Record revenue as high-tech closes in on dairy and tourism. PLUS: 10 companies to watch. Updated.
Click the NBR Radio box for special feature audio: TIN100 founder Greg Shanahan on growing up in "East Berlin" and the trends that dr
Click the NBR Radio box for special feature audio: TIN100 founder Greg Shanahan on growing up in "East Berlin" and the trends that drove this year's rankings.
F&P Appliances has again topped the Technology Investment Network's annual TIN100 ranking of New Zealand's top high-tech exporters by revenue (see table below).
Datacom Group, owned by NBR Rich Lister John Holdsworth, maintains its number two spot. The Wellington-based IT services provider, which operates across NZ, Australia and Asia, also keeps its place as the largest locally-owned high-tech exporter (the list includes companies that have been sold offshore but keep substantial operations in NZ, such as Navman spin-off Navman Wireless, whose fleet-tracking technology is now owned by a venture capital company in the US).
TIN100 companies saw 7.3% or $609 million growth in the year to March 31, a record since the index was started in the teeth of the GFC.
All told, TIN100 companies had a record revenue of nearly $9 billion. $6.5 billion of that was export receipts, putting high-tech third behind dairy (around $16 billion) and tourism ($10.3 billion) in the export-earning stakes.
Top 10 Companies by Rank
* Estimated.
EY10 Companies to Watch:
TIN100 companies with the largest revenue growth in 2015*
* Represents the TIN100 companies who achieved the highest dollar value increase in revenue in the past year. Included are companies that have provided revenue figures and achieved a minimum growth of 5%.
ASB 10 Hot Emerging Companies:
TIN100+ companies with the largest revenue growth in 2015*
* Represents the TIN100+ companies who achieved the highest dollar value increase in revenue in the past year. Included are companies that have provided revenue figures and achieved a minimum growth of 5%.
TIN100 founder Greg Shanahan tells NBR that many companies on the list have been battle-hardened by the Kiwi dollar's prolonged high period against the US dollar and other currencies. Now that the Kiwi has come down significantly, they are poised to really take advantage, he says.
Growth has been across the board, but health technology and finance and financial services software have been two particularly hot areas, he says. Fast-growing companies in the latter category have included Xero, Diligent, Data Torque, PushPay, Vend and Transaction Services Group (parent company of DebitSuccess). With a thumping 58% revenue growth, it was the fastest growing sector (even if some of those involved are still chasing their first profit).
The buoyancy was reflected by a burst of IPOs.
There have been 13 public listings for TIN100+ companies since 2013, more than the previous 10 years (the overall list now has now swelled from 100 to 200 companies).
The capital available from new and established publicly listed companies; and the rise in US investment has enabled companies to pursue high growth strategies with heavy increases in R&D and sales and marketing spend, Mr Shanahan says.
Total R&D spend by TIN200 companies is approaching $1 billion, while employee numbers grew by 2410, to over 37,000 staff in the 2015 financial year.
Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce at the TIN100 2015 launch in Auckland last night.
Got a question about the TIN100? Leave it here ahead of Greg Shanahan's AMA on Friday.
