20. 51job

51job

 

3-year average:
Revenue Growth: 25%
Profit Growth: 89%
Total Return: 57%

If you want to find a job in China, registering with 51job.com should probably be on your to-do list. It’s the largest recruitment website in China with more than 56 million registered accounts. 51job started as a print advertising outfit, but that publication -- which is circulated nationwide -- is in the process of being discontinued as the online business has exploded. Last year the print advertising segment of the business took in $33 million – roughly half what it was worth in 2009. On the flip side, online recruitment services generated revenues of $127.5 million in 2011 and now anchors the company’s growth strategy. The company now also offers HR services as it seeks to capitalize on its existing customer base. HR-related revenues came to $57 million last year, and the company believes they will play an increasingly important role in the future. -- N.S.

Get stock quote: JOBS Revenue ($ millions): $224
Net Income ($ millions): $65
Sectors: Retail

19. Epoch Holding

Epoch Holding

3-year average:
Revenue Growth: 41%
Profit Growth: 53%
Total Return: 45%

This investment outfit is doing something right. Epoch managed to quadruple net income over the past three years as investors poured into the firm, which now oversees more than $23 billion in assets. That figure has more than doubled since the end of 2010. So what’s Epoch's secret? The company says it has a “distinct perspective on the long-term drivers of shareholder return”. Specifically, its investment managers believe that earnings growth and dividends drive shareholder returns, so they concentrate on companies that are growing free cash flow “and allocating it intelligently.” So far so good. -- N.S.

Get stock quote: EPHC Revenue ($ millions): $85
Net Income ($ millions): $22
Sectors: Financial Services

18. American Equity Investment Life

American Equity Investment Life

3-year average:
Revenue Growth: 42%
Profit Growth: 87%
Total Return: 27%

Moving up an impressive 58 spots from where it first entered the Fastest-Growing list last year, this underwriter of annuities has posted record sales every year for the past three years. Last year’s sales exceeded $5 billion, while net income doubled to $86.2 million. And the key to American Equity's success? A growing demand for guaranteed retirement income products. The company offers a mix of pension plans that protect the principal sum invested and enjoy tax deferred growth. -- N.S.

Get stock quote: AEL Revenue ($ millions): $1,287
Net Income ($ millions): $65
Sectors: Financial Services

17. Alexion Pharmaceuticals

Alexion Pharmaceuticals

3-year average:
Revenue Growth: 43%
Profit Growth: 34%
Total Return: 69%

This biopharmaceutical company is focused on treating two severe and ultra-rare disorders. Its lead product, Soliris, is the only drug approved for patients with an extremely rare and life-threatening blood disease referred to as PNH (paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria). Alexion reported $274 million worth of second-quarter sales of Soliris, up 48% from the same period last year. The company credited the growth to increasing numbers of patients being treated with the drug globally. It follows Soliris's approval in the U.S. and European Union late last year as the first and only treatment for patients with an ultra-rare genetic disease known as Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (aHUS). -- N.S.

Get stock quote: ALXN Revenue ($ millions): $862
Net Income ($ millions): $194
Sectors: Health Care

16.Bridgepoint Education

Bridgepoint Education

3-year average:
Revenue Growth: 57%
Profit Growth: 187%
Total Return: 9%

Among the most successful of the for-profit colleges, Bridgepoint Education’s revenues soared to $933 million, up from $85 million, in the five years prior to 2011. The company attributes its phenomenal growth to the number of students enrolling for online courses. Last year Bridgepoint had 85,527 online students along with an additional 1,115 based at its Ashford University and University of the Rockies campuses. The company now has over 2,000 so-called “admissions counselors” who work the phones to get students to sign up. However, Bridgepoint’s stock plunged more than 50% in July when the Western Association of Schools and Colleges denied accreditation to Ashford College for its failure to comply with certain standards. The company has since re-applied for accreditation but announced in August that it would suspend, until further notice, its practice of providing full-year financial guidance “due to reduced visibility arising from recent regulatory developments.” -- N.S.

Get stock quote: BPI Revenue ($ millions): $954
Net Income ($ millions): $152
Sectors: Education

15. Coinstar

Coinstar

3-year average:
Revenue Growth: 43%
Profit Growth: 74%
Total Return: 37%

What’s in a name? Originally named for its change-counting machines, 85% of Coinstar’s revenue now comes from its Redbox DVD-rental kiosks. Even as consumers switch to video-streaming services like Netflix, the video-rental business is still worth more than $5 billion -- of which Coinstar boasts a 42% market share. The company has been rolling out additional self-service kiosks (“automated retail solutions” in Coinstar-speak) all over the country as struggling video-rental stores have closed. Revenue rose by 39% and 29% in 2010 and 2011, respectively, primarily due to new kiosk installations and existing kiosk sales growth in the Redbox segment. -- N.S.

Get stock quote: CSTR Revenue ($ millions): $1,989
Net Income ($ millions): $149
Sectors: Industrial

14. priceline.com

priceline.com

3-year average:
Revenue Growth: 33%
Profit Growth: 66%
Total Return: 81%

Is it possible that William Shatner may soon be recognized by more people for his role as the Priceline Negotiator than as Captain Kirk? That may well be the case if things continue as they have been for the online travel company, whose advertising campaign he has become the face of. (Shatner's character proved so popular that the company brought him back from the dead in August, after an 8-month absence from the brand's advertising.) Priceline allows you to "Name Your Own Price" for hotel rooms while also offering deep discounts on flights, rental cars, cruises and more. Bookings have increased by at least 50% every year for the past two years with last year’s increase driven by a 52.6% hike in hotel room reservations and increased international activity. Priceline’s net income doubled to over $1 billion in 2011. -- N.S.

Get stock quote: PCLN Revenue ($ millions): $4,584
Net Income ($ millions): $1,134
Sectors: Technology

13. Impax Laboratories

Impax Laboratories

 

 

3-year average:
Revenue Growth: 43%
Profit Growth: 85%
Total Return: 40%

Of all the companies to make it onto this year’s Fastest-Growing list, Impax Labs has likely produced the most volatile results. Over the past five years, net income has fluctuated significantly from as low as $16 million in 2006 and 2008 to as high as $250 million in 2010, and several points in between. The self-described “technology-based speciality pharmaceutical company” specializes in “controlled-release” generic versions of brand-name drugs. Among its biggest sellers are migraine-treating drug Zomig, and Adderall XR, which is used to treat attention deficit disorder. In 2010, net income sky-rocketed 400%. Impax put this down to a one-time accounting benefit, along with increased sales of several key products. Last year profits came crashing down 74%, however, as global sales declined across the board and supply disruptions affected Adderall XR. -- N.S.

Get stock quote: IPXL Revenue ($ millions): $533
Net Income ($ millions): $64
Sectors: Health Care

12. 3D Systems

3D Systems

3-year average:
Revenue Growth: 26%
Profit Growth: 272%
Total Return: 112%

Also known as additive manufacturing, 3D printing fabricates parts by “printing” them whole from digital data, one wafer-thin layer at a time. To date, the technology has mainly been used as a cost-effective way to create models and design prototypes. Increasingly, however, 3D printing is moving onto the factory floor with major manufacturers from auto parts makers to energy companies hoping they will soon be able to create a vast array of parts, equipment and machinery on demand, where and when they need them. 3D Systems says it has seen increased demand for its printers across several industries, as the technology “promises to revolutionize manufacturing.” Last year the company recorded a 242% increase in the number of units sold. Revenue -- generated by the sale of printers and related print materials and services -- increased 44%. -- N.S.

Get stock quote: DDD Revenue ($ millions): $260
Net Income ($ millions): $35
Sectors: Technology

11. Catamaran

Catamaran 

 

3-year average:
Revenue Growth: 72%
Profit Growth: 52%
Total Return: 98%

Formerly SXC Health Solutions (and last year’s top dog on the Fastest-Growing list), this pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) completed its merger with rival Catalyst Health Solutions in July with a cash and stock deal worth over $4 billion. The combined company is now the fourth largest PBM in the US, serving about 25 million members. The additional revenues that will result from the Catalyst deal have not yet been reflected in the newly-created Catamaran’s numbers but the company expects to generate combined annual revenues of around $13 billion. For the first six months of this year, SXC Health revenues came in at $3.3 billion – up 48% year-on-year. PBMs help their clients -- such as unions, third-party health care plan administrators, state and federal government entities -- to manage the cost of their prescription drug programs by leveraging their buying power to secure price discounts. -- N.S.

Get stock quote: CTRX Revenue ($ millions): $5,595
Net Income ($ millions): $100
Sectors: Health Care

10. RPC

RPC

3-year average:
Revenue Growth: 38%
Profit Growth: 121%
Total Return: 50%

Energy companies have been pushing production to the max over the past 18 months so they can capitalize on rising oil prices. But, in most cases, they can’t do it alone. RPC provides a range of oilfield services and equipment to major companies engaged in the exploration, production and development of oil and gas sites. Last year the company expanded its fleet of revenue-producing equipment which, along with a general increase in overall activity, helped to propel revenues 65%. Net income more than doubled in 2011 to almost $300 million. -- N.S.

Get stock quote: RES Revenue ($ millions): $1,931
Net Income ($ millions): $312
Sectors: Energy

9.IPG Photonics

IPG Photonics

3-year average:
Revenue Growth: 37%
Profit Growth: 100%
Total Return: 58%

If you want to cut steel, drill for oil, make a credit card, manufacture products, lay fiber-optic cable for broadband, weld, cut, mark or engrave something or even engage in some wrinkle removal, you’re probably going to need a high-power laser at some point. That’s where IPG Photonics comes in with its fiber laser technology which has become increasingly popular in general manufacturing and heavy industry, often replacing conventional lasers. IPG had a tough year in 2009 when sales in the materials processing market fell off by 25% as a result of the global recession. The subsequent two years were much better, however, as manufacturers in China boosted sales of mid- and high-power lasers. Net sales in 2011, at $474.5 million, were more than double those of 2009. -- N.S.

Get stock quote: IPGP Revenue ($ millions): $498
Net Income ($ millions): $125
Sectors: Technology