struggle. Primus Telecommunications Group Inc. revealed that its auditor has questioned whether it can remain a "going concern." (See all telecommunications firms in the Post 200.)
Fairchild Corp. said it may go private, which could spare it attention like it attracted last year when it lost $21.3 million. It settled a shareholder lawsuit alleging it overpaid its chief executive and disclosed that its auditor found accounting errors. Strayer Education Inc. had a good year, with enrollment up strongly at its colleges for working adults. CompuDyne Corp., which sells security products including prison locks and software, started the year strong but ended up with widening losses as state and local spending slowed. Varsity Group Inc., which sells books and uniforms to private high schools online, had a 33 percent increase in annual revenue.
(See all other industries firms in the Post 200.)
Candy maker Mars Inc. would have ranked fourth among The Post 200's top public companies if it were one. Instead, it's a very private company. Last year, the company promoted a healthier side of its products, with specially formulated cocoa bars that it claims are good for the heart if eaten daily. Insurer Geico, with its talking gecko mascot, paid out $200 million on 55,000 claims in last year's hurricanes. Allegis Group Inc., a global staffing firm, reported revenue of $4 billion, up from $3.6 billion a year earlier. Consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. benefited from the boom in homeland security contracts. Builder Clark Enterprises Inc. landed the deal to build the new baseball stadium in the District, while MedStar Health's sports-medicine division signed up the Washington Nationals as patients.
Click here to view a chart of the largest private companies headquartered in the Washington metro area.
Constellation Energy Group Inc., parent of Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., made headlines of several sorts in recent months. It agreed to be bought by FPL Group Inc. of Florida in an $11 billion deal that's pending. And it announced rate increases of up to 72 percent for BGE customers, which caused an uproar that shook up Maryland state government. Toolmaker Black & Decker Corp. reported a 21 percent increase in sales, much of it from acquisitions made in 2004. Legg Mason Inc. dramatically reshaped itself, swapping its stock-brokerage business for Citigroup Inc.'s mutual fund business in a $3.7 billion deal.
Click here to view a chart of the largest public companies in Maryland with headquarters outside the Washington metro area.
Dominion Resources Inc., parent of Dominion Virginia Power, reported a decline in profit in part because of hurricane-related delays in oil and gas production. The hurricanes also disrupted operations of Norfolk Southern Corp., but the higher fuel prices that followed caused more customers to ship by rail instead of truck. Genworth Financial Inc. of Richmond, which provides insurance and investment-related products and services, was spun off by General Electric Co. in mid-2004. Smithfield Foods Inc. had to contend with both a decline in hog prices and the environmental effects of its hog farms and production facilities.
Click here to view a chart of the largest public companies in Virginia with headquarters outside the metro area.
The roster of out-of-town companies with the most employees in the area hasn't changed much on the surface, but much has been happening. Federated Department Stores Inc. bought May Department Stores Co. and will convert Hecht's stores to the Macy's nameplate. Verizon Communications Inc. closed its $8.5 billion purchase of Ashburn-based MCI Inc. and began offering TV service over fiber-optic cable in parts of the area. Maryland enacted the country's first law to require retail behemoth Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to spend more on employee health insurance. Ahold USA Inc. spent $1.1 billion to settle a securities-fraud class-action lawsuit at its Columbia-based U.S. Foodservice Inc. and struggled against eroding market share at its Giant Food chain. Employee-owned Science Applications International Corp. announced plans to go public, and Computer Sciences Corp. announced that it's up for sale.
Click here for a chart of major employers that are headquartered outside of the Washington metro region.
These are companies that have yet to report their finances for 2005. They include Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage giants that have traditionally held the top two spots in The Post 200. All but one of these unranked companies are struggling through complex restatements to meet the demands of regulators and the standards set by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Two companies, Fannie Mae and consulting firm BearingPoint Inc., have been at it so long that they were absent from last year's Post 200, as well. The one exception from this litany of accounting problems: Manugistics Group Inc.'s fiscal year did not end until Feb. 28, so it won't be reporting results until mid-May. (See all unranked firms in the Post 200.)
