CONTINENTAL RESOURCES RANKS FIRST AMONG STATE’S PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANIES, AND 12 OF 13 TOP ONES HAVE ENERGY TIES
Above and Right: Employees work Oct. 19 on a Continental Resources rig site in Chickasha. PHOTOS BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN
Companies reflect state economy BY DON MECOY Business Writer dmecoy@opubco.com
cently said “Continental is one of my favorite stocks.”
Ranking methods Oklahoma’s publicly traded companies are a supercharged reflection of the state economy’s heavy tilt toward energy. The state, which strove mightily to diversify its energy-based economy after the oil bust in the late 1980s and 1990s, has returned to its petroleumladen roots. Oklahomans’ personal earnings from oil and gas in 2008 exceeded the levels of the late 1970s and early 1980s and may again in 2012 when those numbers are compiled, according to figures provided by Federal Reserve Economist Chad Wilkerson. While the energy sector’s shares of employment and economic output in the state are lower than in the earlier boom, they are approaching those levels, said Wilkerson, head of the Oklahoma City Federal Reserve Branch office. Twelve of the top 13 ranked companies in Oklahoma Inc. are in the energy business, but there is great diversity in the firms. Their focus ranges from exploration and production to service, equipment and synthetic fuels. The top-ranked company, Continental Resources Inc., has grown from modest beginnings by founder Harold Hamm into an instrumental developer of the huge Bakken oil field in North Dakota. The company recently unveiled its newest oil field in its home state of Oklahoma. Hamm, a wildcatter at heart who started an oilfield service company in 1967 with a single truck, built Continental Resources with an emphasis on oil, which put him at odds with many of his fellow Oklahoma energy leaders. Hamm took Continental public in June 2007, in a move that made him a billionaire because of his majority stake in the company. Forbes magazine recently estimated Hamm’s net worth at nearly $10 billion, placing him among the 35 wealthiest Americans. The chief energy adviser to Mitt Romney, Hamm recently testified before Congress about energy policies and touted new technologies, including hydraulic fracturing, that have unleashed huge new supplies of natural gas and oil. The firm recently forecast that it expects to boost its oil production to more than 100 million barrels of oil equivalent in the next five years per day. Based on the numbers provided by S&P Capital IQ, Continental ranked second among the state’s publicly traded companies in revenue growth, and third in earnings growth in the year ending June 30. Many investors likely agree with analyst Andrew Coleman, of Raymond James in Houston, who re-
For more than 15 years, The Oklahoman, with the help of S&P Capital IQ, has ranked the state’s publicly traded companies using a system aimed at evaluating profitable growth. Companies are ranked on three measures, and those with the best composite score rise to the top. To measure growth, S&P ranked each company according to how quickly its revenues grew in the year ending June 30. Syntroleum Corp. was the top company in that category with a 189 percent increase over the 12month period. To gauge profitability, each company was ranked according to its percentage
change in earnings per share over the period. SandRidge Energy Inc. topped that category with a 2,066 percent gain. Finally, each company was ranked according to its change in share price, including dividends, over the period. By that measure, Orchids Paper Products generated the best reward for its shareholders. Typically, it’s tough for any one company to excel in all three rankings, which helps weed out firms that get a rankings boost in a category by rebounding from a tough year. We take the rankings and average them to produce our overall list. Continental Resources, with its strong rankings in two categories and aboveaverage rank in the third,
Top major companies Prior Rank Rank Company Name
Score
Continental Resources rig in Chickasha is shown.
took the top spot with an average of 6.0. Williams Cos. Inc., which ranked fifth in reve-
One Year Total Return (Stock and dividends) in percent Rank
Percent Change in Revenues ‘11 to ‘12
Percent Change in Earnings Per Share ‘11 to ‘12 Rank
Rank
nue growth and earnings growth, finished with the second-highest average at 9.3. Orchids, the overall
Market Value (in Millions) June 29, 2012
‘12 Total Revenues (in Millions)
winner in total shareholder return, was thirdbest overall with an average of 10.7.
‘12 Net Income (in Millions)
‘12 Return on Average Equity (in percent)
Industry Sector
1 21 Continental Resources Inc. 6.0 2.6 13 183.0 2 714.5 3 12,068.547 2,482.926 801.857 33.6 Energy 2 20 Williams Cos Inc. 9.3 19.5 5 11.2 18 167.4 5 18,054.773 7,940.000 383.000 7.2 Energy 3 28 Orchids Paper Products Co. 10.7 45.6 1 10.7 21 114.0 10 133.696 102.791 9.140 12.6 Manufacturing 4 12 Magellan Midstream Partners LP 10.7 24.2 4 14.4 12 33.3 16 7,989.383 1,865.453 451.847 30.4 Energy 5 8 ONEOK Partners LP 11.7 32.2 2 10.9 20 57.7 13 11,815.056 10,757.672 953.595 24.6 Energy 6 19 Matrix Service Co. 12.3 -15.3 21 18.8 9 135.3 7 291.521 717.813 21.085 10.5 Energy 7 3 SandRidge Energy Inc. 13.0 -37.2 31 31.4 7 2,066.7 1 3,272.687 1,597.661 805.078 35.1 Energy 8 *NR Compressco Partners LP 13.3 -28.3 27 15.5 11 912.5 2 191.431 98.449 12.783 6.9 Energy 9 24 SemGroup Corp. 14.0 24.4 3 -13.2 33 155.7 6 1,339.400 1,380.169 18.418 2.2 Energy 10 30 Blueknight Energy Partners LP 14.0 -11.5 18 11.5 16 133.7 8 150.982 180.428 54.328 *NM Energy 11 9 Chesapeake Energy Corp. 15.0 -36.6 30 31.9 6 126.7 9 12,320.321 12,512.000 2,339.000 16.2 Energy 12 34 Syntroleum Corp. 15.0 -54.1 33 189.4 1 86.4 11 66.474 14.237 -2.550 -7.3 Energy 13 NR NGL Energy Partners LP 15.3 17.5 7 49.1 4 -218.2 35 991.208 1,446.063 -10.112 -2.2 Energy 1.4 26 57.6 14 2,257.893 1,557.112 190.320 29.5 Service 14 13 Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. 16.3 9.8 9 15 2 Gulfport Energy Corp. 16.3 -30.5 28 49.7 3 27.3 18 1,148.843 258.813 111.969 21.5 Energy 16 25 Sonic Corp. 16.7 -5.7 17 -1.1 29 194.7 4 586.731 543.974 33.869 78.2 Service 17 NR Access Midstream Partners LP 16.7 0.3 15 18.1 10 11.2 25 4,026.454 613.189 218.450 9.4 Energy 18 22 BOK Financial Corp. 17.0 8.9 10 8.4 24 29.4 17 3,965.981 1,444.194 333.337 11.9 Financial/Banks 19 4 Helmerich & Payne Inc. 17.3 -33.9 29 25.9 8 36.7 15 4,595.227 3,023.106 545.350 15.9 Energy 20 18 BancFirst Corp. 17.7 11.7 8 6.7 25 16.3 20 635.104 267.342 49.885 10.3 Financial/Banks 21 11 ONEOK Inc. 18.0 17.7 6 1.4 27 14.1 21 8,675.328 13,544.256 359.180 16.7 Energy 22 23 Panhandle Oil & Gas Inc. 18.3 3.2 12 11.2 17 10.4 26 248.354 49.900 9.832 12.3 Energy 23 6 Alliance Holdings GP LP 18.7 -12.3 19 13.2 13 11.3 24 2,483.117 1,935.440 212.902 54.2 Energy 24 16 Williams Partners LP 21.0 1.7 14 11.1 19 -1.9 30 18,044.167 6,747.000 1,274.000 19.0 Energy 25 15 AAON Inc. 21.3 -12.7 20 9.9 22 12.2 22 462.654 285.521 20.361 16.2 Manufacturing 26 10 OGE Energy Corp. 22.0 6.0 11 0.5 28 6.7 27 5,109.394 3,793.000 346.100 13.8 Energy 27 5 Alliance Resource Partners LP 22.0 -23.2 24 13.2 14 1.8 28 2,069.425 1,935.806 374.218 60.0 Energy 28 7 Unit Corp. 22.7 -39.5 32 31.9 5 -18.8 31 1,792.448 1,331.791 138.158 7.2 Energy 29 14 Devon Energy Corp. 24.3 -25.5 25 13.1 15 -55.7 33 23,456.956 11,143.000 2,415.000 11.0 Energy 30 27 Educational Development Corp. 25.3 -17.2 22 -2.2 31 12.1 23 15.834 26.603 1.471 10.3 Service 31 33 GrayMark Healthcare Inc. 26.0 -69.6 34 -3.9 32 74.6 12 5.759 17.572 -10.668 -376.4 Service 32 1 LSB Industries Inc. 26.0 -28.0 26 9.3 23 1.5 29 691.116 791.664 74.630 25.4 Manufacturing 33 31 ADDvantage Technologies Group Inc. 28.3 -17.3 23 -1.5 30 -42.3 32 21.905 37.993 1.559 4.3 Technology 182.996 120.675 -58.458 -22.6 Financial/Banks 34 32 Southwest Bancorp Inc. 28.7 -3.9 16 -20.1 34 -2,000.0 36 35 29 GMX Resources Inc. 30.3 -81.8 36 -22.9 36 25.9 19 60.381 88.160 -288.109 -514.3 Energy 36 17 PostRock Energy Corp. 34.7 -73.2 35 -21.6 35 -101.9 34 19.358 77.706 5.199 NM Energy Ties: For companies with an identical overall ranking score, the Percent Change in Earnings Per Share was used as a tie-breaker. *NM: “Not Meaningful.” When it is used for the Return on Equity calculation, it indicates that the common equity portion of the calculation was negative and to use the negative figure would return an erroneous result. SOURCE: S&P CAPITAL IQ *NR: “Not Ranked”
Top OTC companies Prior Rank Rank Company Name
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4 NR NR NR 5 1 3
Greystone Logistics Inc EC Development Inc Totally Green Inc Webco Industries Inc. Enxnet Inc Reserve Petroleum Co Avalon Correctional Services Inc.
Score
2.3 3.0 4.0 4.0 4.3 4.7 5.7
One Year Total Return (Stock and dividends) in percent Rank
14.3 -18.5 -58.0 2.0 100.0 -21.1 0.0
2 5 7 3 1 6 4
Percent Change in Revenues ‘11 to ‘12
18.0 32.0 155.5 20.4 0.0 6.6 2.7
Percent Change in Earnings Per Share ‘11 to ‘12 Rank
4 2 1 3 7 5 6
333.3 25.0 0.0 -18.5 0.0 8.2 -78.6
Rank
Market Value (in Millions) June 29, 2012
1 2 4 6 5 3 7
2.089 14.681 18.148 98.240 4.664 45.080 11.589
‘12 Total Revenues (in Millions)
24.186 0.800 0.769 521.212 0.000 13.436 27.166
‘12 Net Income (in Millions)
2.176 -1.706 -1.944 16.974 -0.279 5.106 1.440
‘12 Return on Average Equity (in percent)
NM -40.1 -147.8 12.1 NM 18.9 7.3
Industry Sector
Manufacturing Technology Manufacturing Manufacturing Technology Energy Service
SOURCE: S&P CAPITAL IQ
Continental Resources rig site in Chickasha is shown. PHOTOS BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN
Oil and gas industry claims 9 top spots ENERGY | WAVE OF DRILLING ALSO FUELS MIDSTREAM GROWTH BY ADAM WILMOTH Energy Editor awilmoth@opubco.com
Steady oil prices and improved drilling technology have led to another banner year for the state’s energy industry. The success came even as plunging natural gas prices all but wiped out the effort to drill for dry natural gas. Fueled by the strong oil drilling activity, Oklahoma’s energy industry again topped this year’s Oklahoma Inc. list, claiming nine of the top 10 places. “Oklahoma has led the nation in job growth through the recession. We have gained back all the jobs that were lost and more,” said Mike Terry, president of the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association. “From a tax perspective, the oil and gas industry continues to pay almost one-third of the taxes in the state.” The Oklahoma Inc. rankings are produced annually by Standard & Poors, Capital IQ for The Oklahoman. Improved drilling technology combined with strong oil prices have led to a new wave of oil drilling throughout Oklahoma and the country. Much of the new drilling in the state is in northern, western and southern Oklahoma where companies have been producing oil for about a century. “The exciting part is that there were old plays that were drilled a long time ago, but they are being rejuvenated,” Terry said. “It’s like hitting the reset button and starting again. Recoverable reserves, before it’s all said and done, will be much higher than they were years ago when the fields were first developed.” While the industry growth has led to increased profits for energy companies and shareholders, it also has benefited royalty owners throughout the state. Much of the renewed drilling is in parts of the state where oil production previously peaked decades ago. “A lot of that production had dwindled to the point that it was barely marginal and was at risk of being plugged and abandoned
A Continental Resources rig is shown in Chickasha.
where the royalty owners would get no more money at all,” said Jerry Simmons, executive director of the National Association of Royalty Owners. “Horizontal drilling coupled with hydraulic fracturing has allowed them to go back into these old fields and produce so much more oil and gas than they could have gotten before. It’s a boom to landowners.” The royalty owners association estimates that oil and natural gas producers in Oklahoma paid royalty owners more than $1 billion in 2011. Nationwide, about 8.5 million royalty owners receive regular checks from oil and natural gas production, Simmons said. “That’s a lot of folks who aren’t company executives, but are just regular people who rely on that income,” he said. While many aspects of the oil and gas industry are growing, the state’s publicly traded pipeline and storage companies may have benefitted most over the past year. Five of the
top 10 Oklahoma Inc. companies are focused on oil and refined product storage and transportation, which are known as midstream assets. Increased domestic drilling has changed where pipelines are needed. Oil production has led companies into new production areas such as the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and the Eagle Ford formation of south Texas. It also has led companies to return to areas that produced decades ago, but where the existing infrastructure cannot support current and projected activity. “You can produce all you want to, but if you can’t get it to market, it doesn’t do you much good,” Terry said. “You can put all those reserves on the books, but you can’t sell it if you don’t have that infrastructure. You have to have both. That’s why the services sector is so critically important to the production sector. We have to work together.” CONTRIBUTING: JAY F. MARKS, BUSINESS WRITER
Continental Resources’ growth increases with production of oil
A Continental Resources oil storage tanks are shown near Chickasha. PHOTOS BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN
NO. 1 | REVENUE GAINS FUEL COMPANY AS BEST PERFORMER BY ADAM WILMOTH Energy Editor awilmoth@opubco.com
Increased oil production and strong prices combined to help Oklahoma City-based Continental Resources Inc. top the Oklahoma Inc. list of bestperforming companies for the third time in five years. In October 2010, Continental set a goal of tripling its crude oil reserves and production from 2009 levels within five years. The company now expects to reach the goal by the middle of next year, more than 18 months early. “To beat our five-year goal of tripling production and doing it 18 months ahead of time was beyond our expectations,” said CEO Harold Hamm. “We were able to do it because of the quality of our assets in North Dakota and because oil prices have held up over the past three years.” The production growth fueled a 183 percent increase in revenues and a 715 percent increase in earnings per share from July 2011 to June, leading Continental to surge to No. 1 on the Oklahoma Inc. list, up from No. 21 one year ago. To celebrate meeting the five-year goal 18 months early, Continental last month set a new goal of
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again tripling production and reserves, this time from 2012 levels by the end of 2017. Much of the growth has been fueled by the success of the Bakken Shale formation in North Dakota and Montana. Continental is the largest player in the area and owns a stake in more than 30 percent of the more than 5,000 wells drilled in the formation. “We call the Bakken the king of the tight oil fields,” said Jack Stark, Continental’s senior vice president of exploration. “It is so large and just like other good fields, it keeps getting bigger. We think the Bakken should be used as a template or standard for oil field development.” Continental in October unveiled its South Central Oklahoma Oil Province, known at Continental as
SCOOP. The area includes parts of Carter, Stephens, Grady and Garvin counties in south central Oklahoma. The rock is an oil-rich portion of the Woodford Shale that lies beneath oil fields tapped by some of the state’s biggest oil family names, including Phillips, Noble, Hefner and Skelly. “It’s a huge opportunity for the company and another great asset for us because we’re looking at an asset with rates of return that compete head-tohead with what we’re doing in the Bakken” Stark said. “With that as another opportunity that is widespread and repeatable, it gives us one more avenue of growth that has as much upside potential as we see in the Bakken ,” he said. The new field already has drawn the attention of Wall Street. “Just like in anything else, diversification is positive,” said Rehan A. Rashid, analyst with FBR Capital Markets in Washington. “For investors, the Bakken is great. But if you add the diversity of another field, it’s much better for me to be able to invest in the company that has something more than just one project area.” Even though the new
Continental Resources’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Harold G. Hamm stands at a rig site Oct. 19 near Chickasha.
goal is ambitious, analyst Gail Nicholson said she expects the company to meet the new production marks and continue growing. “The management team members are very intelligent and are very good at planning everything out to make sure they have the personnel, infrastructure and everything else to support their efforts,” said Nicholson, an analyst with KLR Group in Tampa, Fla.
A sign at a Continental Resources rig site is shown.
COMPANY PROFILES 1. CONTINENTAL RESOURCES INC. I Address: 20 N. Broadway, Oklahoma City, OK 73102 I Phone: 234-9000 I Website: www.clr.com I Ticker: CLR I Exchange: NYSE I At the top: Harold Hamm I Employees: 609 I Industry: Oil and natural gas extraction I Summary: Continental Resources Inc. engages in the exploration, exploitation and production of oil and natural gas properties primarily in the U.S.
2. WILLIAMS COS. INC. I Address: One Williams Center, Tulsa, OK 74172 I Phone: (918) 573-2000 I Website: www.williams.com I Ticker: WMB I Exchange: NYSE I At the top: Alan S. Armstrong I Employees: 4,293 I Industry: Natural gas distribution I Summary: Williams is primarily engaged in gas marketing and the gathering, storing, and processing of natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs).
3. ORCHIDS PAPER PRODUCTS CO. I Address: 4826 Hunt St., Pryor, OK 74361 I Phone: (918) 825-0616 I Website: www.orchidspaper.com I Ticker: TIS I Exchange: NYSE I At the top: Robert A. Snyder I Employees: 296 I Industry: Paper mill I Summary: Orchids Paper Products Co. makes bulk tissue paper and converts it into bathroom tissue, paper napkins, and paper towels for the consumer market.
Williams Cos. Inc. CEO Alan Armstrong stands in his office on top the Williams Center in downtown Tulsa. PHOTO BY ADAM WILMOTH, THE OKLAHOMAN
Williams finds success by focusing on pipelines
4. MAGELLAN MIDSTREAM PARTNERS LP I Address: One Williams Center, Tulsa, OK 74121 I Phone: (918) 574-7000 I Website: www.magellanlp.com I Ticker: MMP I Exchange: NYSE I At the top: Michael N. Mears I Employees: 1,297 I Industry: Pipeline transportation of crude oil I Summary: Magellan Midstream Partners is an energy infrastructure enterprise with ammonia and petroleum products storage, transportation, and distribution assets.
5. ONEOK PARTNERS LP I Address: 100 W Fifth St., Tulsa, OK 74103 I Phone: (918) 588-7000 I Website: www.oneokpartners.com I Ticker: OKS I Exchange: NYSE I At the top: John W. Gibson I Employees: 4,795 (total for ONEOK) I Industry: Pipeline transportation of natural haas I Summary: The company is engaged in natural gas pipelines; gas gathering and processing; and natural gas liquids (NGLs).
6. MATRIX SERVICE CO. I Address: 5100 E. Skelly Drive, Suite 700, Tulsa, OK 74135 I Phone: (918) 838-8822 I Website: www.matrixservice.com I Ticker: MTRX I Exchange: NAS I At the top: John R. Hewitt I Employees: 3,600 I Industry: Support activities for oil and gas operations. I Summary: Matrix Service Company provides construction, repair, and maintenance services mainly to the petroleum and power industries.
7. SANDRIDGE ENERGY INC. I Address: 123 Robert S. Kerr Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73102 I Phone: 429-5500 I Website: www.sandridgeenergy.com I Ticker: SD I Exchange: NYSE I At the top: Tom L. Ward I Employees: 2,432 I Industry: Oil and natural gas extraction I Summary: The company engages in the exploration, development and production of oil and gas properties.
8. COMPRESSCO PARTNERS, LP I Address: 101 Park Ave. 12th Floor, Oklahoma City, OK 73102 I Phone: 677-0221 I Website: www.compressco.com I Ticker: GSJK I Exchange: NAS I At the top: Ronald J. Foster I Employees: 420 I Industry: Support activities for oil and gas operations. I Summary: The company offers compression, liquids separation, and gas metering services, as well as the GasJack units that perform these operations.
9. SEMGROUP CORP. I Address: Two Warren Place 6120 S Yale Ave., Ste. 700, Tulsa, OK 74136 I Phone: (918) 524-8100 I Website: www.semgroupcorp.com I Ticker: SEMG I Exchange: NYSE I At the top: Norm J. Szydlowski I Employees: 710 I Industry: Natural gas distribution I Summary: SemGroup moves oil and gas from the well head to the marketplace.
10. BLUEKNIGHT ENERGY PARTNERS LP I Address: Two Warren Place 6120 South Yale Ave., Ste. 500, Tulsa, OK 74136 I Phone: (918) 524-5500 I Website: www.bkep.com I Ticker: BKEP I Exchange: NAS I At the top: J. Michael Cockrell I Employees: 500 I Industry: Support activities for oil and gas operations. I Summary: Blueknight Energy Partners provides gathering, transporting, terminalling, and storage of crude oil.
NO. 2 | COMPANY SPINS OFF EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION TO IMPROVE VALUE BY ADAM WILMOTH Energy Editor awilmoth@opubco.com
TULSA — Williams Cos. Inc. surged up the Oklahoma Inc. list by spinning off its exploration and production business and choosing to focus on pipelines instead. Before the spinoff of WPX Energy Inc., Williams was the country’s No. 11 natural gas producer and one of the largest pipeline companies. “We were not being valued for our reserves,” Williams CEO Alan Armstrong said. “Because most of our investors were interested in the cash and safety of the pipeline infrastructure, we had this big exploration and production company that wasn’t being valued.” Over the past two years, Williams spent about $2 billion investing in the Bakken and Marcellus shales, two of the country’s largest production areas. Despite the investment, the company’s stock value did not change much. The company decided to focus on pipelines and gathering systems at a time when midstream assets are in high demand both because of increased oil and natural gas development throughout the country and rising demand from power plants, manufacturing sites and chemical plants. “We’re seeing a lot of long-term investments in the demand side. It’s going to take a lot of natural gas and infrastructure to support that,” Armstrong said. Spinning off WPX and focusing on midstream properties helped Williams’ earnings per share to surge 167 percent from July 2011 through June. Williams’ revenues improved 11 percent and its total return of stock and dividends gained almost 20 percent in the same time period. The company’s structural changes have drawn praise from Wall Street, said Tulsa money manager Jake Dollarhide. “Midstream pipeline companies are in vogue. They are in line with what the market wants,” said Dollarhide, CEO of Longbow Asset Management Co. in Tulsa. “Many funds that invest in energy have replaced exploration and production companies with pipeline companies because those exploration and production companies are not providing the return they have historically.” Williams has identified $25 billion worth of investment opportunities through 2017, he said. The company already has pipeline and gathering system investments in many of the largest oil and
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The Echo Springs natural gas processing plant owned by Williams Cos. Inc. is shown in Carbon County, Wyo. PHOTO PROVIDED BY WILLIAMS COS. INC.
natural gas production areas in the country, including the Bakken in North Dakota and the Marcellus in the Pennsylvania area. The company announced in September that it has signed a long-term
natural gas processing agreement with a producer in Canada’s oil sands. The focus on pipeline infrastructure also makes Williams less affected by volatile fuel prices. “Today, we’re more exposed to volume than
price,” Armstrong said. “Whether (natural) gas prices go up or down, we don’t really care as long as the volume moves. Almost all of the investments we’re making today are investments away from price risk.”
COMPANY PROFILES 11. CHESAPEAKE ENERGY CORP. I Address: 6100 N Western Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73118 I Phone: 848-8000 I Website: www.chk.com I Ticker: CHK I Exchange: NYSE I At the top: Aubrey K. McClendon I Employees: 12,600 I Industry: Oil and natural gas extraction I Summary: Chesapeake Energy Corp. is a producer of oil and natural gas in the U.S.
Discount retail stores help Orchids Paper Products grow NO. 3 | COMAPNY MAKES BATHROOM TISSUE, PAPER TOWELS AND NAPKINS BY RICHARD MIZE Business Writer richardmize@opubco.com
12. SYNTROLEUM CORP. I Address: 4322 S. 49th West Ave., Tulsa, OK 74107 I Phone: (918) 592-7900 I Website: www.syntroleum.com I Ticker: SYNM I Exchange: NAS I At the top: Edward G. Roth I Employees: 21 I Industry: Oil and natural gas refining and marketing I Summary: Syntroleum Corp. engages in the research, development and commercialization of the Syntroleum Process that is designed to convert natural gas into synthetic liquid hydrocarbons.
13. NGL ENERGY PARTNERS LP I Address: 6120 S Yale Ave., Tulsa, OK 74136 I Phone: (918) 481-1119 I Website: www.nglenergypartners.com I Ticker: NGL I Exchange: NYSE I At the top: H. Michael Krimbill I Employees: 353 I Industry: Petroleum bulk stations and terminals. I Summary: NGL Energy Partners retails, wholesales, and stores propane and other natural gas liquids.
14. DOLLAR THRIFTY AUTOMOTIVE GROUP INC. I Address: 5330 East 31st St., Tulsa, OK 74135 I Phone: (918) 660-7700 I Website: www.dtag.com I Ticker: DTG I Exchange: NYSE I At the top: Scott L. Thompson I Employees: 5,900 I Industry: Passenger car rental I Summary: Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group rents cars under the Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rental brands.
15. GULFPORT ENERGY CORP. I Address: 14313 N May Ave. Suite 100, Oklahoma City, OK 73134 I Phone: 848-8807 I Website: www.gulfportenergy.com I Ticker: GPOR I Exchange: NAS I At the top: James D. Palm I Employees: 50 I Industry: Crude petroleum and natural gas extraction I Summary: Gulfport Energy Corp. engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas in the Louisiana Gulf Coast in the West Cote Blanche Bay and Hackberry fields.
Not even the oil boom could flush Orchids Paper Products from the best performing stocks in this year’s Oklahoma Inc. The Pryor-based maker of bathroom tissue, paper towels and napkins is No. 3 — the third-best performing publicly traded stock in the state in 2012. It was No. 28 last year. The company has landed in the top five as often as not since debuting on the list in 2007. This year, it’s one of just two non-energy companies in the top 15. Orchids Paper is on a roll again — mostly in the private label end of the tissue paper business. It makes products sold as store brands in Walmart, Dollar General and other discount chains from huge “parent rolls” of paper also made on site in Pryor’s Mid America Industrial Park. Its products also are sold under the brand names Colortex and Velvet. Robert A. Snyder, president and CEO, just returned from Italy, where manufacturers of papermaking equipment honored Orchids Paper with an award. In September, Dollar General awarded Orchids Paper its 2012 Pride Award for Private Label Vendor of the Year “in recognition of its innovation, dependability and excellence in its partnership with Dollar General” — chosen from all vendors, not just suppliers of paper products. “Dollar General is a leader in its field and we
are honored to be a longterm supplier to their organization,” Snyder said. “The award is a testament to the dedication of our team in achieving world class service and innovation to our customers.” In October, Orchids Paper reported “new understandings with several retailers,” new customers as well as existing ones, that were expected to result in increased orders in the fourth quarter. Combined with previously reported plans, shipments in the last quarter of this year should be 17 percent higher than in the second quarter and will be reflected in results in the first quarter of 2013, Snyder said. “The addition of this new business is primarily the result of continued success in our new product and market development efforts to further penetrate mid-tier market opportunities,” he said. Those successes came this fall. Orchids Paper’s spot at No. 3 in Oklahoma Inc. was based on a year’s worth of data ending June 30. Orchids Paper, which trades under the ticker symbol TIS on the New York Stock Exchange, saw its earning per share rise 114 percent over the year. Revenues rose 10.7 percent and total return per share increased 45.6 percent over the same period. Orchids Paper employs about 300 people. The 2009-10 construction of a new warehouse and a second converter line — where consumer products
I Address: 300 Johnny Bench Drive, Oklahoma City, OK 73104 I Phone: 225-5000 I Website: www.sonicdrivein.com I Ticker: SONC I Exchange: NAS I At the top: J. Clifford Hudson I Employees: 11,514 I Industry: Full service restaurants I Summary: Sonic Corp. operates and franchises a chain of quick-service drive-in restaurants in the United States.
17. ACCESS MIDSTREAM PARTNERS LP I Address: 900 NW 63 St., Oklahoma City, OK 73118 I Phone: (877) 413-1023 I Website: www.accessmidstream.com I Ticker: ACMP I Exchange: NYSE I At the top: J. Michael Stice I Employees: 493 I Industry: Energy I Summary: Access Midstream Partners is a master limited partnership formed to own, operate, develop and acquire midstream energy assets in the United States. Its assets are in the Barnett, Haynesville and Marcellus shales and the MidContinent areas.
18. BOK FINANCIAL CORP. I Address: Bank of Oklahoma Tower, Tulsa, OK 74192 I Phone: (918) 588-6000 I Website: www.bokf.com I Ticker: BOKF I Exchange: NAS I At the top: Stanley A. Lybarger I Employees: 4,511 I Industry: Commercial banking I Summary: BOK offers a range of financial services to consumers and regional businesses.
19. HELMERICH & PAYNE INC. I Address: 1437 S Boulder Ave., Tulsa, OK 74119 I Phone: (918) 742-5531 I Website: www.hpinc.com I Ticker: HP I Exchange: NYSE I At the top: Hans C. Helmerich I Employees: 8,707 I Industry: Drilling oil and gas wells. I Summary: Helmerich & Payne Inc. engages in the contract drilling of oil and gas wells in the United States and internationally.
Business Writer pburkes@opubco.com
Every year, about 600 million new shipping pallets are introduced across the U.S. Two billion are circulating at any given time and, of those, 90 percent are wood. The figures are the kinds of Trivial Pursuit facts that Warren Kruger, as chief executive of the Tulsabased recyclable plastic pallet manufacturer Greystone Logistics, can tick off instantly. “Our biggest competition is the status quo,” said Kruger, who holds some 6.25 million of Greystone’s 26 million shares. “Clients say that (wood pallets) is the way we’ve always done it.” But plastic pallets, which can cost up to $50, last 10 times longer than $8 wood ones, he said, and — instead of going into a landfill when they’re no longer usable — can be recycled and turned in for a reimbursement like pop or beer bottles. Apparently, at least some shippers are hearing the message. In this year’s Oklahoma Inc., Greystone (trading symbol GLGI), which once suffered deep losses, is among Oklahoma’s top companies traded over the counter. The manufacturer had a one-year gain on stocks and dividends of 14.3 percent, an 18 percent increase in revenues and gain in earnings per share of 333.3 percent. For its fiscal year, that ended May 31, it had $24 million in revenue, and just short of $100 million in the past five years, Kruger said.
ENERGY TEAM http://newsok.com/business/energy
and in Friday’s Business
PHOTO BY RICHARD MIZE, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
are made from the huge parent rolls — allowed the company to expand into higher-level segments of the private label market. Stock analyst John Nobile with Taglich Brothers Inc., a New York City brokerage that helped launch Orchid Paper’s initial public offering in 2005, considers TIS a “speculative buy.” Forecast growth in the discount retail and dollar store segment of the economy could leave Orchids Products sitting pretty, even though the company does not have supply contracts with its customers, but operates by purchase orders, Nobile suggested in a recent report. “Because Orchids products are daily consumable items, order streams are fairly consistent with no
significant seasonal fluctuations. Changes in the national economy do not materially affect the market for Orchids’ products,” he said. Nobile, citing a report in Tissue World Magazine, also noted that “private label growth in the American tissue market has been steady. More and more consumers now prefer private labels as an alternative to more expensive branded products.” Or, as Snyder put it in an interview with The Oklahoman: “We’re in the business of producing a product — paper towels, tissue, napkins — that people use every day. The tissue business is more about population than the economy. As the population increases, the need for tissue products increases.”
Tulsa pallet maker urges shippers to go green BY PAULA BURKES
16. SONIC CORP.
Robert A. Snyder, president and CEO of Orchids Paper Products, is shown in the plant in Pryor.
Reground plastics are used in the pallet production. PHOTO PROVIDED
Greystone’s biggest client is MillerCoors, to which it has sent more than 4 million pallets in the last decade, he said. For Omaha Steaks, the company makes a special kind of pallet, which withstands subzero temperatures, and similarly accommodates drug, food and other com-
panies with pallets for moving loads up to 5,000 pounds and static, to 30,000 pounds, he said. Greystone also leases pallets and sells proprietary blends of liquid plastic resins, from mostly melted down milk and detergent bottles, to other manufacturers — such as Advanced Drainage Systems, Baughman Tile Co. and plastic chair makers. Resin sales account for about 16 percent of its revenues, Kruger said. Established in 1968 as a shell company for other ventures, Greystone acquired a closed plastic company in Dallas and did mostly research and development until 2003, when it paid $12.5 million to acquire a plastic pallet manufacturing facility in Bettendorf, Iowa. There, about 100 employees work
around the clock to make 1,500 pallets a day. Kruger since has bought the two 60,000-squarefoot buildings and leased them back to the company. There are eight production lines, which cost about $2 million each, he said. John Brown, a colleague of Kruger’s from Montreal who sold plastic injection molds and other assets to Greystone, said the company faces a kind of paradigm challenge. “People think recyclable products should cost less when they should cost more,” Brown said. Meanwhile, Greystone’s next goal is to hit $100 million in annual sales, Kruger said. “We want our multiple shareholders to reap some revenue at some point,” he said.
COMPANY PROFILES 20. BANCFIRST CORP. I Address: 101 N Broadway, Oklahoma City, OK 73102 I Phone: 270-1086 I Website: www.bancfirst.com I Ticker: BANF I Exchange: NAS I At the top: David E. Rainbolt I Employees: 1,641 I Industry: Commercial banking I Summary: BancFirst Corp. is the holding company for BancFirst, a super-community bank that emphasizes decentralized management and centralized support.
21. ONEOK INC. I Address: 100 West Fifth St., Tulsa, OK 74103 I Phone: (918) 588-7000 I Website: www.oneok.com I Ticker: OKE I Exchange: NYSE I At the top: John W. Gibson I Employees: 4,795 I Industry: Oil and natural gas extraction I Summary: ONEOK’s energy services unit focuses on marketing natural gas across the U.S.
22. PANHANDLE OIL & GAS INC. I Address: 5400 N Grand Blvd Grand Center Suite 300, Oklahoma City, OK 73118 I Phone: 948-1560 I Website: www.panhandleoilandgas.com I Ticker: PHX I Exchange: NYSE I At the top: Michael C. Coffman I Employees: 21 I Industry: Crude petroleum and natural gas extraction I Summary: Panhandle Oil and Gas Inc. is involved in the acquisition, management and development of oil and natural gas properties.
23. ALLIANCE HOLDINGS GP LP I Address: 1717 S Boulder Ave. Suite 400, Tulsa, OK 74119 I Phone: (918) 295-1415 I Website: www.ahgp.com I Ticker: AHGP I Exchange: NAS I At the top: Joseph W. Craft III I Employees: 3,558 I Industry: Bituminous coal and lignite surface mining. I Summary: The company produces and markets coal primarily to utilities and industrial users in the U.S.
24. WILLIAMS PARTNERS LP I Address: One Williams Center, Tulsa, OK 74172 I Phone: (918) 573-2000 I Website: www.williamslp.com I Ticker: WPZ I Exchange: NYSE I At the top: Alan S. Armstrong I Employees: 3,455 I Industry: Pipeline transportation of natural gas I Summary: The company is engaged in the gathering and processing of natural gas and the storage of NGLs, and the operation of three major interstate natural gas pipelines.
25. AAON INC. I Address: 2425 South Yukon, Tulsa, OK 74107 I Phone: (918) 583-2266 I Website: www.aaon.com I Ticker: AAON I Exchange: NAS I At the top: Norman H. Asbjornson I Employees: 1,491 I Industry: Refrigeration and heating equipment I Summary: AAON and its subsidiaries make and sell rooftop air conditioning and heating equipment for commercial and industrial buildings.
26. OGE ENERGY CORP. I Address: 321 N Harvey PO Box 321, Oklahoma City, OK 73101 I Phone: 553-3000 I Website: www.oge.com I Ticker: OGE I Exchange: NYSE I At the top: Peter B. Delaney I Employees: 3,489 I Industry: Electric power distribution I Summary: OGE Energy Corp. is the holding company for OG&E, Oklahoma’s largest electric utility, and Enogex Holdings LLC, a midstream natural gas pipeline business.
27. ALLIANCE RESOURCE PARTNERS LP I Address: 1717 S Boulder Ave. Suite 400, Tulsa, OK 74119 I Phone: (918) 295-7600 I Website: www.arlp.com I Ticker: ARLP I Exchange: NAS I At the top: Joseph W. Craft III I Employees: 3,559 I Industry: Bituminous coal and lignite surface mining I Summary: Alliance Resource Partners LP engages in the production and marketing of coal for utilities and industrial users in the United States.
28. UNIT CORP. I Address: 7130 South Lewis Suite 1000, Tulsa, OK 74136 I Phone: (918) 493-7700 I Website: www.unitcorp.com I Ticker: UNT I Exchange: NYSE I At the top: Larry D. Pinkston I Employees: 2,244 I Industry: Crude petroleum and natural gas extraction I Summary: Unit conducts onshore drilling of oil and natural gas wells for customers in the Gulf Coast, Midcontinent, and Rocky Mountain regions of the U.S.
Magellan Midstream runs petroleum highway NO. 4 | NOT OWNING THE FUEL IT SHIPS PROVIDES PARTNERSHIP WITH STABLE PROFITS BY ADAM WILMOTH Energy Editor awilmoth@opubco.com
TULSA — Magellan Midstream Partners doesn’t own any of the fuel that moves through its pipelines, but consumers throughout the middle of the country would have a hard time keeping their cars and trucks moving without the Tulsa-based energy partnership’s extensive series of pipelines, terminals and storage. Magellan’s network transports oil from the wells to refineries and moves gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other products from the refineries to consumers. Because the partnership does not own the fuel, but instead charges other companies for the use of its petroleum highway, Magellan is relatively unaffected by the energy industry’s infamous price swings, Magellan CEO Mike Mears said. “We have a stable, feebased business that doesn’t fluctuate with price in the market,” Mears said. “It’s driven by overall demand, which is very stable. We don’t have the ups and downs of other companies that produce energy or market energy because we’re not exposed to the price of the commodities.” While Magellan’s refined products system supplies most of the partnership’s revenue, the future lies with crude oil, Mears said. “Crude oil is a relatively new business for our company,” he said. “If you back up two or two and a half years ago, we had very little assets deployed to crude oil. Now we’re rapidly growing.” The combination of the steady refined products business and the growing oil transportation business helped Magellan climb to No. 4 on this year’s Oklahoma Inc. list. The partnership benefitted from a 24 percent one-year total return in stocks and dividends, a 14 percent increase in revenues and a 33 percent increase in earnings per share, all measured from July 2011 through June in the Standard & Poors Capital IQ rankings. While there are many
Magellan Midstream Partners CEO Mike Mears stands in front of gasoline and diesel storage tanks at the company’s Tulsa terminal.
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refined products pipeline companies and many crude oil pipelines, Magellan benefits from having both lines in its inventory, Mears said. “It allows us to be more financially flexible,” Mears said. “It allows us to finance the opportunities at a lower cost.” Magellan owns a system of pipelines and terminals that transport crude oil, gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and ammonia throughout the country. The company owns the longest refined petroleum products pipeline in the country. The 9,600-mile line stretches from Houston to El Paso, Texas, Denver, North Dakota and Chicago and includes 50 Magellanowned terminals. Magellan’s crude oil investments are mostly in Texas, where the partnership is working to more efficiently connect the Permian Basin in western Texas and the Eagle Ford
Gasoline and diesel tanker trucks fill up at Magellan Midstream Partners’ Tulsa Terminal. The fuel is distrubuted to gas stations throughout northeast Oklahoma. PHOTOS BY ADAM WILMOTH, THE OKLAHOMAN
Shale of south Texas to Gulf Coast refineries. The two oil-rich basins provide different challenges. In west Texas, where oil and natural gas drilling has been in place for much of the past century pipelines and other infrastructure already are in place, even if they are not adequate to meet current production demands, Mears said. Magellan owns a pipeline system that currently directs refined products from Houston to West Texas. The partnership is working to reverse the line and fill it with crude oil instead. “If you have existing pipeline you can convert rather than building a new line; it’s a huge advantage,” he said. “It gives you a tremendous competitive
edge.” South Texas, however, poses different challenges because there is little or no existing infrastructure. “It’s a jump ball,” he said. “Everyone’s on a level playing field because everyone has to build new.” The strong demand in both basins promises to keep Magellan and other midstream companies busy for years, said Tulsa money manager Jake Dollarhide. “The more the economy drives back, the more important that infrastructure is going to be,” said Dollarhide, CEO of Tulsa-based Longbow Asset Management Co. “The more energy is coming out of those plays, the more infrastructure is going to be needed to service that production.”
ONEOK Partners isn’t resting on its laurels
COMPANY PROFILES 29. DEVON ENERGY CORP. I Address: 333 W Sheridan Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73102 I Phone: 235-3611 I Website: www.devonenergy.com I Ticker: DVN I Exchange: NYSE I At the top: John Richels I Employees: 5,200 I Industry: Crude petroleum and natural gas extraction I Summary: Devon Energy Corp. focuses on exploration and production assets in Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming, and western Canada.
NO. 5 | COMPANY CONTINUES TO BUILD ON INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS BY PAUL MONIES Business Writer pmonies@opubco.com
TULSA — Past investments in pipeline and gathering infrastructure continues to drive growth at ONEOK Partners LP, which landed at No. 5 in this year’s list of bestperforming public companies in Oklahoma. But the partnership isn’t resting on its laurels. ONEOK Partners plans to spend between $5.7 billion and $6.6 billion by 2015 on infrastructure related to natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil. “These projects, located primarily in the Bakken Shale in the Williston Basin, the Mid-Continent and the Texas Gulf Coast, enable us to continue to meet the needs of producers and customers, and deliver attractive returns to investors,” said John W. Gibson, chairman and chief executive officer of ONEOK Partners and ONEOK Inc. The largest of those projects, the Bakken Crude Express Pipeline, is a 1,300-mile crude oil pipeline with the capacity to transport up to 200,000 barrels of oil per day. The pipeline, ONEOK Partners’ first foray into crude oil transportation, will take light-sweet crude oil from North Dakota and Montana to the crude oil hub in Cushing. After regulatory approvals and permits, the pipeline is expected to begin construction in early 2014 and be finished by mid-2015, Gibson said. As a master limited partnership, ONEOK Partners offers an attractive place for investors to manage risk amid volatile energy commodity markets. Unlike corporations, master limited partnerships pass along a higher percentage of their income to investors in the form of cash distributions, Gibson said. ONEOK Partners ranked second among Oklahoma companies for its one-year total return of 32 percent, as tabulated by S&P Capital IQ for The Oklahoman.
30. EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CORP. I Address: 10302 E 55th Place, Tulsa, OK 74146 I Phone: (918) 622-4522 I Website: www.edcpub.com I Ticker: EDUC I Exchange: NAS I At the top: Randall W. White I Employees: 69 I Industry: Book publishing I Summary: Educational Development Corp. is the exclusive U.S. distributor of a line of about 1,500 children’s books published by the UK’s Usborne Publishing Limited.
31. GRAYMARK HEALTHCARE INC. This fractionator in Mont Belvieu, Texas, is operated by ONEOK Partners. PHOTO PROVIDED
In a still somewhat uncertain economic environment, master limited partnerships offer investors a diverse investment opportunity. Companies like ONEOK Partners have performed well over the past few years, relative to the S&P 500, with potential to grow.” JOHN W. GIBSON CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF ONEOK PARTNERS AND ONEOK INC.
Annual distributions paid per partnership unit increased steadily in the last five years, from $1.99 per unit in 2007 to $2.32 in 2011. That’s expected to increase to $2.59 per unit in 2012, according to the company’s latest guidance. “In a still somewhat uncertain economic environment, master limited partnerships offer investors a diverse investment opportunity,” Gibson said. “Companies like ONEOK Partners have performed well over the past few years, relative to the S&P 500, with potential to grow.” ONEOK Inc. holds a 43 percent stake in ONEOK Partners and serves as its general partner. That means success at the partnership also helps ONEOK, which has more than 2 million natural gas
customers through its Oklahoma Natural Gas, Kansas Gas Service and Texas Gas Service utilities. Lower prices for dry natural gas have led producers to areas with natural gas liquids and crude oil. ONEOK Partners has benefited from higher transport volumes of natural gas liquids such as ethane and propane. “Much of our completed and current investments are to build the necessary infrastructure for the growing supply of both natural gas and natural gas liquids,” Gibson said. “The value of these natural gas liquids is an important source of revenue to producers, particularly at a time when natural gas prices remain low due to abundant supply.” Morningstar analyst Ja-
son Stevens said ONEOK Partners has been on the right side of the natural gas liquids trade, in part because it has been able to exploit recent price differentials between natural gas liquids trading hubs in Kansas and Texas. “While much of ONEOK’s cash flows stem from fee-based transportation, gathering, processing and fractionation contracts, commodity price exposure has been the secret sauce for ONEOK for the past few years,” Stevens wrote in an August research update. In Oklahoma, ONEOK Partners announced plans earlier this year to build a new natural gas processing plant and related infrastructure in the CanaWoodford Shale. That includes a 200 million cubic feet per day natural gas processing facility in Canadian County. The plant, which will cost about $190 million, is expected to be operational by early 2014. “This new infrastructure is necessary to accommodate increased production of NGL-rich natural gas in the CanaWoodford Shale where we already have existing natural gas and natural gas liquids pipelines,” Gibson said. “We are also participating in the Mississippian Lime play with our existing natural gas gathering and processing and NGL assets in the area.”
Matrix makes, mends infrastructure NO. 6 | TULSA COMPANY’S REVENUE, EARNINGS, BOOST RANKING FROM NO. 19 BY PAUL MONIES Business Writer pmonies@opubco.com
TULSA — Matrix Service Co. unveiled a new logo and corporate motto this year as it hopes to capitalize on the demand for energy infrastructure and services. But its financial performance has needed no makeover. The Tulsa company’s revenue and earnings growth boosted it to No. 6 on this year’s list of best-performing public companies in Oklahoma, up from No. 19 last year. Matrix had revenue growth of almost 19 percent and an increase of 135 percent in earnings per share in the last year, according to an S&P Capital IQ analysis for The Oklahoman. “The energy markets have been very strong for Matrix Service Company,” said John R. Hewitt, president and chief executive officer. “We anticipate that the markets will remain robust for the coming years as more oil, gas and gas liquids are found, developed and the build out of logistics required to get these energy resources to market become a national focus. “Downstream opportunities will remain strong as the North American energy supply drives strong operations and profits in refining and chemical markets.” Matrix got its start as a
tank repair company operating out of a Tulsa garage in 1984. It has since grown to more than 3,600 employees, including 750 people in Oklahoma. Matrix operates in four main segments: electrical infrastructure; oil, gas and chemical; storage solutions and industrial. “Our electrical infrastructure segment continues to provide solid margins and consistent work in the Northeastern region of the United States,” Hewitt said. “We are gaining a strong reputation in storm damage repair work across North America.” Matrix has a fabrication yard in Catoosa that is heavily involved in the crude oil storage hub in Cushing. Nearly 90 percent of the tanks and storage facilities at Cushing were built by Matrix. The company recently was awarded a large tank package in Cushing to support the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline. “Cushing remains an important market for us and we have multiple projects in Cushing currently ongoing, in backlog and on our radar,” Hewitt said. “In addition to our tank construction, we have engineering, industrial cleaning and repair and maintenance divisions based in Oklahoma.” Matrix had a consolidated backlog of projects worth more than $497 million through June 30,
I Address: 210 Park Ave. Suite 1350, Oklahoma City, OK 73102 I Phone: 601-5300 I Website: www.graymarkhealthcare.com I Ticker: GRMH I Exchange: NAS I At the top: Stanton Nelson I Employees: 217 I Industry: Pharmacies and drugstores I Summary: Graymark Healthcare acquires and operates independent pharmacies and sleep diagnostic centers, many of which are located in smaller U.S. markets.
32. LSB INDUSTRIES INC. I Address: 16 S Pennsylvania Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73107 I Phone: 235-4546 I Website: www.lsb-okc.com I Ticker: LXU I Exchange: NYSE I At the top: Jack E. Golsen I Employees: 1,841 I Industry: Chemical manufacturing I Summary: LSB Industries makes a wide variety of chemicals (including nitric acid) and climatecontrol products. Its chemicals segment makes nitrate fertilizers and acids for agricultural, mining, and industrial markets. The climate-control division makes hydronic fan coils and a variety of heat pumps. Additionally, its industrial products segment distributes industrial milling, drilling, turning, and fabricating machines.
33. ADDVANTAGE TECHNOLOGIES GROUP INC. I Address: 1221 E Houston St., Broken Arrow, OK 74012 I Phone: (918) 251-9121 I Website: www.addvantagetech.com I Ticker: AEY I Exchange: NAS I At the top: Kenneth A. Chymiak I Employees: 129 I Industry: Radio and TV communications equipment I Summary: ADDvantage sells new and remanufactured cable TV equipment and provides repair services to cable operators.
34. SOUTHWEST BANCORP INC. I Address: 608 S Main St., Stillwater, OK 74074 I Phone: 742-1800 I Website: www.oksb.com I Ticker: OKSB I Exchange: NAS I At the top: Mark Funke I Employees: 435 I Industry: National commercial bank I Summary: Southwest Bancorp Inc., a financial holding company, provides commercial and consumer banking services in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas.
35. GMX RESOURCES INC. I Address: 9400 North Broadway Suite 600, Oklahoma City, OK 73114 I Phone: 600-0711 I Website: www.gmxresources.com I Ticker: GMRX I Exchange: NYSE I At the top: Ken L. Kenworthy Jr. I Employees: 112 I Industry: Crude oil and natural gas extraction I Summary: GMX Resources Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development and production of properties for the production of crude oil and natural gas in Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Texas. Matrix Service was selected to fabricate and deliver a 100-foot hydrogen sulfide stack to Suncor’s Commerce City, Colo., facility. PHOTO PROVIDED
the end of its 2012 fiscal year. Hewitt said the trend has continued in the early part of fiscal year 2013. The company’s rebranding was an effort to get away from a regional focus and bring its business units more in line with its North American market segments. “Consistent with our heritage, the company was often perceived as only a tank contractor, despite the expansion of our services through organic growth and acquisition into many different disciplines,” Hewitt said. “We recently introduced the new brand identity, logo and tagline to better reflect these expanded capabilities and to complement
our strategic growth plans.” Matrix also is looking at possible acquisitions. Hewitt said the company has looked at more than 75 possible targets in the last year in three main areas: industrial cleaning; electrical infrastructure and small construction firms. “We are looking to achieve annual revenue growth of 12 to 15 percent over the next five years, and acquisitions will play an important role in achieving that growth,” Hewitt said. “We are currently and will continue to look for tuck-in acquisitions that complement our current business and will help accelerate the growth in some targeted markets.”
36. POSTROCK ENERGY CORP. I Address: 210 Park Ave. Suite 2750, Oklahoma City, OK 73102 I Phone: 600-7704 I Website: www.pstr.com I Ticker: PSTR I Exchange: NAS I At the top: Terry W. Carter I Employees: 309 I Industry: Crude oil and natural gas extraction I Summary: PostRock Energy Corp. is an integrated independent energy company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development, production and transportation of oil and natural gas.
OKC CENTRAL
Covering downtown brick by brick STEVE LACKMEYER at http://blog.newsok.com/okccentral/
Transition to crude oil production helps fuel optimism for SandRidge Energy NO. 7 | ‘I THINK THE FUTURE IS VERY BRIGHT FOR US,’ CEO SAYS BY JAY F. MARKS Business Writer jmarks@opubco.com
SandRidge Energy Inc. is reaping the dividends of its decision to eschew natural gas in favor of crude oil. The Oklahoma Citybased company has completed its transformation to oil producer, a move CEO Tom Ward believes has put SandRidge in position to nearly double its annual earnings on the way to tripling its stock price. “I think the future is very bright for us,” Ward said. SandRidge’s potential is clear from this year’s Oklahoma Inc. rankings. SandRidge was the state’s seventh-best publicly traded company in 20112012, according to the rankings, but its 2,000 percent increase in earnings per share was by far the best in Oklahoma. Ward maintains the company’s success is due to its move to drill more oil wells, beginning in 2008. That was about the time natural gas prices began to drop, increasing the disparity in its value compared with crude oil. “With oil prices at 30 to
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1 (over) natural gas, where historically we’ve been 6 to 1, that just drives the bottom line, which ultimately is earnings,” Ward said. He said SandRidge is well positioned to continue boosting its oil production. The company began its move away from natural gas by buying acreage in west Texas’ Permian Basin. Ward said the Permian remains an important asset for SandRidge, but its holdings in the emerging Mississippian oil play are the key to its future. “We think that will be the hallmark of the company over the next couple of decades,” he said. “That will be our growth area.” SandRidge established
the play in northern Oklahoma and extended it up into Kansas. Other companies have secured Mississippian leasehold in Nebraska, as well, but SandRidge is the clear leader. Ward said SandRidge has drilled 500 horizontal wells in the Mississippian, nearly half of the new wells drilled in the play. SandRidge has 32 rigs at work in the play, which covers about 17 million acres, according to historical data studied by the company’s geological teams. Ward said SandRidge is still working on a relatively small area between Noble County in Oklahoma and Finney County in Kansas. “We have thousands of locations left to drill,” he said. “In fact we’re long on opportunity, (which is) why we’ve brought in two partners so far.” SandRidge inked deals last year worth $1.5 billion with Spain’s Repsol YPF and South Korea’s Atinum Partners Co. Limited. “We were able to sell some of our acreage to help us fund our drilling program through 2014,” Ward said. He said those invest-
William Reed, Paul Tabarez and Justin Stanfill break a joint in drill pipe is pulled on a SandRidge oil drilling rig Oct. 18 near Medford. PHOTO BY DAVID MCDANIEL/THE OKLAHOMAN
ments helped SandRidge grow by about 40 percent over the past year. “We see tremendous
growth continuing through the play, depending on how much capital we spend,” Ward said. “We
think we can grow double digits for many years to come.”
Shawnee gaming company ranks second in penny stocks in state BY JENNIFER PALMER Business Writer jpalmer@opubco.com
SHAWNEE — A casino gaming company ranked second on the statewide list of the top performing over-the-counter companies. EC Development Inc.,
(trading under EDCI) based in Shawnee reported revenue of $800,000 in the year ending June 30, a 32 percent increase compared to last year, and had a gain in earnings per share of 25 percent. However, the company lost $1.7 million during the same period. Phone messages and
emails sent to the company’s headquarters, located at 23 E 9 St. in Shawnee, were not returned. Founded in 2005, EC Development develops, markets, sells and provides support for casino gaming management software systems. The software is used daily by small- and
medium-sized casinos in the U.S. and Mexico, according to the company’s quarterly filing in May. EC Development is marketing products to niche markets including emerging international markets, cruise ships and tribal gaming businesses. A going concern notice
also was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission because the company had incurred operating losses, negative working capital and no operating cash flow with future losses anticipated. Eugene Estep is chief executive officer and joint founder of the company.
He previously worked for First National Bank and also formed several IT companies, including Techrescue. Other executives include co-founder Fredrick Combs, serving as chief technology officer, and Randy Edgerton, chief financial officer, according to the company’s website.
Compressco Partners expands its reach
Pump unit parts at Compressco Partners LP in Oklahoma City.
Kenny Sylvester, Compressco Partners LP vice president of production, describes how the pump units are assembled. PHOTOS BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN
NO. 8 | MANUFACTURING COMPANY TRIES TO FIND ITS NICHE BY JAY F. MARKS Business Writer jmarks@opubco.com
Oklahoma City-based Compressco Partners LP is going global in an effort to find its niche in the increasingly unconventional oil and natural gas industry. Compressco is a production enhancement supplier, going to well sites to help oil and natural gas companies boost their production or resolve related issues like vapor recovery, President Ron Foster said. Compressco is a spinoff of Tetra Technologies Co. that went public last summer as a master limited partnership. Its equipment gives companies working in oilrich shale formations an alternative to venting natural gas. It can capture the gas to sale or even to produce electricity. “That’s where we’ve grown the business ... over the last year,” Foster said. The company’s GasJack and VJack compressors can boost production from declining natural gas wells and increase recoverable reserves. “It’s just immediate cash flow” for Compressco’s customers, Foster said. The company designs, builds, monitors and services its own equipment. “That is Compressco’s claim to fame,” Foster said. Kevin Sylvester, the company’s vice president of production, said Compressco has streamlined its assembly line so new or rebuilt units can move effi-
Employee Chris Hernandez works on a pump unit at Compressco Partners LP in Oklahoma City.
Compressco Partners LP uses several pump unit parts to maintain well sites.
ciently through seven manufacturing stations. Each station is stocked with all of the necessary parts and tools; most are staffed by only one person, who can complete the appointed task in about four hours. “We’re actually building what the customers requested,” Sylvester said. Foster said there is a large market for Compressco’s well enhancement services, but many natural gas producers have shut in their wells because of low prices. Foster said Compressco has found other ways for customers to use its products when natural gas prices drop by moving into areas that are home to unconventional operations.
He said that has helped Compressco increase its earnings. This year’s Oklahoma Inc. rankings show Compressco increased its earnings per share by more than 900 percent, good for second best among the state’s publicly traded companies. Compressco finished No. 8 overall. Foster said Compressco also is turning its attention to international markets. Four years ago, its products were sold only in North America, but now the company is active in Australia, Argentina and several countries in Europe. “Wherever gas is worth something, we’re there trying to increase production,” Foster said.
Totally Green gets stock infusion, credit, for growth BY RICHARD MIZE Business Writer richardmize@opubco.com
It’s the greenest company among Oklahoma’s pink-sheet stocks. Totally Green Inc. — stock symbol TLGN, over the counter — “promotes sustainability, cost efficiency and environmental stewardship by offering the ORCA Green Food Composter” to businesses and companies, mostly commercial and institutional kitchens. The ORCA, for “Organic Refuse Conversion Alternative,” helps manage food waste, “diverts food waste from landfills, reduces methane gas production and transportation pollution and creates meaningful cost savings for customers,” the company says on its website, www. totallygreen.com. Totally Green ranked No. 3 on the Oklahoma
Inc. list of top-performing bulletin board stocks in 2012. There were just seven companies on the list. For the year ending March 31, Totally Green, which was not on the list last year, had a one-year loss on stocks and dividends of 58 percent; a 155.5-percent increase in revenues; and saw no change in earnings per share. The company had a market capitalization of $18.148 million, revenues of $769,000 million and net loss of $1.944 million. With news releases datelined “TULSA, Okla.,” but a corporate headquarters recently listed in Toronto, it’s hard to tell where Totally Green Inc. actually is. A call placed to a Tulsa phone number listed on the website was not returned by the deadline for Oklahoma Inc. The website lists several Oklahomans among the
company’s leadership including Rob Phillips, former president and CEO, who is still a director. However, a $5 million investment and $15 million credit line provided by Toronto-based York Plains Investment Corp. led to changes including a new managing director and chairman, both in Toronto. The website now reports Totally Green as located in Toronto — which would bump it from the local rankings next year. In any case, Oklahomans appear to still be involved in the company, and state and regional businesses and institutions are among customers using the ORCA food composter. Totally Green lists customers including Oklahoma State University, the University of Tulsa, Tulsa Convention Center, BOK Center and the Dallas Cowboys Stadium among its marquee customers.
A variety of pump unit parts are shown at Compressco Partners LP in Oklahoma City.
SemGroup’s pipelines, tanks get boost NO. 9 | TULSA COMPANY SEES GROWTH BY PAUL MONIES Business Writer pmonies@opubco.com
TULSA — Increased production of crude oil and natural gas in the MidContinent region is helping SemGroup Corp. fill its pipelines and storage tanks, pushing the company to the No. 9 position on this year’s Oklahoma Inc. list. SemGroup also is beginning to see the benefits of spinning off a master limited partnership, Rose Rock Midstream LP, in an initial public offering at the end of 2011. Rose Rock is a crude oil pipeline and storage partnership that has about 7 million barrels of oil storage in Cushing. SemGroup owns 57 percent of the partnership. SemGroup describes its assets as being in the “liquids fairway” of the MidContinent, an area stretching from western Alberta, Canada, through the central United States to Texas. It includes storage and pipelines in what SemGroup calls “celebrity plays” in North Dakota, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma. “SemGroup’s facilities are strategically located in these celebrity plays, and we have been actively growing our infrastructure to support the increasing oil and gas production in the United States and Canada,” said Norm Szydlowski, president and chief executive officer.
SemGroup’s facilities are strategically located in these celebrity plays, and we have been actively growing our infrastructure to support the increasing oil and gas production in the United States and Canada.” NORM SZYDLOWSKI PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
The company also has asphalt terminals in Mexico and storage tanks in the United Kingdom. SemGroup and Rose Rock combined have 700 employees worldwide, including more than 150 employees in Oklahoma. Cushing, the “pipeline crossroads of the world,” is a top focus for SemGroup and Rose Rock. SemGroup recently partnered with Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Gavilon on the planned Glass Mountain Pipeline, which will deliver oil from western Oklahoma to Cushing and be
Norm Szydlowski, president and chief executive officer of SemGroup Corp., is shown.
operational by the end of 2013. The company also partnered with producers in Colorado to expand its White Cliffs Pipeline from eastern Colorado to Cushing. “SemGroup’s role as a midstream company is to connect the producers of oil and gas with the end users,” Szydlowski said. “We partner with exploration and production com-
A Blueknight Energy Partners truck transports crude oil to a terminal at Cushing. PHOTO PROVIDED
Blueknight builds stability with transportation growth NO. 10 | SUBSIDIARY RESTRUCTURES DEBT, CAPITAL SPENDING BY JAY F. MARKS Business Writer jmarks@opubco.com
Things are looking up at Blueknight Energy Partners. The one-time SemGroup Corp. subsidiary has restructured its debt and capital spending since Charles Bank joined Dutch energy trading company Vitol as its sponsor in late 2010, said Alex Stallings, Blueknight’s chief financial officer. “We really right-sized everything with the help of our sponsors,” he said. Blueknight ranked 10th on this year’s Oklahoma Inc. list of the state’s top publicly traded companies, fueled by its 133 percent growth in earnings per share. “Looking toward the future, it’s all about growth for us,” Mark Hurley, Blueknight Energy Partners CEO said. “We can’t emphasize that enough. We hope to be a larger and larger presence in the midstream business.” Blueknight’s business has stabilized, with some incremental growth from its transportation unit. It was able to pay a distribution to unit holders in 2012 for the first time in about
Looking toward the future, it’s all about growth for us. We can’t emphasize that enough. We hope to be a larger and larger presence in the midstream business.” MARK HURLEY BLUEKNIGHT ENERGY PARTNERS CEO
four years. Blueknight moved its corporate headquarters to Oklahoma City this year, settling into a former car dealership in the historic MidTown district, near downtown. Its accounting, human resources and information technology departments remain in Tulsa, but its senior executives are at 201 NW 10. “We think Oklahoma City is going to afford us a little better exposure,” Stallings said. Hurley said Oklahoma City is a logical home for Blueknight since many of its largest customers are here. Blueknight also has opened an office in Cushing near its crude oil storage terminals. Nearly half of Blue-
knight’s business is its asphalt segment, which has 44 liquid asphalt cement terminals and storage facilities across the country. Blueknight is the largest terminal provider in the United States. Hurley said Blueknight’s crude oil business is the one most likely to grow. “That’s really taking off right now,” he said, citing the activity in the Woodford and Granite Wash shale plays in Oklahoma. “Those shale plays are really where the excitement is in the crude business. “That’s where the growth is.” Hurley said Blueknight likely will follow producers into emerging areas and try to meet their infrastructure needs.
panies to identify areas where expanded or new infrastructure is needed. ... It’s an exciting time for companies like ours — matching infrastructure capacity with the country’s growing oil and gas production.” In the last 15 months, SemGroup has doubled its gas processing capacity in northern Oklahoma and plans to add more capacity
in 2013. The company’s SemGas unit has three gas processing plants and 800 miles of gathering pipelines that serve the Mississippi Lime and Granite Wash plays. Meanwhile, SemGroup, like other energy companies, is mindful of regulatory initiatives and its effect on the communities where it operates. “We know that we oper-
TULSA WORLD ARCHIVES PHOTO
ate at the license of the communities where our operations are located,” Szydlowski said. “Being appropriately protective of people and the environment is a basic tenet for us. No one is perfect. But designing oil and gas infrastructure and operating it safely can be done and has a long track record of successful performance.”
State banking companies take different tracks during the year BY DON MECOY Business Writer dmecoy@opubco.com
Oklahoma has three publicly traded bank companies, each of which operates one of the largest banks in the state. This year, the largest of those companies, BOK Financial Corp., was the highest-ranking banking firm, followed by BancFirst Corp. and Southwest Bancorp, parent of Stillwater National Bank. BOK Financial, parent of Bank of Oklahoma, topped the rankings in revenue growth and share price growth among banking companies. It ranked second in total return, which includes stock and dividends. Chief Financial Officer Steven Nell said BOK Fi-
nancial has been booking record profits. “We’ve posted some record quarters in terms of net income in the past year,” Nell said. “We’re well on our way this year to probably the best year we’ve had in terms of total net income.” Loan growth, which picked up strongly in the last six months of 2011, was a strong contributor to the firm’s robust bottom line, Nell said. That growth has continued in 2012. The loan growth reflects the improving economy in the region in which BOK Financial operates, Nell said. In addition to Bank of Oklahoma, BOK operates Bank of Albuquerque, Bank of Arizona, Bank of Arkansas, Bank of Kansas City, Bank of Texas, and Colorado State Bank and Trust. The energy sector, par-
Best 1-year Total Return Rank
Company Name
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
Orchids Paper Products Co. ONEOK Partners LP SemGroup Corp. Magellan Midstream Partners LP Williams Cos Inc. ONEOK Inc. NGL Energy Partners LP BancFirst Corp. Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. BOK Financial Corp. OGE Energy Corp. Panhandle Oil & Gas Inc. Continental Resources Inc. Williams Partners LP Access Midstream Partners LP Southwest Bancorp Inc. Sonic Corp. Blueknight Energy Partners LP Alliance Holdings GP LP AAON Inc. Matrix Service Co. Educational Development Corp. ADDvantage Technologies Group Inc. Alliance Resource Partners LP Devon Energy Corp. LSB Industries Inc. Compressco Partners LP Gulfport Energy Corp. Helmerich & Payne Inc. Chesapeake Energy Corp. SandRidge Energy Inc. Unit Corp. Syntroleum Corp. GrayMark Healthcare Inc. PostRock Energy Corp. GMX Resources Inc.
One Year Total Return in Percent
ticularly in Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado, has boosted loan production, Nell said. Also, mortgage business has been “exceptional,” Nell said, driven by low interest rates that have prompted more homeowners to refinance. BOK also has hired new mortgage originators to boost business, he said. Credit costs also have decreased, Nell said. “I think you’re going to see us continue to experience good results for the foreseeable future,” he said. BancFirst, parent company of Oklahoma’s largest state-chartered bank, topped the total return rankings while finishing second to BOK in growth of revenue and earnings. BancFirst has been the busiest bank in the state in
Stock Price June 29, 2012
45.6 32.2 24.4 24.2 19.5 17.7 17.5 11.7 9.8 8.9 6.0 3.2 2.6 1.7 0.3 -3.9 -5.7 -11.5 -12.3 -12.7 -15.3 -17.2 -17.3 -23.2 -25.5 -28.0 -28.3 -30.5 -33.9 -36.6 -37.2 -39.5 -54.1 -69.6 -73.2 -81.8
Stock Price June 30, 2011
17.68 53.75 31.93 70.64 28.82 42.31 22.15 41.91 80.96 58.20 51.79 30.14 66.62 52.24 27.21 9.41 10.02 6.66 41.48 18.85 11.33 4.04 2.15 56.12 57.99 30.91 12.40 20.63 43.48 18.60 6.69 36.89 0.68 0.38 1.56 0.81
12.65 42.65 25.67 59.73 30.25 37.01 19.94 38.60 73.74 54.77 50.32 29.49 64.91 54.18 28.70 9.79 10.63 8.05 49.88 21.84 13.38 5.39 2.60 77.45 78.81 42.92 18.68 29.69 66.12 29.69 10.66 60.93 1.47 1.25 5.83 4.45
SOURCE: S&P CAPITAL IQ
Best 2-year Total Return Rank
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
LSB Industries Inc. ONEOK Inc. Williams Cos Inc. Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. ONEOK Partners LP Gulfport Energy Corp. Magellan Midstream Partners LP OGE Energy Corp. Continental Resources Inc. Orchids Paper Products Co. Alliance Resource Partners LP Williams Partners LP Alliance Holdings GP LP Sonic Corp. BOK Financial Corp. AAON Inc. Matrix Service Co. SemGroup Corp. BancFirst Corp. Helmerich & Payne Inc. Panhandle Oil & Gas Inc. SandRidge Energy Inc. Devon Energy Corp. Chesapeake Energy Corp. Unit Corp. Educational Development Corp. Blueknight Energy Partners LP ADDvantage Technologies Group Inc. Southwest Bancorp Inc. Syntroleum Corp. PostRock Energy Corp. GMX Resources Inc. GrayMark Healthcare Inc. Access Midstream Partners LP Compressco Partners LP NGL Energy Partners LP
Stock Price June 30, 2012
132.2 108.7 102.2 90.0 85.8 73.9 67.4 50.7 49.3 44.0 39.2 33.7 30.0 29.3 28.3 24.3 21.7 21.6 21.1 20.3 16.4 14.8 -2.8 -9.1 -9.1 -12.0 -15.2 -23.8 -29.2 -58.8 -66.9 -87.5 -92.1 NA NA NA
30.91 42.31 28.82 80.96 53.75 20.63 70.64 51.79 66.62 17.68 56.12 52.24 41.48 10.02 58.20 18.85 11.33 31.93 41.91 43.48 30.14 6.69 57.99 18.60 36.89 4.04 6.66 2.15 9.41 0.68 1.56 0.81 0.38 27.21 12.40 22.15
Stock Price June 30, 2010
13.31 21.63 18.28 42.61 32.15 11.86 46.75 36.56 44.62 13.00 44.97 43.62 35.17 7.75 47.47 15.54 9.31 26.25 36.49 36.52 26.43 5.83 60.92 20.95 40.59 5.51 8.40 2.82 13.29 1.64 4.72 6.49 4.80 NA NA NA
SOURCE: S&P CAPITAL IQ
Service major Rank Company Name
1 2 3 4 5
Score
Sonic Corp. 1.67 Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. 1.67 Educational Development Corp. 3.67 GrayMark Healthcare Inc. 4.00 ADDvantage Technologies Group Inc. 4.00
We’re well on our way this year to probably the best year we’ve had in terms of total net income.” STEVEN NELL BOK FINANCIAL CORP. CFO
regards to growing through acquisitions, with a Claremore bank as its most recent addition. Those purchases have helped swell the bank’s deposits and assets. Southwest Bancorp had the most active year, selling off part of its troubled loan portfolio while writing down millions of dollars of problem assets in December. The company’s stock rebounded after federal regulators released the bank from a formal operating agreement, and the business also resumed
paying dividends and repaid $70 million it owed the U.S. Treasury from the Capital Purchase Program established after the 2008 financial crisis. While the company’s stock — and apparently its fortunes — have improved, the Oklahoma Inc. rankings place Southwest Bancorp well behind the other banking companies, and nearly all of the state’s publicly traded firms. Southwest was dead last in earnings growth in the S&P Capital IQ ranking among all Okla-
Best revenue growth Rank
Company Name
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
Syntroleum Corp. Continental Resources Inc. Gulfport Energy Corp. NGL Energy Partners LP Unit Corp. Chesapeake Energy Corp. SandRidge Energy Inc. Helmerich & Payne Inc. Matrix Service Co. Access Midstream Partners LP Compressco Partners LP Magellan Midstream Partners LP Alliance Holdings GP LP Alliance Resource Partners LP Devon Energy Corp. Blueknight Energy Partners LP Panhandle Oil & Gas Inc. Williams Cos Inc. Williams Partners LP ONEOK Partners LP Orchids Paper Products Co. AAON Inc. LSB Industries Inc. BOK Financial Corp. BancFirst Corp. Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. ONEOK Inc. OGE Energy Corp. Sonic Corp. ADDvantage Technologies Group Inc. Educational Development Corp. GrayMark Healthcare Inc. SemGroup Corp. Southwest Bancorp Inc. PostRock Energy Corp. GMX Resources Inc.
‘12 Total Revenues (in millions)
‘11 Total Revenues (in millions)
14.237 2,482.926 258.813 1,446.063 1,331.791 12,512.000 1,597.661 3,023.106 717.813 613.189 98.449 1,865.453 1,935.440 1,935.806 11,143.000 180.428 49.900 7,940.000 6,747.000 10,757.672 102.791 285.521 791.664 1,444.194 267.342 1,557.112 13,544.256 3,793.000 543.974 37.993 26.603 17.572 1,380.169 120.675 77.706 88.160
4.919 877.511 172.941 969.729 1,009.592 9,486.000 1,215.923 2,402.100 604.149 519.274 85.237 1,630.916 1,709.904 1,710.264 9,855.000 161.763 44.866 7,139.000 6,075.000 9,700.602 92.837 259.701 724.215 1,332.045 250.448 1,536.079 13,363.297 3,772.500 549.838 38.555 27.213 18.282 1,589.602 150.943 99.064 114.275
Percent Change in Revenues ‘11 to ‘12
189.4 183.0 49.7 49.1 31.9 31.9 31.4 25.9 18.8 18.1 15.5 14.4 13.2 13.2 13.1 11.5 11.2 11.2 11.1 10.9 10.7 9.9 9.3 8.4 6.7 1.4 1.4 0.5 -1.1 -1.5 -2.2 -3.9 -13.2 -20.1 -21.6 -22.9
SOURCE: S&P CAPITAL IQ
Two Year Total Return in Percent
Company Name
homa Inc. companies. Most recently, the company hired Mark Funke away from Bank of Oklahoma to serve as its new chief executive officer. Funke said the bank, which reported a profit in its most recent quarter, is well positioned for future growth. “There have been very many positive changes at this company in the last 12 months, with repayment of TARP money, starting the dividend process back up again and positioning ourselves from a credit quality standpoint so that the bank doesn’t need to be focused entirely on fixing problems going into 2013,” Funke said. Funke said analysts and shareholders generally have reacted positively to the changes. “I’m positive about our earnings potential and revenue growth in 2013,” he said.
One Year Total Return (Stock and dividends) in percent
Rank
-5.7 9.8 -17.2 -69.6 -17.3
2 1 3 5 4
Percent Change in Revenues ‘11 to ‘12
-1.1 1.4 -2.2 -3.9 -1.5
Percent Change in Earnings Per Share ‘11 to ‘12 Rank Rank
2 1 4 5 3
194.7 57.6 12.1 74.6 -42.3
1 3 4 2 5
SOURCE: S&P CAPITAL IQ
Best dividends Rank
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Dividend Yield June ‘12 (Percent)
Company Name
Compressco Partners LP Educational Development Corp. Alliance Resource Partners LP Blueknight Energy Partners LP NGL Energy Partners LP Alliance Holdings GP LP Access Midstream Partners LP Williams Partners LP Magellan Midstream Partners LP ONEOK Partners LP Orchids Paper Products Co. Williams Cos Inc. OGE Energy Corp. ONEOK Inc. BOK Financial Corp. BancFirst Corp. Chesapeake Energy Corp. Devon Energy Corp. AAON Inc. Panhandle Oil & Gas Inc. Helmerich & Payne Inc.
Stock Price June 2012
Dividend Rate
12.40 4.04 56.12 6.66 22.15 41.48 27.21 52.24 70.64 53.75 17.68 28.82 51.79 42.31 58.20 41.91 18.60 57.99 18.85 30.14 43.48
1.55 0.48 4.10 0.44 1.45 2.67 1.62 3.11 3.36 2.54 0.80 1.20 1.57 1.22 1.52 1.08 0.35 0.80 0.24 0.28 0.28
12.5 11.9 7.3 6.6 6.5 6.4 6.0 6.0 4.8 4.7 4.5 4.2 3.0 2.9 2.6 2.6 1.9 1.4 1.3 0.9 0.6
SOURCE: S&P CAPITAL IQ
Manufacturing OTC Rank Company Name
Score
One Year Total Return (Stock and dividends) in percent
1
1.67 2.00 2.33
14.3 -58.0 2.0
Greystone Logistics Inc. Totally Green Inc. Webco Industries Inc.
Rank
Percent Change in Revenues ‘11 to ‘12
1 3 2
18.0 155.5 20.4
Rank
Percent Change in Earnings Per Share ‘11 to ‘12
Rank
3 1 2
333.3 0.0 -18.5
1 2 3
SOURCE: S&P CAPITAL IQ
Financial major Rank Company Name
Score
1 2 3
1.33 1.67 3.00
BOK Financial Corp. BancFirst Corp. Southwest Bancorp Inc.
Service OTC
One Year Total Return (Stock and dividends) in percent
8.9 11.7 -3.9
Rank Company Name
Score
One Year Total Return (Stock and dividends) in percent
1 2 3
1.67 2.00 2.33
-18.5 100.0 0.0
EC Development Inc. Enxnet Inc. Avalon Correctional Services Inc.
Rank
Percent Change in Revenues ‘11 to ‘12
2 1 3
8.4 6.7 -20.1
Rank
3 1 2
Percent Change in Revenues ‘11 to ‘12
32.0 0.0 2.7
Rank
Percent Change in Earnings Per Share ‘11 to ‘12
1 29.4 2 16.3 3 -2000.0
Rank
1 2 3
SOURCE: S&P CAPITAL IQ Percent Change in Earnings Per Share ‘11 to ‘12 Rank Rank
1 3 2
25.0 0.0 -78.6
1 2 3
SOURCE: S&P CAPITAL IQ
Return on average equity ‘12 Return on Average Equity (in percent)
Rank
Company Name
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
Sonic Corp. 78.2 Alliance Resource Partners LP 60.0 Alliance Holdings GP LP 54.2 SandRidge Energy Inc. 35.1 Continental Resources Inc. 33.6 Magellan Midstream Partners LP 30.4 Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. 29.5 LSB Industries Inc. 25.4 ONEOK Partners LP 24.6 Gulfport Energy Corp. 21.5 Williams Partners LP 19.0 ONEOK Inc. 16.7 Chesapeake Energy Corp. 16.2 AAON Inc. 16.2 Helmerich & Payne Inc. 15.9 OGE Energy Corp. 13.8 Orchids Paper Products Co. 12.6 Panhandle Oil & Gas Inc. 12.3 BOK Financial Corp. 11.9 Devon Energy Corp. 11.0 Matrix Service Co. 10.5 Educational Development Corp. 10.3 BancFirst Corp. 10.3 Access Midstream Partners LP 9.4 Unit Corp. 7.2 Williams Cos Inc. 7.2 Compressco Partners LP 6.9 ADDvantage Technologies Group Inc. 4.3 SemGroup Corp. 2.2 NGL Energy Partners LP -2.2 Syntroleum Corp. -7.3 Southwest Bancorp Inc. -22.6 GrayMark Healthcare Inc. -376.4 GMX Resources Inc. -514.3 Blueknight Energy Partners LP NM PostRock Energy Corp. NM
Average Common Equity (in millions)
‘12 Adjusted Net Income (in millions)
33.869 370.381 212.902 749.553 801.511 451.847 190.320 74.330 953.595 111.969 1,274.000 359.180 2,166.000 20.361 543.376 346.100 9.140 9.832 330.427 2,394.000 21.085 1.471 49.885 218.450 138.158 383.000 12.783 1.559 18.418 -10.112 -2.550 -62.799 -10.668 -295.456 19.081 -4.871
43.312 617.272 392.783 2,136.167 2,383.593 1,484.266 645.161 292.143 3,883.509 519.973 6,697.500 2,153.315 13,391.500 126.009 3,427.414 2,501.400 72.569 80.001 2,776.826 21,826.500 201.032 14.247 484.979 2,317.121 1,906.818 5,338.500 186.107 36.300 856.285 455.493 34.776 277.304 2.834 57.447 -151.358 -4.301
‘12 Common Equity (in millions)
48.885 679.364 422.400 2,835.497 2,791.497 1,511.083 683.015 331.697 4,471.469 692.714 8,332.000 2,089.540 14,365.000 131.989 3,634.590 2,615.000 74.975 83.729 2,885.934 22,225.000 208.775 14.104 499.561 2,457.533 2,000.378 2,961.000 183.322 37.364 860.570 802.294 45.643 245.763 -2.121 -78.406 -143.895 1.449
Largest revenues
‘11 Common Equity (in millions)
37.739 555.180 363.167 1,436.837 1,975.688 1,457.450 607.307 252.589 3,295.550 347.232 5,063.000 2,217.089 12,418.000 120.029 3,220.238 2,387.800 70.164 76.273 2,667.717 21,428.000 193.289 14.389 470.397 2,176.710 1,813.258 7,716.000 188.891 35.236 852.000 108.692 23.909 308.846 7.789 193.301 -158.820 -10.051
Industry Sector
Service Energy Energy Energy Energy Energy Service Manufacturing Energy Energy Energy Energy Energy Manufacturing Energy Energy Manufacturing Energy Financial/Banks Energy Energy Service Financial/Banks Energy Energy Energy Energy Technology Energy Energy Energy Financial/Banks Service Energy Energy Energy
Rank
Company Name
‘12 Total Revenues (in millions)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
ONEOK Inc. Chesapeake Energy Corp. Devon Energy Corp. ONEOK Partners LP Williams Cos Inc. Williams Partners LP OGE Energy Corp. Helmerich & Payne Inc. Continental Resources Inc. Alliance Resource Partners LP Alliance Holdings GP LP Magellan Midstream Partners LP SandRidge Energy Inc. Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. NGL Energy Partners LP BOK Financial Corp. SemGroup Corp. Unit Corp. LSB Industries Inc. Matrix Service Co. Access Midstream Partners LP Sonic Corp. AAON Inc. BancFirst Corp. Gulfport Energy Corp. Blueknight Energy Partners LP Southwest Bancorp Inc. Orchids Paper Products Co. Compressco Partners LP GMX Resources Inc. PostRock Energy Corp. Panhandle Oil & Gas Inc. ADDvantage Technologies Group Inc. Educational Development Corp. GrayMark Healthcare Inc. Syntroleum Corp.
13,544.256 12,512.000 11,143.000 10,757.672 7,940.000 6,747.000 3,793.000 3,023.106 2,482.926 1,935.806 1,935.440 1,865.453 1,597.661 1,557.112 1,446.063 1,444.194 1,380.169 1,331.791 791.664 717.813 613.189 543.974 285.521 267.342 258.813 180.428 120.675 102.791 98.449 88.160 77.706 49.900 37.993 26.603 17.572 14.237 SOURCE: S&P CAPITAL IQ
SOURCE: S&P CAPITAL IQ
Best profit growth Rank
Company Name
Percent Change in Net Income ‘11 to ‘12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
SandRidge Energy Inc. Compressco Partners LP Continental Resources Inc. Blueknight Energy Partners LP Sonic Corp. Williams Cos Inc. SemGroup Corp. Matrix Service Co. Orchids Paper Products Co. Chesapeake Energy Corp. Syntroleum Corp. Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. ONEOK Partners LP Gulfport Energy Corp. GrayMark Healthcare Inc. Helmerich & Payne Inc. Magellan Midstream Partners LP BOK Financial Corp. Educational Development Corp. BancFirst Corp. ONEOK Inc. Alliance Holdings GP LP Panhandle Oil & Gas Inc. AAON Inc. Williams Partners LP OGE Energy Corp. Access Midstream Partners LP Alliance Resource Partners LP LSB Industries Inc. Unit Corp. GMX Resources Inc. ADDvantage Technologies Group Inc. Devon Energy Corp. PostRock Energy Corp. NGL Energy Partners LP Southwest Bancorp Inc.
4,504.4 1,038.3 734.9 389.7 192.1 170.8 156.5 132.5 117.7 107.4 86.1 57.7 57.4 48.4 46.6 37.8 33.7 29.8 14.9 14.9 11.0 10.9 10.6 10.4 8.1 7.6 7.5 5.7 4.5 -18.3 -36.3 -41.3 -58.4 -87.5 -310.7 -862.0
‘12 Net Income (in millions)
‘11 Net Income (in millions)
‘12 Return on Average Equity (in percent)
17.485 1.123 96.042 -18.756 11.594 -541.000 -32.626 9.070 4.199 1,128.000 -18.299 120.689 605.852 75.432 -19.990 395.811 338.050 256.880 1.280 43.434 323.641 192.001 8.887 18.444 1,179.000 321.600 203.155 354.126 71.395 169.002 -211.343 2.655 5,811.000 41.468 4.800 7.672
35.1 6.9 33.6 NM 78.2 7.2 2.2 10.5 12.6 16.2 -7.3 29.5 24.6 21.5 -376.4 15.9 30.4 11.9 10.3 10.3 16.7 54.2 12.3 16.2 19.0 13.8 9.4 60.0 25.4 7.2 -514.3 4.3 11.0 NM -2.2 -22.6
805.078 12.783 801.857 54.328 33.869 383.000 18.418 21.085 9.140 2,339.000 -2.550 190.320 953.595 111.969 -10.668 545.350 451.847 333.337 1.471 49.885 359.180 212.902 9.832 20.361 1,274.000 346.100 218.450 374.218 74.630 138.158 -288.109 1.559 2,415.000 5.199 -10.112 -58.458
Rank
SOURCE: S&P CAPITAL IQ
Energy major Rank Company Name
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Continental Resources Inc. Williams Cos Inc. Magellan Midstream Partners LP SandRidge Energy Inc. Matrix Service Co. Compressco Partners LP SemGroup Corp. ONEOK Partners LP Syntroleum Corp. Chesapeake Energy Corp. Gulfport Energy Corp. Blueknight Energy Partners LP NGL Energy Partners LP Helmerich & Payne Inc. Access Midstream Partners LP ONEOK Inc. Alliance Holdings GP LP Panhandle Oil & Gas Inc. OGE Energy Corp. Alliance Resource Partners LP Unit Corp. Williams Partners LP Devon Energy Corp. GMX Resources Inc. PostRock Energy Corp.
Score
One Year Total Return (Stock and dividends) in percent
4.67 8.67 9.00 9.67 9.67 10.00 10.00 10.33 11.00 11.33 11.33 11.67 11.67 12.67 12.67 13.67 14.00 14.33 16.00 16.33 16.33 16.67 18.00 21.33 24.00
2.6 19.5 24.2 -37.2 -15.3 -28.3 24.4 32.2 -54.1 -36.6 -30.5 -11.5 17.5 -33.9 0.3 17.7 -12.3 3.2 6.0 -23.2 -39.5 1.7 -25.5 -81.8 -73.2
Rank
Percent Change in Revenues ‘11 to ‘12
Percent Change in Earnings Per Share ‘11 to ‘12 Rank Rank.
9 4 3 21 14 17 2 1 23 20 18 12 6 19 11 5 13 8 7 15 22 10 16 25 24
183.0 11.2 14.4 31.4 18.8 15.5 -13.2 10.9 189.4 31.9 49.7 11.5 49.1 25.9 18.1 1.4 13.2 11.2 0.5 13.2 31.9 11.1 13.1 -22.9 -21.6
2 714.5 18 167.4 12 33.3 7 2,066.7 9 135.3 11 912.5 23 155.7 20 57.7 1 86.4 6 126.7 3 27.3 16 133.7 4 -218.2 8 36.7 10 11.2 21 14.1 13 11.3 17 10.4 22 6.7 14 1.8 5 -18.8 19 -1.9 15 -55.7 25 25.9 24 -101.9
3 4 12 1 6 2 5 10 9 8 13 7 25 11 17 15 16 18 19 20 22 21 23 14 24
SOURCE: S&P CAPITAL IQ
Manufacturing major Rank Company Name
Score
One Year Total Return (Stock and dividends) in percent
1 2 3
1.00 2.00 3.00
45.6 -12.7 -28.0
Orchids Paper Products Co. AAON Inc. LSB Industries Inc.
Rank
1 2 3
Percent Change in Revenues ‘11 to ‘12
Rank
10.7 9.9 9.3
1 2 3
Percent Change in Earnings Per Share ‘11 to ‘12
114.0 12.2 1.5
Rank
1 2 3
SOURCE: S&P CAPITAL IQ
Energy OTC Rank Company Name
1
Reserve Petroleum Co
Score
One Year Total Return (Stock and dividends) in percent
Rank
1.00
-21.1
1
Percent Change in Revenues ‘11 to ‘12
6.6
Rank
1
Percent Change in Earnings Per Share ‘11 to ‘12
8.2
Best price to earnings ratio
Rank
1
SOURCE: S&P CAPITAL IQ
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
Company Name
Price to Earnings Stock Price ‘12 Ratio June 29, June 29, Earnings 2012 2012 Per Share
SemGroup Corp. 72.6 Williams Cos Inc. 46.5 Panhandle Oil & Gas Inc. 25.8 ONEOK Inc. 24.4 AAON Inc. 22.7 Access Midstream Partners LP 18.3 Sonic Corp. 17.9 Magellan Midstream Partners LP 17.7 Williams Partners LP 17.0 Compressco Partners LP 15.3 Continental Resources Inc. 14.9 OGE Energy Corp. 14.7 ONEOK Partners LP 14.6 Orchids Paper Products Co. 14.5 ADDvantage Technologies Group Inc. 14.3 Matrix Service Co. 14.2 Unit Corp. 12.8 BancFirst Corp. 12.7 Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. 12.2 Blueknight Energy Partners LP 12.1 BOK Financial Corp. 11.9 Alliance Holdings GP LP 11.7 Educational Development Corp. 10.9 Gulfport Energy Corp. 9.8 Devon Energy Corp. 9.7 LSB Industries Inc. 9.3 Helmerich & Payne Inc. 8.6 Alliance Resource Partners LP 7.5 Chesapeake Energy Corp. 5.5 SandRidge Energy Inc. 3.8 GMX Resources Inc. -0.2 GrayMark Healthcare Inc. -0.6 Southwest Bancorp Inc. -2.9 PostRock Energy Corp. -19.5 Syntroleum Corp. -22.5 NGL Energy Partners LP -56.8
31.93 28.82 30.14 42.31 18.85 27.21 10.02 70.64 52.24 12.40 66.62 51.79 53.75 17.68 2.15 11.33 36.89 41.91 80.96 6.66 58.20 41.48 4.04 20.63 57.99 30.91 43.48 56.12 18.60 6.69 0.81 0.38 9.41 1.56 0.68 22.15
Percent Change in Earnings Per Share ‘11 to ‘12
0.44 155.7 0.62 167.4 1.17 10.4 1.74 14.1 0.83 12.2 1.49 11.2 0.56 194.7 4.00 33.3 3.08 -1.9 0.81 912.5 4.48 714.5 3.52 6.7 3.69 57.7 1.22 114.0 0.15 -42.3 0.80 135.3 2.89 -18.8 3.29 16.3 6.62 57.6 0.55 133.7 4.88 29.4 3.56 11.3 0.37 12.1 2.10 27.3 6.00 -55.7 3.34 1.5 5.07 36.7 7.46 1.8 3.40 126.7 1.77 2,066.7 -4.92 25.9 -0.69 74.6 -3.23 -2,000.0 -0.08 -101.9 -0.03 86.4 -0.39 -218.2
Industry Sector
Energy Energy Energy Energy Manufacturing Energy Service Energy Energy Energy Energy Energy Energy Manufacturing Technology Energy Energy Financial/Banks Service Energy Financial/Banks Energy Service Energy Energy Manufacturing Energy Energy Energy Energy Energy Service Financial/Banks Energy Energy Energy
SOURCE: S&P CAPITAL IQ
Best earnings per share growth Rank
Company Name
Percent Change in Earnings Per Share ‘11 to ‘12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
SandRidge Energy Inc. Compressco Partners LP Continental Resources Inc. Sonic Corp. Williams Cos Inc. SemGroup Corp. Matrix Service Co. Blueknight Energy Partners LP Chesapeake Energy Corp. Orchids Paper Products Co. Syntroleum Corp. GrayMark Healthcare Inc. ONEOK Partners LP Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. Helmerich & Payne Inc. Magellan Midstream Partners LP BOK Financial Corp. Gulfport Energy Corp. GMX Resources Inc. BancFirst Corp. ONEOK Inc. AAON Inc. Educational Development Corp. Alliance Holdings GP LP Access Midstream Partners LP Panhandle Oil & Gas Inc. OGE Energy Corp. Alliance Resource Partners LP LSB Industries Inc. Williams Partners LP Unit Corp. ADDvantage Technologies Group Inc. Devon Energy Corp. PostRock Energy Corp. NGL Energy Partners LP Southwest Bancorp Inc.
2,066.7 912.5 714.5 194.7 167.4 155.7 135.3 133.7 126.7 114.0 86.4 74.6 57.7 57.6 36.7 33.3 29.4 27.3 25.9 16.3 14.1 12.2 12.1 11.3 11.2 10.4 6.7 1.8 1.5 -1.9 -18.8 -42.3 -55.7 -101.9 -218.2 -2,000.0
‘12 Earnings Per Share
‘11 Earnings Per Share
1.77 0.81 4.48 0.56 0.62 0.44 0.80 0.55 3.40 1.22 -0.03 -0.69 3.69 6.62 5.07 4.00 4.88 2.10 -4.92 3.29 1.74 0.83 0.37 3.56 1.49 1.17 3.52 7.46 3.34 3.08 2.89 0.15 6.00 -0.08 -0.39 -3.23
-0.09 0.08 0.55 0.19 -0.92 -0.79 0.34 -1.63 1.50 0.57 -0.22 -2.72 2.34 4.20 3.71 3.00 3.77 1.65 -6.64 2.83 1.52 0.74 0.33 3.20 1.34 1.06 3.30 7.33 3.29 3.14 3.56 0.26 13.53 4.28 0.33 0.17
SOURCE: S&P CAPITAL IQ
Manufacturers post wide swings on this year’s chart BY PAULA BURKES Business Writer pburkes@opubco.com
From last year’s Oklahoma Inc. to this year, the state’s three manufacturing companies that are traded on major markets swung widely in the ratings, and only one moved up on the chart. Orchids Paper Products Co. — 36 years old and stock symbol “TIS” on the New York Stock Exchange — shot to No. 3 from No. 28. The Pryor-based manufacturer makes toilet paper, towels and napkins, which are sold largely regionally. Conversely, Tulsabased AAON Inc. — 25 years old and AAON on the Nasdaq Global Select Market — which makes industrial and commercial air conditioning and heating equipment primarily for the U.S. and Canada, fell 10 spaces to No. 25. And Oklahoma City-based LSB Industries — No. 44, and LXU on the NYSE — which produces climate control devices and chemicals for mining and agriculture, for clients in Canada, the Middle East, Mexico, Central and South America, Europe, and South and East Asia, plummeted from No. 1 to No. 32 on the 36-company list. The three manufacturers’ gains in earnings per share ranged from 114 percent to 12.2 percent to 1.5 percent, respectively. But LSB, after repairing a damaged chemical plant in Arkansas, recently set 52week highs in its shares.
ClimateMaster press break operator Carlos Perales works on a machine in Oklahoma City. PHOTO BY STEVE GOOCH, THE OKLAHOMA ARCHIVES
Three other Oklahoma manufacturing companies that are ranked on the over-the-counter list had the same mixed bag on Oklahoma Inc. Though Tulsa-based recyclable plastic pallet manufacturer Greystone Logistics posted a gain in earnings per share of 333.3 percent, 9-year-old Totally Green Inc. of Tulsa — which makes organic food processing systems and compostable packaging alternatives for convention centers, corporations, government agencies, hospitals and universities — was flat. Meanwhile,
A Sonic Restaurant is shown in Oklahoma City. AP ARCHIVES PHOTO
Sonic Corp. leads service companies BY JENNIFER PALMER Business Writer jpalmer@opubco.com
Sonic Corp. was the only service company to gain significant standing on the Oklahoma Inc. top companies chart this year. Jumping nine spots from No. 25 to No. 16, the Bricktown-based drive-in restaurant franchise fared better than any of the other four service sector companies. Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, based in Tulsa, inched down one spot, from No. 13 to No. 14. Educational Development Corp. dropped three notches to No. 30 from No. 27 and Graymark Healthcare Inc. ticked up two spots to No. 31. Investors are missing the boat if they fail to notice Sonic, said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, who follows the services sector. Versus some of the better-known competing brands like McDonald’s or Chipotle Mexican Grill, Sonic hasn’t been regarded as a go-to investment. But its menu goes “toe-to-toe” with any of them, he added.
“I look for Sonic to go higher in the next couple of years,” Dollarhide said. “A family of four might pause if the economy flattens about going to a sitdown restaurant. But they don’t really pause as much to stop by Sonic and grab a drink or ice cream or burger.” While Sonic’s total return was down 5.7 percent and revenues dropped 1.1 percent in the year ending June 30, company earnings per share surged 195 percent, according to the S&P Capital IQ rankings. It was the fourth highest increase of any company on this year’s Oklahoma Inc. list. The company’s market value was $586.7 million as of June 29. The bidding war to acquire Dollar Thrifty helped its stock come back from the brink. Earnings per share were up 57.6 percent in the year ending June 30 and the one-year total return rose nearly 10 percent. The company hit a low in early 2009 when shares bottomed out at 60 cents. “They have done an amazing job of a comeback from the brink of insolvency,” Dollarhide said.
Webco Industries Inc. — a 43-year-old Sand Springs company that makes car-
bon steel, stainless steel and other metal tubular products for various in-
dustries — posted an 18.5 percent drop in share price. Despite the mishmash ratings, industry observers say the state’s manufacturing sector is showing signs of recovery. Employment in the sector hasn’t returned to the highs of the early ’90s, but it’s back to pre-recession levels, said Chuck Prucha, president of the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance. State manufacturers, Prucha said, have learned to work leaner and smarter, using robotics, numeric-controlled equipment and other technologies. Moreover, many manufacturers, who may have moved production to China and elsewhere overseas, have brought back production because, among other things, a significant difference in product quality and the high cost of fuel. “Just the costs of transportation to and from can add more costs than expected,” said Prucha, who for 25 years owned an
Manufacturing is an industry that is a significant driver in our jobs recovery.” LYNN GRAY AN ECONOMIST WITH THE OKLAHOMA EMPLOYMENT SECURITY COMMISSION
Oklahoma machinery manufacturing company that moved production to Mexico and back. As of August, the manufacturing sector accounted for 8.6 percent of the state’s employment, with about 137,400 employees, said Lynn Gray, an economist with the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission. “Manufacturing is an industry that is a significant driver in our jobs recovery,” Gray said. Since the recession low in January 2010, the sector has added 20.4 percent of the new jobs, or 16,300 of 79,900. During the past 12 months alone, Oklahoma’s manufacturing industry has gained 7,700 jobs or 5.9 percent, compared with a 2.9 percent jobs gain for the state as a whole, Gray said.