Lower gas prices in the latter part of 2008 and tumbling auto sales couldn't keep the oil and motor vehicle sectors from dominating the top 20 positions on this year's
IW 1000.
Oil producers
Exxon Mobil Corp. and and U.K.-based
Royal Dutch Shell PLC and
BP PLC held on to the first three spots, respectively, all posting double-digit percentage revenue gains. Chinese oil and gas companies continue their
IW 1000 ascent with
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (No. 8) and
PetroChina Co. Ltd. (No. 11) each gaining four spots. Japanese automaker
Toyota Motor Corp. swapped with
Chevron Corp., moving up one spot to No. 4. Toyota, which ended its 2008 financial year on March 31, 2008, posted a 4.5% profit gain on revenues of US$29.1 billion. But Toyota's higher ranking could be short-lived after revenue declined 22% in 2009, and the company posted its first-ever annual loss in its most recent fiscal year.
A machinist's strike in the fourth quarter dragged aerospace and defense manufacturer
Boeing Co. down nine places to No. 54, one spot above France-based rival
EADS NV. "We delivered double-digit margins from our defense business and solid results in production programs and services from our commercial airplanes business," said W. James McNerney, chairman, president and CEO of Boeing, in the company's annual report. "However, the impact of a two-month strike and delays on key development programs outweighed that performance in our year-end numbers." Meanwhile, EADS remains at the same
IW 1000 spot it held last year after revenue rose 10.2% to $60.8 billion.
Makers of popular electronic gadgets fared well in 2008, with
Nintendo Co. Ltd. and
Apple Inc. moving up. The Japanese video-game console and handheld device manufacturer leapfrogged 194 spots to No. 224 on strong sales of its Wii video-game console and the Nintendo DS handheld gaming system. Nintendo's revenue rose 73% to US$18.5 billion, and profit increased nearly 50% over the previous year to US$1.9 billion. Apple reported record Macintosh computer sales in the fourth quarter, and the company sold 6.9 million iPhones during the final three months. Apple moved up 38 spots to No. 116.
Companies involved in mining potash also achieved significant gains. Potash is a variety of mined and manufactured compounds used in fertilizers that contain potassium. The chemical is popular in crop production, including biofuels.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. jumped 219 spots to No. 412. The Canadian manufacturer's revenue grew 80.5% in 2008, partly attributed to high grain demand for biofuels and food, according to the company's annual report. Another major potash producer that posted significant gains is
Israel Chemicals Ltd. The company, which touts itself as the sixth-largest potash supplier in the world and No. 2 in Europe, rose 209 spots on the
IW 1000. The Tel-Aviv, Israel-based company's revenue hit US$6.9 billion, a 68.4% gain over the previous year. The company noted in its annual report that it broke several records during the first three quarters of 2008, but echoed the same lament of many manufacturers worldwide during the final three months.
"As the economic crisis spread in ever-broadening circles, we experienced a significant decline in demand and began to adjust to an industrywide downward pressure on commodity prices," wrote President and CEO Akiva Mozes in the company's annual report. "As a consequence, our financial results for the fourth quarter, though satisfactory, were far below the record levels achieved just months before."
| Revenue Leaders by Nation |
| Country/Province | Number of Companies | Revenue Total (Millions) | Average Company Revenue Growth (%)* |
| United States | 290 | $5,386,377 | 10.50 |
| Japan | 233 | $3,624,074 | 6.74 |
| Germany | 40 | $1,269,963 | 11.97 |
| France | 48 | $1,103,959 | 4.23 |
| United Kingdom | 36 | $882,521 | 17.30 |
| China | 36 | $606,892 | 19.74 |
| Netherlands | 13 | $599,939 | 7.97 |
| South Korea | 37 | $574,252 | 27.46 |
| Switzerland | 21 | $364,031 | 2.90 |
| Italy | 15 | $356,603 | 5.75 |
| Russia | 8 | $338,870 | 32.37 |
| Canada | 27 | $335,500 | 24.20 |
| Taiwan | 29 | $328,564 | 5.47 |
| India | 12 | $206,903 | 48.20 |
| Finland | 16 | $189,505 | 0.56 |
| Brazil | 10 | $184,523 | 23.04 |
| Sweden | 14 | $161,619 | 6.29 |
| Spain | 6 | $149,468 | 7.73 |
| Luxembourg | 3 | $145,569 | 14.33 |
| Australia | 12 | $143,580 | 38.52 |
| *Manufacturers that did not appear on the 2008 IW 1000 list were not included in revenue growth averages. |
| Companies Falling Fast |
| Quebecor Inc.'s freefall on the IW 1000 might be a little deceiving. In 2008 the Montreal-based media company divested printing company Quebecor World, which also appears on the IW 1000 list and dropped significantly in 2008 after filing for bankruptcy. With Quebecor Inc.'s former subsidiary no longer contributing to sales, revenue fell 60% from the previous year to US$3 billion. Not including the loss of Quebecor, adjusted revenue actually rose nearly 11%, the company said in its year-end report. Meanwhile, Quebecor World expects to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy this summer and as of early May was reviewing a buyout proposal from fellow printing company R.R. Donnelly & Sons Co. The year also was rough for Federal Way, Wash.-based paper and building products company Weyerhaeuser Co., which fell 241 spots as the slow housing market contributed to a 51% revenue drop. |
| 2008 Rank | 2009 Rank | Company | Country | Rank Change |
| 374 | 949 | Quebecor Inc. | Canada | -575 |
| 567 | 914 | San Miguel Corp.* | Philippines | -347 |
| 639 | 944 | Invensys PLC | United Kingdom | -305 |
| 325 | 594 | Infineon Technologies AG | Germany | -269 |
| 385 | 648 | Hynix Semiconductor Inc. | South Korea | -263 |
| 235 | 479 | Cadbury PLC | United Kingdom | -244 |
| 227 | 468 | Weyerhaeuser Co. | United States | -241 |
| 459 | 685 | Tate & Lyle PLC | United Kingdom | -226 |
| 591 | 798 | Quebecor World Inc. | Canada | -207 |
| 511 | 715 | M-Real Corp. | Finland | -204 |
| *Most recent fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2007 |