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techSTAR was launched in April 2004 with 25 companies - today it numbers 28 - and is the segment which includes companies whose elevated growth potential stems from a new business formula or high technology products/processes. techSTAR companies must meet, among others, at least one of the following two criteria: show growth in their consolidated gross operating margin or debts of no more than six times said margin.
If we analyze growth and profitability indices for the first nine months of 2004, the 25* companies in the segment show consistent growth in sales over the past three years: aggregate sales were 2.8 billion Euro in 2003 and are 4.1 billion Euros in 2004, up more than 20%.
20 companies out of 25, or 80% of the total, posted increased sales in the past year: 14 of them (56%) posted sales of more than 10%.
The growth in sales was paralleled by a growth in gross operating margins: margins went from 78 million Euros in 2002 to 294 million Euros in 2003 to 458 million Euros at September 30, 2004.
All the companies in the segment have a positive gross operating margin; for 20 of these (80%) the margin is growing. 72% posted an increase of more than I million Euros in their gross operating margins over the same period last year.
Blue chip** companies and Small&Mid Caps show a different dynamic.
The blue chips closed the year with positive, increasing margins: after reaching margin breakeven two years ago, sales are up 31% and margins are up 140 million Euros on an annual basis.
S&M Caps show positive margins, also up consistently: 128 million Euros in 2002, 189 million in 2003 and 227 million in 2004, generating an increase of approximately 50 million Euros a year with an average growth rate of 34%.
* This analysis cannot be applied to I.NET, CDB e BB Biotech
** Tiscali and eBISCOM
