A slower pace

The slow pace of recovery from the 2007-09 recession appears to have curbed the pace of Virginia’s 50 fastest-growing companies.

The 2013 Fantastic 50 had a median four-year revenue growth rate of 243.34 percent, the lowest level seen on the list since 2008.

In addition, the growth rate of the top company on the list this year, 2,165 percent, while amazing, is more than 2,500 percentage points lower than the four-year growth rate recorded by last year’s leading company.
The 2013 Fantastic 50 list was compiled by comparing the revenue growth from 2008 through 2011.  Those years included the low point of the Great Recession and the first two years of the recovery.

According to the World Bank, U.S. gross domestic product declined slightly (down 0.4 percent) in 2008 before falling 3.5 percent the next year. GDP bounced back 3 percent in 2010 before slowing to 1.7 percent in 2011.

To be eligible for the Fantastic 50 this year, a company must have had revenue of at least $200,000 in 2008. It also must have made a profit in 2011 and have revenue of less than $100 million in its most recent fiscal year.

The Fantastic 50 presents four Vanguard Awards this year to the company with the highest revenue growth on the list and three other companies which recorded the greatest growth in their industry group.

Highest revenue growth: McLean-based Integrity Management Consulting, which helps federal agencies with acquisition and program management support services.

Service: Clarksville-based Veterans Enterprise Technology Solutions Inc., which offers its federal government clients a variety of services ranging from computer-based 3-D simulations to mail operations.

Retail/Wholesale: Suffolk-based New Day Office Products & Furnishings Inc., which sells high-quality commercial furnishings and provides services including interior design, project management and strategic planning.

Technology: Falls Church-based Kore Federal, which provides information technology solutions to Homeland Security, Defense and intelligence agencies.

In past years, the Fantastic 50 also has included a Vanguard Award for manufacturers. No manufacturing company, however, made the list this year. Only one manufacturer was on the list in 2012.

No manufacturing or retail/wholesale companies made the list in 2011.

The 2013 Fantastic 50 list is dominated by service companies, 27, followed by technology companies, 22.

Twenty-three companies on the list this year are repeat winners from last year.

Northern Virginia is home to 39 companies on the list. Nine of those firms show Arlington as their address, followed by six in Reston and five in McLean.

Nine companies on the list are based in Hampton Roads.

The Fantastic 50 is coordinated by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. The accounting firm Dixon Hughes Goodman reviews the financial records of entries to determine the winners.

All 50 companies were recognized at a banquet held April 25 at the Westfields Marriott Washington Dulles in Chantilly.