Quiksilver Rises on List of Small Firms

Quiksilver, a Costa Mesa surfwear manufacturer, was ranked for the second consecutive year near the top of the charts by Business Week in its annual listing of the best small companies in America.

The 12-year-old company ranked No. 11 on the basis of sales growth, earnings growth and return on invested capital. Quiksilver stood at No. 26 on the list last year.

Business Week’s table of the top 100 companies was based on three-year results. Over that time, Quiksilver shows average annual increases of 59.5% in sales and 149.5% in profits. In 1987, the company racked up earnings of $2.4 million on sales of $33.5 million.

“People rarely recognize the fact that young, hard-working entrepreneurs can be successful in an industry that’s normally considered flaky,” said Bob McKnight, Quiksilver’s 34-year-old founder and president.

The ranking “shows that we’re all very serious about the business and that the numbers and success don’t just happen by accident,” McKnight added. “We’re not just riding the wave of success or capitalizing on a fad. In the dozen years that we’ve been at this, we’ve grown and been profitable every year.”

The magazine’s list was made up of actively traded companies with annual sales of less than $150 million, a current market value greater than $1 million, and a current stock price of more than $1. Banks, insurers, real estate firms, and utilities were excluded.