INVESTORS wishing to pick the winners from the ‘dog’ market performers would do well to see what the top performers are doing right.
To find the ingredients for success, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu recently invited the chief executives of the top 10 per cent of WA companies to explain their success.
Companies chosen for the survey were those that had increased their market capitalisation by more than 100 per cent and $35 million in the two years to June 2002.
In all, 32 companies fitted the bill, with 23 CEOs responding.
The key point acknowledged by the business leaders was the importance of their staff and management.
Quality of management was indicated by 31 per cent as the key driver behind company growth. More than 15 per cent believed the ability to attract, retain and develop quality staff was paramount to their success.
Just 17 per cent said it was the quality of their products or services that was the key growth driver.
The survey found that the top performers did not predominantly measure their abilities through internal benchmarking.
As with the relevance of polling for the politician, the investors and their hold on the share price was the indicator to watch for the top performers.
About one third of respondents believe that delivering value to shareholders was a key indicator of company growth.
Profitability came a distant second as a provider of company growth, while other indicators cited by companies included earnings per share, market capitalisation and market share.
